Francesco Totti - Il Gladiatore di Roma

That is incredible!

MCox93: Totti will never walk away from AS Roma

pompeyblue: Five more years of dominance!

Griffo: Indeed it is, I cannot wait to make Roma a world powerhouse

Neal: If you want to make Roma a world powerhouse, spend 80m on a player every year or two

Got to see Totti score a pk in Denver a couple weeks ago. Legend. Stoked you clinched that deal.

ImDonkey: But i want to make them a realistic world powerhouse...in real life, they wouldn't actually go a transfer window without making a reinforcement and then spending loads and loads and loads of money the next window

squirmy420: You lucky man!! I only can dream of watching that hero score in real life. Hopefully I can do his likeness proud in this story

After signing for AS Roma for €8 million in the summer, Sebastian Giovinco has finally scored his first goals for the club in an outstanding hattrick performance against Genoa.

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AS ROMA 2-1 ATALANTA (SERIE A)
Sebastien Corchia, Andrea Bertolacci
Sebastien Corchia

PESCARA 0-2 AS ROMA (SERIE A)
Alvaro Morata, Miralem Pjanic
Alvaro Morata

BATE 1-2 AS ROMA (CHAMPIONS LEAGUE)
Dodo, Andrea Bertolacci
Dodo

AS ROMA 3-1 CATANIA (SERIE A)
Samuel Umtiti, Alvaro Morata, Dodo
Alvaro Morata

NAPOLI 1-0 AS ROMA (SERIE A)
None
Daniele De Rossi
None

AS ROMA 4-0 GENOA (SERIE A)
Sebastian Giovinco (x3), Miralem Pjanic
Sebastian Giovinco

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Though not quite as difficult a month as last time, AS Roma continued their strong form in December to retain their place atop Serie A come the end of 2015. Compared to starting November against Schalke, AC Milan, and Juventus, the Giallorossi were given quite a break this time around and took full advantage of it.

Goals came from multiple sources as Francesco Totti's men dismantled Atalanta and Pescara in their first two matches. Though the scorelines were relatively close, the capital city side in fact dominated both matches and hardly looked troubled at the back or in midfield. French fullback Sebastien Corchia especially impressed down the right flank, scoring the winning goal against Atalanta.

In the final UEFA Champions League group stage match against BATE, Totti was able to field a second strength side having already clinched first place in the group. Youngster Dodo was able to make a start after quite a long injury layoff and impressed with a goal as the Bulgarians were beaten 2-1 at home.

Swiss international Ricardo Rodriguez, who had had the left back position all to himself up to this point, suffered a thigh injury in the very next game against Catania. Brazilian Dodo came on to replace him and scored in his second straight game, solidifying his first team claim; for the next three weeks, he will start as Rodriguez recovers.

The next match against Napoli was the biggest disappointment of the month. The Derby del Sole is always bitterly contested, especially with the likes of Morgan De Sanctis and Paolo Cannavaro making the switch from Naples to Rome in the last few years. Gonzalo Higuain's 13th minute volley was just about enough for the Partenopei, and after De Rossi's second half red card, Roma hardly threatened.

The final match was perhaps the most impressive of them all, especially for two players in particular; Samuel Umtiti and Sebastian Giovinco. The latter had not scored a single goal for the Giallorossi since signing in the summer but scored a delightful hattrick to lead Totti's men back from their loss the week before. Umtiti, who started at left back, managed to assist all 3 goals with beautiful crosses, all to the back post.

After another great run of results, AS Roma can now head into the 2016 calender year in first place in Serie A and having won their Champions League group.


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Very good month, unlucky to lose to Napoli. #BlameDeRossi

Cagliari what r u doing? Cagliari stahp!

Glad to see Giovinco has finally found his shooting boots! And a hattrick too!

LFC: Ffs De Rossi y u do dis?!

edu1878: Cagliari is just on a roll, I haven't a clue how or why

squirmy420: Hopefully he'll get that confidence boost and start scoring more now!

Unfortunate loss to Napoli, but other than that a very good month!
#BlameDeRossi

pompeyblue: To be perfectly honest it wasn't all De Rossi's fault, but yeah screw him!

The UEFA Champions League is widely considered the greatest competition in the world at the club level, and in two months' time the knockout stages of this cup will begin. The first knockout round will take place over two legs; the first in late February and the second in March. The draw took place yesterday, and the teams will face each other as follows:


There are two extremely high-profile match-ups this round. The first is between German giants Borussia Dortmund and the empirical FC Barcelona, clashing teams who have both been finalists in this decade. Borussia Dortmund are led by one of this season's most prolific attacking trios in Marco Reus, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, but trying to overcome the tiki-taka men from Spain will certainly be a monumental ask.

The other major tie of the round will pit last season's surprise champions Manchester United against French giants Paris St.-Germain. Though David Moyes had a tough time of it in the Premier League last year, he showed no nerves in Europe, guiding the Red Devils to an improbable European crown. However, the likes of Mateo Kovacic will try to spur their side to victory and help PSG make a dent in Europe, something they've otherwise failed to do thus far.

There are some very surprising teams joining us in this stage as well. Celtic did extremely will to get out of their group but have been drawn against two-time defending Scudetto champions AS Roma. Giallorossi manager Francesco Totti was vowed that his side will make a deeper run in the Champions League, and they have a very good chance to do so against the Scottish side.

Undoubtedly the biggest surprise package, however, is the appearance of Metalist Kharkov. The Ukrainian side shocked the country last year by pipping Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kyiv to the league title. They continued their amazing form this season by managing to finish second in a group containing the likes of Manchester City, Ajax, and SL Benfica. Real Madrid will be an entirely different test, however, as Los Galacticos continue their hunt for La Decima.

These teams will have plenty of time to improve before they must play, however; the January transfer window opens up in just a few days' time, and many of the biggest teams will surely be strengthening their squads ahead of the grueling fixtures ahead.

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Lucky draw vs that Scottish team there! I know you can trounce 'em.

Oh, time to smash those puny Scots! Play Totti and you'll win for sure