Gao Bo wasn't surprised by Lazio's enthusiasm. In fact, it's not uncommon for teams playing away European matches to use the training grounds of their opponents' arch-rivals.
For example, with the two Manchester teams, when Manchester United played in the Champions League, their opponents would often receive strong support from Manchester City when they came to Manchester.
Football rivalries are extremely sharp between arch-enemies, especially between Lazio and Roma, where the animosity extends from the fans to the club's top brass. One represents far-right forces, the other is a supporter of the far-left. The football rivalry, the city derby, and even deeply hostile political ideologies between the two sides combine to create one of Europe's most intense derbies—the Rome Derby!
Even though Lazio wasn't directly playing Roma, they would still treat Roma's opponents with courtesy. Small matters like lending their training ground were, of course, no problem at all.
Lazio's training facilities were well-equipped, certainly much better than Luton's own training ground.
The match was scheduled for November 5th, and Luton had already arrived in Rome on November 2nd.
After two days of training at Lazio's training ground, the team concluded their final pre-match training on November 4th. Then, after dinner on the evening of the 4th, they headed to the Stadio Olimpico for their final pitch inspection and adaptation training.
The Stadio Olimpico is a shared stadium for Lazio and Roma. Fans of both teams are very unhappy about sharing a stadium with their arch-rivals and wish to move out and build their own stadium.
However, the Rome City Council has consistently refused to approve the new stadium plans for these two major teams in Rome, forcing these two irreconcilable teams to continue sharing one stadium!
After completing their pitch inspection training at the Stadio Olimpico on the evening of the 4th, the entire team returned to the hotel.
Previously, the team had been staying at a hotel near Lazio's training ground, but considering the distance from Lazio's training base to the Stadio Olimpico, Luton decided to switch hotels on the evening of the 4th. This new hotel was only five kilometers from the Stadio Olimpico.
Back at the hotel, the players returned to their rooms, and everything seemed perfectly normal.
It was past midnight when Gao Bo had just drifted off to sleep.
Just then, Gao Bo was startled awake by a huge explosion.
He groggily looked out the window, and a firework seemed to explode right in front of him. The massive sound rendered the hotel's soundproofing useless, no matter how good it was.
Gao Bo sprang from his bed, walked to the window, and gasped.
In the small street below the hotel, dozens of burly men had gathered, and they were setting off fireworks!!
Why were they setting off fireworks in the middle of the night??
Gao Bo knew very well who these people below were!
They were Roma fans!!
Was it really necessary to go to such extremes just to deal with a third-tier league team?
Gao Bo rubbed his temples, a headache brewing. His morning grumpiness made him want to smash the chair in his room, but ultimately, reason triumphed over his temper.
He pulled open his room door,
And found that John from next door was also awake.
"What should we do?!"
John was a bit flustered. The match was tomorrow, and if the players didn't get enough rest, their performance in the game would be predictable.
"Call the police first!!" Gao Bo told John. At this moment, Lin Sen also came out of his room, evidently awakened by the sound of the fireworks exploding.
"Go contact the hotel staff and see if there are any rooms not facing the street. Arrange for the players to switch rooms immediately!" Gao Bo instructed Lin Sen.
The players also got up one after another.
Griezmann and Alex Sandro shared a room and were startled awake almost simultaneously.
"Oh, God."
Sandro, a Catholic, made the sign of the cross. Who would have thought they would receive such treatment on an away trip to Rome?
The two of them tightly closed the curtains and windows, but it still couldn't block
It couldn't block the sound of the fireworks exploding outside.
"These are all Roma football hooligans!" John said after hanging up the police call.
Gao Bo nodded. He had long heard about Italian football hooligans. These Italian ultra fans are a persistent problem in Italian football; every team has such extreme fan organizations.
To put it bluntly, these people are organized gangs operating under the guise of fan organizations. They assault away fans, provoke away players, and commit outrageous acts on the streets, relying on their numerical superiority.
Some fan organizations even have ties to the Italian mafia, acting as their peripheral groups.
They use football as an excuse to commit unjust acts.
"The hotel says there are no vacant rooms," Lin Sen said, walking over with a frown.
"Damn it!"
Gao Bo cursed angrily.
Italian work efficiency has always been low, and the police are no exception.
An hour later, the police finally arrived, tardily.
Gao Bo watched a farce from the balcony.
Dozens of football hooligans began firing fireworks at the police, and then the police started firing tear gas and similar things. Sharp sirens blared.
No sooner had one group been chased away than another joined the fray.
Gao Bo witnessed an Italian-style football riot. The disturbance continued until past 5 AM before gradually subsiding. For the Luton players, it was truly a difficult night.
Videos of the riot were widely circulated on social media, and news of Roma football hooligans causing trouble outside Luton's hotel quickly spread across Europe via the internet.
However, Gao Bo couldn't worry about that now. There was supposed to be a training session in the morning, but the most important thing now was to let the players get some good rest.
Fortunately, no one was setting off fireworks on the street during the day.
Even though it was daytime, the players could only rest at the hotel for now. However, even if they slept during the day, being disturbed all night would still make the players feel fatigued due to their disrupted body clocks.
This match, for Luton, might already be extremely difficult.
In the news reports the next morning, videos and images of Roma fans frequently appeared on television screens.
Their frenzy when setting off fireworks, their nonchalant smiles at the camera even when being arrested.
These scenes couldn't help but raise concerns: what kind of treatment would Luton face in such an away environment?