Roma gain upper hand despite illness and feuds

Roma's 2-1 Champions League win over Real Madrid on Tuesday showed team-mates do not have to be the best of friends to gel on the pitch.

Captain Francesco Totti set up Brazilian midfielder Mancini for the winner in the last 16 first leg clash in Rome, despite the pair being involved in a long-running personal feud.

"We have always clicked on the field, even if we haven't talked to each other for two years," Mancini said.

Their embrace after Mancini's coolly-taken second half strike was even more remarkable given Totti nearly missed the game with illness.

"I sicked up everything. I felt bad. I already had a fever before the game," Totti told reporters.

The striker has been troubled by a series of injury niggles this season and was far from his best against Real.

The Spanish champions fancy their chances of getting a 1-0 win in the second leg at the Bernabeu on March 5, especially after Roma surrendered a 2-1 first leg lead over Manchester United in last season's quarter-finals by going down 7-1 at Old Trafford.

Team bonding by fighting with each other may not be in the coaching manuals, but Roma have got it down to a fine art. Following on from Totti and Mancini, defender Christian Panucci had an altercation with midfielder Alberto Aquilani during Sunday's training session.

The pair clashed following a 1-0 league defeat at Juventus a day earlier, which left Roma 11 points adrift of leaders Inter and just one point above Juve in third.