Lukaku fever sweeps Rome as in-form Milan come to town
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Romelu Lukaku was treated to the sort of fanfare more commonly reserved for rock stars when he touched down in Rome this week, hailed as Roma's saviour ahead of their clash with rejuvenated AC Milan on Friday.
Belgium striker Lukaku might have only signed on loan for a season from Chelseabut that did not matter to the thousands of fans who caused chaos at Ciampino airport on Tuesday.
Flares were lit, chants were belted out and cars were damaged by supporters clambering up to catch a glimpse of Lukaku exiting the plane of Roma's American chairman Dan Friedkin.
Around 50,000 supporters tracked Friedkin online as he flew his own aircraft from England to pick Lukaku up in Brussels and then down to Rome.
It was the sort of showbiz entrance that would have made Silvio Berlusconi proud, and no matter if Lukaku is a Chelsea outcast — as one banner at Ciampino made clear the 30-year-old has already been crowned the «new king of Rome».
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FootballBillionaire businessman Friedkin, who lent his own Spitfire planes for the Hollywood blockbuster film Dunkirk, has an eye for the spectacular.
Two years ago he confounded everyone by hiring Jose Mourinho completely out of the blue and last summer Roma unveiled talisman Paulo Dybala in front of light shows and the fascistic headquarters of fashion house Fendi — nicknamed the 'Square Colosseum'.
Lukaku's arrival is a big boost to Roma not just because they had unsuccessfully rattled through a host of candidates for striker — Tammy Abraham's long-term knee injury left them with only Andrea Belotti as a starting centre-forward — but also because the season has got off to
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