Just weeks ago, Italy women's national team manager, Milena Bertolini, discussed her vision of where the Italian female game could progress.
The comments were made prior to and following Italy's Arnold Clark Cup fixture against European Champions, England.
Although having a reasonably successful men's team, Le Azzurre are yet to reach such heights. Of course, the two are incomparable. Financial backing, facility access and true belief in success have historically separated the sides.
However, this all may be about to change.
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One Team's Dominance of Serie A Femminile
This season, Serie A Femminile has seen an incredible boost in competition. The league has a broad history following its establishment in 1968, 55 years ago, yet was only made fully-professional at the beginning of this season. Since the Italian Football Federation acquired the league in 2018, there has been one consistent champion; Juventus.
The Turin giants have won the league every season since the 2017-2018 season, more or less dominating the league since they were first established in 2017. With the financial backing of Juventus chairman Gianluca Ferrera, their very own top quality training facility, and quality head coach in Joe Montemurro, it is no surprise Le Bianconere has been so dominant over the years.
However, Roma finally appears to be closing the gap on the five-time champions.
Currently, Roma leads the league by eight points - winning 16 of 18 games this season. On 48 points and with seven games to go, Le Giallorosse could look to smash last season's points total (54), a clear reflection of the progression made by Alessandro Spugna's side.
Should Spugna lead his team to lift the trophy come the end of the season, it would be Roma's first domestic title since 1969, when playing under the name A.C.F Roma.
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AS Roma's Historic Champions League Charge
As the famous saying goes: to be the best, you have to beat the best.
So far this campaign, in both league and European competitions, Roma has done just that. Beating Juventus after penalties to win the Italian Super Cup, then demolishing Serie A Femminile heavyweights Fiorentina 5-1 and progressing to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after finishing second in Group B; the capital’s team has made themselves a presence in all competitions this season.
Drawing the 2020-21 champions of the competition, Barcelona, was always to be a challenge for the Italian side. However, Spugna has instilled a winning mentality into his players, which was clear to see during the first leg.
Roma showed patience throughout the game, doing their best to capitalise when attacking opportunities arose. Barca had the majority of these, as expected, for about 75 minutes of the game. In total, the visitors had 34 goalscoring attempts, but only 10 of which were on target. Quite a difference to Roma, who had 10 goalscoring opportunities, with four on target.
These statistics further portray the strength of the host's backline. Le Giallorosse's defence stood solid for the majority of the game, making vital last-stitch challenges to keep them in the fixture. Romanian goalkeeper Camelia Ceasar made three unbelievable saves to deny the Barcelona attackers; with the crowd reacting as if Roma had scored a last-minute winner.
A great deal of credit was given by the player of the match whose strike narrowly separated the sides, Salma Paralluelo, who, in her post-match interview, agreed that Roma could have taken the advantage in the fixture.
Although a big task faces the Italian league leaders at the iconic Camp Nou next week, Le Giallorosse has proven they are not a team to roll over - but instead well and truly bring the competition to their opponents.
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The Fanbase
The match between Roma and Barcelona, held at the world-famous Stadio Olimpico, broke the record for the highest attendance at a women's football game in Italy.
The attendance? 39,454.
As someone who has consistently attended a variety of football matches across the world from the age of 10, that support was the loudest I have ever witnessed.
Outside of the stadium, music, pyrotechnics and scarves put a spotlight on the Roma fans; who were all more than up for the occasion.
This is the first time the women's side has played at the home of their male counterparts, with Manuela Giugliano becoming the first player to wear the number 10 shirt in the stadium since Roma legend, Francesco Totti.
All evening, the Roma fans made themselves heard. Flares were lit among the stands, with blazes of red and yellow smoke emitting from the crowd. Everything you would expect of a typical European Champions League game, you got from the home fans.
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The Women's World Cup, 2023
With the World Cup on the approach, we may just be surprised at how different Bertolini's team will perform, especially compared to their underwhelming Euro 2022 campaign.
A handful of the national sides' regulars are based at Roma, so, especially if they beat Barcelona in the second leg of the quarter-finals of the Champions League, confidence will be flowing. Arguably, this is one of the biggest factors that lacked from Le Azzurre's Euro 2022 appearance.
Goals were not the easiest to come by for the Italians, scoring just twice in three games. However, four Italian international players have made the top five for most goals scored in the Serie A Femminile; Cristiana Girelli (13), Valentina Giacinti (11), Martina Piemonte (9), and Elisa Polli (9).
In a group that contains Sweden, Argentina and South Africa, anything other than progression into the round of 16 should be classed as a poor showing for the Italians; and if Bertolini's big players turn up, they could go a lot further in the competition than people expect.
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To Conclude
Women's football in Italy is well on its way to reaching a whole new level. Of course, there is still a considerable way to go before Italy is at the heights of teams such as England, Germany and the United States of America, but the progression to that position may come sooner than anticipated.
As long as the fans keep filling the grounds, the players keep performing with such confidence, and further coverage of the league is given, the game for the Italians will continue to grow.