For more than three decades, James Richardson has been one of the most recognizable English-language voices covering Italian football. Best known for his decade-long run as host of Football Italia from 1992 to 2002, Richardson helped introduce a generation of viewers to Serie A’s glamour, chaos, and charisma. A noted Roma fan, he recently sat down with Zach Lowy to reflect on his career, his affection for the Giallorossi, and his outlook on the club’s latest chapter. After their conversation, Lowy shared
some of what he learned.
Finding His Way to Italian Football
Asked what first drew Richardson to Serie A and how he became the face of Football Italia, Lowy explains that the story isn’t one of childhood obsession, but rather of curiosity and timing.
“Whilst Richardson never really obsessed over English football as a kid in the UK, he took a liking to Serie A after purchasing a satellite dish in 1989, which allowed him to watch the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy and follow Italian football. He would also start learning Italian after dating a girl from Roma, and this, combined with his brief experience as a TV producer, prompted British TV network Channel 4 to hire him as a hands-on producer for Football Italia in 1992. Initially sent to Rome to film segments alongside English footballing star Paul Gascoigne, who had joined Lazio that summer, Richardson was forced to step into the limelight and run the show when ‘Gazza’ frequently missed his appointments. He hasn’t looked back – three decades later, he’s emerged as one of the greatest TV presenters ever and worked for a number of behemoths like ESPN, The Athletic, BT Sport (now TNT Sports) and more.”
A Love Affair with Roma
For readers wondering how Richardson’s fondness for Roma took hold, Lowy says it all goes back to those same early years in Italy.
“Just as he was growing an affinity for Italian football, Richardson started dating a girl from Rome who was a Roma supporter. Whilst they didn’t end up getting married, this relationship proved the impetus for Richardson to become fluent in Italian and support Roma. He attended his first Roma match on March 4, 1992, a 0-0 draw against Monaco in the European Cup Winners’ Cup quarterfinals, and over the next decade, he lived in Italy and regularly attended Roma games. While he has lived in London since 2002, Richardson regularly watches Roma matches and remains very much a Giallorossi diehard.”
On Roma’s Present and Future
Over the years, Richardson has seen plenty of managers and players come and go at Trigoria. When asked about Roma’s latest project under Gian Piero Gasperini and the Friedkin Group, he offered a balanced mix of optimism and realism.
“Well, it’s true that Italy has this crazy situation where every year you get a different title winner, and Roma, who haven’t got a lot of the titles to their name, haven’t so far been anywhere near contention for a Scudetto themselves. But this year, genuinely, I don’t think they’re favourites by any means, but you wouldn’t rule them out. The biggest issue that the Friedkins have had has been sorting out the financial issues that they’ve had, which has affected the club’s ability to compete in terms of player signings. They made a statement signing in terms of the manager with Jose Mourinho, and that effectively didn’t work out, although it did bring that first European trophy. Some Roma fans would go, ‘That’s fine, everything else that went along with Mourinho at Roma is worth it to have that Conference League win,’ but I personally felt they were a pretty difficult watch, and it was kind of hard to get behind them and get excited about them in that period.”
Despite his modesty about tactical insight, Richardson still sees reasons for cautious optimism.
“I preface this by just reminding everyone that I have really minimal understanding of football tactics, but I think that they definitely have to be among the contenders. You could not rule them out as being one of the teams in contention for the title. Will it actually happen? I guess that depends on whether Gasperini can pull off his usual tricks and alchemy with base metals into gold in terms of strikers. The work that he’s done before in getting players, misfiring players scoring goals, if he can do that with Dovbyk in particular, and I guess, to an extent Ferguson, then anything’s possible, but until Roma find a reliable goalscorer, and kind of a slightly more injury-proof Paulo Dybala, I think that they’re going to be the second rung of this year’s teams.”
Even after decades in the business, Richardson’s voice remains as insightful and wry as ever — part analyst, part fan, and still unmistakably in love with the game that first drew him to Italy all those years ago.
