Gasperini Reshapes Roma: A New Era Begins

Roma have started the season like a team suddenly sure of itself, and at the heart of it all stands Gian Piero Gasperini – a new coach, but already the dominant voice at Trigoria.

Lorenzo Bettoni and Wayne Girard have taken a deep dive into how quickly Gasperini has bent Roma to his will, reshaping the Giallorossi in his own image after just a handful of games. The early signs are striking: intensity, clarity, and a manager whose word seems to carry more weight than any Roma coach in recent memory.

More, even, than José Mourinho.

That’s the intriguing part. Gasperini doesn’t just pick the team; he increasingly looks like the man setting the tone for the entire club. Bettoni and Girard explore how his influence stretches beyond the touchline, how his authority in decision-making appears to outstrip that of his predecessors, and what that shift might mean for Roma’s ceiling this year. Title push? Long-awaited stability? Or both?

In Verona on May 24, 2026, the image was telling: Gasperini on the edge of his technical area at Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi, gesturing, directing, demanding, as Roma faced Hellas Verona in Serie A. It was the snapshot of a coach fully in control, a figure whose ideas have already gripped the dressing room.

From there, the conversation naturally turns to the player who could turn this promising start into something historic: Donyell Malen.

Under Gasperini, Malen suddenly looks like a striker built for the spotlight. Bettoni and Girard examine how the coach’s attacking structure and relentless, front-foot approach could unlock the Dutchman’s full range of weapons – his movement, his pace, his finishing – and elevate him from dangerous forward to outright phenomenon.

Then comes the big question: can Malen really chase down Gonzalo Higuaín’s extraordinary 36-goal Serie A record?

It’s a bold target, and the season is still young. The pair weigh up the numbers, the style of play, and the demands of Gasperini’s system to judge how realistic such a run might be. Is this just early-season excitement, or does Roma genuinely possess both a title challenger and a potential record-breaking goalscorer in the same dressing room?

For now, the verdict is measured but tantalising. Gasperini has authority. Roma have momentum. And Malen, under this coach, suddenly looks like a striker staring at history rather than just the next matchday.