Fransesco Totti, the Legend: A Tribute

The term loyalty has become obscure in the world of football these days. When we have players like Anelka, Ibrahimovic and Schuster as examples for dis-loyalty on one hand, we have clubs like Juventus and Chelsea which forget the efforts put in by their legends on the other. With the hypersonic evolution of the word loyalty in today’s footballing era, the world, of the beautiful game, we live in, still has the privilege to catch eyes on the ‘dyed-in-the-wool’ character of some loyal legends. We have Buffon, Nedved and Del Piero, who stayed with the Old Lady even when they were relegated, as perfect examples for players with immense loyalty towards the club. Francesco Totti certainly comes under that category. He isn’t just a player for AS Roma. You ask any fan of the La Maggica for a player whom they admire the most, got inspired by the most, had cried watching him play the most, I bet, for all the diamonds in South Africa, that the answer would be none other than Il Re di Roma (‘King of Rome’, That’s how they call Totti). He is one living example for a man with sovereign devotion to his club, a player with in-born leadership and a man who is simply a ‘legend’.

Pierpaolo Biscoli once said: “Totti is Totti, a symbol of Italian football.” Totti has been the symbol of Roma and Italy indeed.

Nicknamed as Il Bimbo d’Oro (the Golden Boy) by the Italian Media, Totti is arguably one of the finest Trequartista of his era. Born in Rome to Lorenzo and Fiorella Totti, he idolized former Roma captain Giuseppe Giannini. He played football with older boys until he was recruited by Fortituto at the age of 8. He then played for Smit Trastevere and Lodigiani. Then came the offer which would make any youngster in Italy think twice to refuse. Yes, AC Milan came knocking his door. If not for his mother to refuse the lucrative contract, Roma would have never got the servitude of Totti and would have never heard of the legend of Totti. She wanted him to stay in his countryside. He was then infused into the youth squad of Roma in the year 1989. Thus started Totti’s journey towards becoming one of the most awed and adored footballers that AS Roma had ever seen and the bondage between the Yellow Reds and Il Re di Roma.

He emerged through the ranks of the Roma youth academy in such an alarming fashion that then Roma coach, Vujadin Boškov, gave the sixteen year old Totti his debut, in a 2-0 win over Brescia in 1993. He came in as a second half substitute. How often do you see a 16 year old play for a prestigious club in an official match? Did the crowd know that they were witnessing their future legend in action? Though he couldn’t find the back of the net in that match, it did mark the beginning of an era. An era which is unprecedented in the history of Italian Football. The era of ‘Francesco Totti’. He then added a few matches to his cap but not until September 1994 did he score his first goal. The appointment of new manager Carlo Mazzone in the year 1993 was a blessing in disguise for Totti as he became a regular starter for Roma. He acknowledged the faith that was bestowed in him by Mazzone by consistently praising him.

Totti with the captain band tied to his arm in 1998.

The year 1998 marked the addition of another feather to the exalted hat of Totti. The feather, I bet, he values the most. The moment he dreamed to achieve in his entire life as he stood upfront, with the captain’s band tied around his arm. He was a 21 year old wonderkid and he captained, and in fact still captains, AS Roma. That is quite a big achievement for the talisman, isn’t it? But one thing that must have haunted him was the fact that he was yet to get an Italian call up. The addition of stars Vieri, Baggio, Del Piero and Inzaghi to the line-up meant that there was no place for Totti to break into the 1998 World Cup squad. Yet he endured the juncture he was in and continued to impress for Roma, as he was a mere 21 year old prodigy. He knew that he was destined to play for the Gli Azzurri one day, that his time to serve his nation was yet to come, that he would chip past the goalkeeper in the colours of Italy one day.

His desire to play for Italy was soon realised as he earned his first cap in a Euro 2000 qualification victory over Switzerland in October 1998. That wasn’t the only achievement he got that year. He scored 16 times that season and won the ‘Serie A Young Player of the year’ in the 1998-99 season. His dry spell in the 1999-2000 season jeopardized his place in the Italian squad for the 2000 Euro Cup. However, he regained his form in the later stages of the season and was included in the 22-man squad for the tourney. That was his first major international tournament, his first chance to showcase his talent in international stages, his first chance to be in the limelight.

Totti was in excellent form prior to the tournament and he scored two goals in Italy’s journey towards the final. But it was Totti’s semi final penalty that captured the eyes of many. It was named as a magic moment of the tournament. Holland and Italy drew blank even after extra time and it was all but luck and composure that stood between the two teams and a slot in the final, a slot to face the golden generation of French Football. Holland missed their first two penalties while Italy scored them both. It was Totti’s turn, with Italy leading 2-0, to take the penalty and he arrived at the spot. One of the greatest goalkeepers of Dutch football, Edwin Van Der Sar, was guarding the sticks. Will he solve the enigma he was facing? Totti stepped up with his run and he had his go on the goal. Van Der Sar had dived to his right, but the ball, which had been chipped lethargically, found the back of the net. Italy went on to win the shoot-out and they reached the final, which they lost to France in extra time. Known for his cucchiaio (the style of chipping the ball) goalscoring technique, Totti has treated the world with his delicious chips over many hapless goalies and the penalty was one such example. His passion for chipping the ball over the goalkeepers made him title his auto-biography Tutto Totti: Mo je faccio er cucchiaio meaning ‘I am going to chip him’ which was published later in the year 2006.

His joy that could never be matched.

Fabio Capello took over the managerial post at Roma in the year 1999. He built a wonderful team around Totti with the likes of Cafu, Vincent Candela, Emerson and other stars. Totti, to utilize his ethereal passing skills, began to play as a trequartista feeding the number 9, Vincenzo Montella, and Gabriel Batistuta. The ultimate prize for the tactical change was none other than the most coveted title in the Italian football, the 2000-01 Scudetto. That was Totti’s first silverware in his astounding career and Roma’s first Scudetto in eighteen years. Being a ‘Roman born and bred’, nothing means more to Totti than success with Roma and clinching the Scudetto is certainly the best moment of his Roma career, or rather his entire career. Being a fan favourite at the club, winning the Scudetto just strengthened the bondage between the Il Bimbo d’Oro and the fans.

After winning the World Cup 2006 with Italy, Totti was asked about the moment he would like the most to repeat. His answer said all about the love and passion he had for the club. The club he had supported since his childhood, the club he had played for since the start of his career, the club he will die being a fan of.

“The Scudetto with Roma, without hesitation. It’s a joy that can’t be matched.”

One moment that he would like to forget the most must be the marching orders he got in Italy’s second round loss to S.Korea in the 2002 World Cup. However, he got over it and in the next few seasons, Totti played as a second striker and scored goals consistently for Roma. However, they failed to win any major silverware. The 2003-04 season saw Totti score 20 goals as Roma came close to winning the Scudett, but yet again they finished as runner-ups to eventual winners Milan. But that didn’t stop Totti from winning the ‘Italian Footballer of the year’ for 2003 and 2004, thus winning the esteemed honor 4 times in 5 years. It really is a marvelous achievement. He had to do that when Italy had the likes of Del Piero, Maldini, Cannavaro and other stars getting away with the honour. The 2004-05 season was a pathetic one for Roma as Capello left them to join Juventus. Several managerial changes led Roma to finish at a rather crappy 8^th place. But Totti was free flowing with his goals as usual and finished the season with 15 goals, thus becoming Roma’s all time leading goal scorer in the process.

Totti with his thumb-sucking Celebration.

However, Totti will never forget the year 2005 in his life, not for footballing reasons though. He took his relationship with former show girl, Ilary Blasi, to the next level as the couple got married in June 2005. The wedding was aired live on Italian television and the proceeds were donated to charity. ‘Italian Beckhams’ they call them and even now their private life is often speculated in Italian magazines and media. Totti loved to display T-shirt messages after scoring goals. “6 Unica” (you are the one) and “6 Sempre Unica” (you are the still the one) were two of his famous messages which were actually dedicated to his dear wife. He showed his love for the game on the field and off the field he showed his affection for his wife and their beloved children. He even used to do thumb sucking celebrations after his goals when their children were born.

The Golden Foot 2010. Totti’s foot is indeed Golden..

The next few years saw Totti break numerous records and win countless individual honours. He finished as Serie A’s top scorer in 2006-07 season, a personal high for him as he scored 26 goals that season. The next season saw Totti score his 200^th goal for Roma in a 4-0 win over Torino. He also helped Roma to win two consecutive Coppa Italia titles in 2007 and 2008. The 2010-2011 season was a disastrous one for Roma as Ranieri’s tactics never managed to bear any fruit. However, Totti won the Golden Foot award for the year 2010, yet another feather to his glorious hat. In March 2011, Totti scored his 200^th Serie A goal and became only the sixth man to do so. But 2011-2012 was a poor season for Totti as he experienced a prolonged goal draught. Finally, in January 2012, Totti scored his much awaited goal and he celebrated it in style by flashing his “Scusate il Ritardo” (“Sorry for the delay”) T-shirt message to the fans. He was dropped to the bench by the then new manager Luis Enrique that season but he never made life difficult for the manager to gel in with the team. His patience was gifted with his return to the team and he helped Roma single-handedly for the rest of the season.

He said: “It’s normal not to be happy when you don’t play. But I always made myself available to help the team. And when I did play, I didn’t do too badly, and the coach started to take me more into consideration.”

Totti has been a regular starter this season under the new manager Zeman and has also been in a good run of form. He has notched up 6 goals in 18 appearances and is currently 4 goals short of becoming the all time second highest goal scorer in Serie A history. He knows the apt time for him to hang up his boots. However, breaking records won’t be as easy for him as it used to be. For now, he will continue to wear the colours of Roma with immense pride. He has had several possibilities to leave Roma, to leave to places that would have got him more medals, honours and fame. But he had never thought of leaving his hometown and he had always said, “I only want to wear one club’s shirt during my career.” He will always be at Rome and will always be a Roman.

Totti, when asked about his retirement plans, recently said: “As long as I feel in form and useful to the team, I’ll continue to wear the shirt with a lot of pride. When I no longer feel in the right condition, I’ll be the first to call it a day.”

He has always been an inspiration for many youngsters in Italy, especially in Rome. His love for the game made him start Francesco Totti Academy, a football training school, and the Totti Soccer School, which is a soccer camp for children with disabilities. They are governed by his brother Riccardo, who also serves as his agent. It will be no wonder if we see many youngsters following the footsteps of their hero in the future. But can anyone serve Roma as much as its King did? Well, it is a risky bet to invest in.

Fiorentina prodigy Steven Jovetic got inspired by Totti and said: “Can I become a symbol of Fiorentina? I dream of becoming the Viola’s version of Francesco Totti.” This shows how Totti has been a revelation for modern day youngsters to stick with their current clubs, big or small. Totti is undeniably a symbol for loyalty for the present and future generations.

When asked about his decision not to leave Roma and join a bigger club he simply replied, “Because I grew up playing for Roma and I want to die playing for Roma, because I have always been a Roma’s fan!”. Totti was born and brought up in Rome and he will never be without Rome in his life. Every time he pulls his shirt off after scoring a goal, the crowd will witness a tattoo of a Roman Gladiator which just adds to the feeling that Totti was born for Rome and Roma. The shirt of Roma is like a second skin to him and Totti has always said: “I was born in Rome, I’m a Roman and I’m a Romanista.” He is certainly the golden boy of Roma, a leader for Roma, a ‘legend’ if you ask me.