Rome Newsroom, Jan 20, 2021 / 13:00 pm
Pope Francis met on Wednesday with players of the northern Italian soccer club Spezia after they eliminated the fourth-seeded A.S. Roma from the country's annual cup competition.
"First of all, congratulations, because yesterday you were good. Congratulations!" the pope told them at an audience in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace on Jan. 20.
Spezia Calcio, a professional soccer club based in the town of La Spezia, joined the top Italian league Serie A for the first time in its history in 2020.
The 13th-seeded Spezia's 4-2 win on Tuesday in the Coppa Italia against Roma -- one of Rome's two big clubs -- puts them in next week's quarter-finals, where they will play against Napoli.