Gasperini’s Roma: A New Era Takes Shape

Roma have not just started well. They’ve started with a clear imprint, and it belongs unmistakably to Gian Piero Gasperini.

In the opening weeks of the season, the new coach has moved quickly, reshaping the Giallorossi in his own image. The intensity is higher, the structure sharper, the identity more defined. This doesn’t look like a team tentatively feeling out a new era. It looks like a side already playing to its manager’s blueprint.

At Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi in Verona on May 24, 2026, Gasperini cut a familiar figure on the touchline: animated, demanding, constantly directing traffic. That touchline energy has translated into a Roma side that presses with purpose and attacks with conviction. The message is clear. This is his team now.

A Coach With Unusual Power in Rome

Inside the club, Gasperini’s influence is growing just as quickly as his impact on the pitch.

He appears to hold a level of authority that rivals, and arguably surpasses, that of his predecessors, including José Mourinho. Tactical decisions, squad planning, the broader sporting direction – Gasperini’s fingerprints are everywhere. Roma have not merely hired a coach; they have handed him the keys.

That shift matters. It changes how Roma think about their ceiling this season. With a manager trusted so deeply by the hierarchy, long-term ideas suddenly feel more realistic. Title talk is no longer just a romantic notion whispered around the Olimpico. Under Gasperini, it starts to sound like a plan.

Unlocking Donyell Malen

One of the biggest tests of that plan wears the No. 9.

Donyell Malen arrives with talent that has never been in doubt. The question has always been consistency, efficiency, that ruthless edge across an entire campaign. Gasperini has built his reputation on elevating forwards, sharpening their movement and maximising their numbers. Now he turns that focus on Malen.

If the chemistry clicks, the numbers could be spectacular. The conversation has already turned to the unthinkable: could Malen, in this system, threaten Gonzalo Higuaín’s iconic 36-goal Serie A record?

It’s an audacious target. Higuaín’s mark has stood as the gold standard for modern Serie A strikers, a benchmark of relentless finishing over 38 games. To chase it, Malen would need not just form, but durability, service, and a Roma side that spends most weekends camped in the opposition half. Gasperini’s aggressive, attacking approach at least gives that idea a platform.

Title Talk and Record Chases

The season is still young. That matters. Early surges can fade, and records are not broken in September or October.

Yet the early evidence invites bigger questions. If Gasperini keeps this grip on the squad and the club, if Roma maintain this level of intensity, and if Malen thrives in the role carved out for him, then the conversation changes. Roma stop being a dangerous outsider and start looking like a genuine title threat.

A coach with real power. A team with a clear identity. A striker staring at one of Serie A’s most daunting records.

If this is only the beginning, where does Gasperini take Roma from here?