A Touching Call: The Story of a Terminal Fan's Final Dream

It seemed like a regular radio morning, filled with tactical analysis of the match played by Roma in Udine and comments on Ndicka's condition, but suddenly the airwaves of Tele Radio Stereo were charged with palpable emotion, turning the sports broadcast into a profoundly moving moment. Edoardo, a young Roma fan, called the program 'Te la do io Tokyo', not to talk about football but to share his story. 'Hi, I'm Edoardo, I don't want to talk about the match with Udinese,' he began, introducing a topic with a trembling voice that immediately changed the atmosphere of the studio. 'I'm terminally ill, I don't know when I will die but the quality of life is what it is. So, I've decided to go to Switzerland.' The silence that followed his words was deafening. Everyone, in the studio and on the radio, understood the reference to euthanasia, a difficult and painful choice, which for Edoardo seems like the only way out of an existence that has become too burdensome. Edoardo hasn't lost his spirit as a fan. With a smile that could almost be heard through the phone, despite the tears, he revealed a bitter coincidence: 'In Switzerland, they are strange, they give you an appointment and I only had two dates available.' One of these dates is precisely the day of the Europa League final in Dublin, on May 22, a match that Roma, his Roma, could play with the ambition of winning the trophy that was denied to them the previous year. Despite his conditions, Edoardo has a dream: to see his beloved team lift that cup, an image to carry with him as a last happy memory. 'It's the last chance for me to see a final of my team,' he said with a voice broken by emotion. The story of Edoardo did not remain confined within the walls of the radio studio. It quickly made the rounds of the Roma community. The club and its supporters rallied around him, sending messages of support and hope. Mister De Rossi himself started looking for the boy, to be able to give him (beyond the final) one last dream.