Interview: The recent rebirth of Alba

After bringing prestige to Roman football, in 1927 Alba-Audace, as it was known at the time, contributed to the merger with Fortitudo-ProRoma and Roman to form AS Roma.

Now the club has been refounded as Alba Roma 1907 by 42-year-old Daniele Gabriele alongside Alfredo Di Vasta and Angelo Busa and is an amateur football team based in the capital.

Alba was the inspiration behind the new Roma Legacy jersey, which is green like the club’s original colour.

Why Alba? Where did the idea to bring back this historic team come from?

“It’s called Alba because there’s a double significance with Roma and also a feeling of hope. It’s no coincidence that green is the colour of hope. It all happened during Covid, which was a really tough period for amateur sports teams.

“Training facilities were out of use and nothing was accessible. Everyone was stuck at home and the only thing that we could do was to stay in touch with the lads through video calls, but there was also a chance that we’d have to leave the facilities.”

Tell us about that.

“We were coaches and trainers at Empire Sport Academy, at the HQ in Via degli Aldobrandeschi where we still are today. During lockdown, the owner of the facility let us know that we’d probably have to leave because he wanted to build one of the biggest padel centres in Europe there, given that it’s the sport that was the least affected by the pandemic.

“We gave ourselves some time and I must say I suffered from insomnia at times, but that’s when we had the idea of bringing Alba back by kicking off a diverse and innovative formative project in the local region. That was a happy eureka moment, so much so that we’re still using that HQ for training.”

What about the pitches?

“At the moment, we’re using two different venues for matches, but we’re doing all we can to put together plans to have our own home. It would still be in west Rome, where we are looking to take advantage of abandoned pitches.

“We’ve put forward a plan and we expect to get an answer from the institutions in the coming months. The idea is to set up a facility in line with the history of our club.”

In that regard, the club’s name is also particularly significant: Alba Roma 1907.

“We were lucky enough to be able to register it as it was still available and never previously used. Such a name, which indicates the year of inception, was ideal for a serious rebirth of the Alba brand.

“We’re also working hard on a precise and detailed historic reconstruction of the club. There are some inaccuracies in terms of what people may read online, so we want to set the record straight. We’ve also asked the FIGC for a consultation in order to gain as much information as possible up until the club’s disbandment in 1968.”

What are the values that you’re trying to instil in the players?

“The Alba project is part of a different pathway that focuses more on individuals than on tactics. We’re trying to show our commitment to promoting football with foundations underpinned by education, respect and sporting knowledge.

“Besides myself, having played the game for many years and coached for almost 25 years, we use people with outstanding local knowledge and solid sporting principles. We also have a behaviour and ethics officer, an Italian Referees Association director and former head of referees in Modena and Siena.”

What does Roma’s initiative to dedicate a jersey to Alba mean to you?

“It’s something to be proud of knowing that Roma thought of us and that the club is always looking for a common thread with its past. Alba is effectively one of Roma’s mothers.

“We’ve been able to appreciate the beauty of the material and the design, all of which is stunning. It’s a really thrilling time for us.”