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In an era where the romance in football is coming to an end, players swapping clubs and being part of exorbitant deals seem common, Francesco Totti still sticks in as one of the last men standing in the line of one club footballers. He pledged his entire life to a value called “Loyalty” to a club called AS Roma.
On 28th March 1993, then Roma coach Vujadin Boškov told a 16-year-old to lace up his boots in a league match against Brescia, and after two decades, the boy is still lacing them. That boy was Francesco Totti.
AC Milan came knocking at his door when he was playing in the youth team at Lodigiani. However, his mother refused a lucrative offer as she wanted him to remain in his hometown. In 1989, he joined the Roma’s youth squad, and thereafter his love affair with the club began.
He broke into the first team at the age of sixteen when coach Vujadin Boškov handed him his debut. Little did the fans know that this boy would go on to become their ‘Il Gladiatore’, their saviour, their hope, the one they would cry for, the one who would bleed for them. Totti is Roma, through and through.
It was under Carlo Mazzone that Totti became a regular starter in the squad. He scored his first goal for Roma in September, 1994 in a 1-1 draw against Forgia. Over the next three seasons, he kept on scoring. He also praised Mazzone for helping him realize his potential.
In 1998, at the age of 21, he was handed his dream, the Captain’s armband, for the club he would lay down his life for. He was also named the Serie A Young Player of the Year in 1998-99.
Totti’s career defining moment came in 2000-01 under Fabio Capello. Totti began playing in his favourite position as a trequartista, in order to use his passing skills to the fullest. He led Roma to their first Scudetto since 1983, and to their first SuperCopa Italiana. He also won his first Italian Player of the Year award.
The next season saw him become a 20 goal-a-season striker. It was heart breaking for him as they finished second after Milan, but he achieved plenty. He won the Italian Player of the Year for the second year in a row.
Under Luciano Spalletti, Totti played as a false number 9. The False 9 is, as the name sounds, a centre-forward who comes deep to collect the ball between the opposition’s midfield and defense. This usually leaves the marking centre-backs in a quandary about whether to track the striker’s run or sit back and hold their position. Totti executed this role to perfection. The season 2006-07 was a personal best for him as he finished as Serie A’s top scorer with 26 goals. Totti was Europe’s top goal scorer in that season too. He also lifted Roma’s ninth Coppa Italia title.
AS Roma had 16 managers since 1992, but there was one constant in this sea of change. Every manager wanted to build his team around Francesco Totti. Ask any La Maggica fan about the player they adore, the player they long to see, their star. There is only one answer, Il Re di Roma (The King of Rome).
Totti has been deployed in a different role by every manager, ranging from a winger to a center forward, from a trequartista to a False 9, he has shone in everyone of them. Adjusting with consumable ease and perfecting each one of them.
Totti is the role model for any young footballer. He is a born and bred Roman. The loyalty he had for Roma is unparalleled.The only thing that prevented Totti from being famous as the likes of Maldini, Del Piero, Nesta, Cannavaro and Buffon was his trophy cabinet. The rest won trophy galore with their clubs, but not Totti. While Roma is a good club, they did not have the money or resources to dominate either Italy or Europe. The only major honors which adorn his trophy cabinet are a Scudetto that he won under the tutelage of Fabio Capello in 2000-01 and the FIFA World Cup that he won in 2006. Money and medals for him were not above his love for Roma.
With 678 appearances amassing 282 goals in all competitions, he is the all-time top goalscorer and the most capped player in the history of the club. He is currently the second highest goal scorer in the Italian league with 227 goals.
At 36, Totti is in his last few years as a professional footballer. He already has a clause in his contract which allows him to be club director, upon retirement. It will be good to see the five time Italian Player of the Year milling around the Stadio Olimpico in the years to come, to remind us of the legend he is now.
Francesco Totti comes in different shades of Grey. A Captain, a leader, a loyalist, a perfectionist, an inspiration and above all a Roman.
On being asked, “Francesco, why don’t you play for another team for two or three years in order to win something more?” He said, “Because I grew up playing for Roma and I want to die playing for Roma, because I have always been a Roma’s fan!”
