GIALLOROSSI YORKSHIRE BLOG
One of the most significant games of the Serie A calendar takes place today as Roma and Lazio face off in the first Derby Della Capitale of the season.
The two intense rivals go head to head for city bragging rights in one of the most heated derbies in world football. This Derby should be one of the most competitive in recent seasons, with both sides having assembled strong squads and looking to build momentum after recent results. Does the Derby come at a good time for Roma? There are arguments either way. Roma have won only one of their last six games, but that one win was just a few days ago, and was by a convincing 4-0 scoreline. Eusebio Di Francesco will be hoping his side can carry that form across into a more competitive environment, trying to get the edge over their long-term rivals. The coach has a virtually full strength squad to choose from, with Diego Perotti the only senior absentee. It means he has only made one or two changes to the lineup that beat Frosinone in midweek, with Edin Dzeko and Alessandro Florenzi coming into the team in place of Cengiz Ünder and Patrik Schick. Davide Santon keeps his place at right-back, meaning Florenzi will play in a more advanced position. The game kicks off at 2pm UK time.
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Every Friday on Giallorossi Yorkshire, a Roma fan selects their all-time dream five-a-side team made up of players from the club's history. Today's team has been chosen by Luis.
Name: Luis Nunez Location: Indianapolis, USA Team: Francesco Antonioli - No explanations needed. He won the big one. Radja Nainggolan - Never will I forgive Monchi for selling him. He was the soul of our team. Kostas Manolas - How can you not have him in your five-a-side: the flopping, the crying, the winner against Barça!!!! Antonio Cassano - No words can explain the level of talent this guy possessed. He made the people happy. Gabriel Batistuta - Give him the ball and he will drill it in the net. Do you want to be featured on Five-a-Side Friday in an upcoming edition? Submit your choices by filling out this form. After five games without a win, Roma's season finally got back on track on Wednesday night with a 4-0 thrashing of Frosinone. The Giallorossi took an early lead through Cengiz Under and never looked back, going three goals up before half-time. Aleksandar Kolarov added a fourth in the second half to mark Daniele De Rossi's 600th Roma appearance with a win. There was also a Roma debut, as young full-back Luca Pellegrini replaced the captain late on for his first senior appearance. Here's a look at all the goals. Goal one: Cengiz Under (1-0) Roma needed to make a statement after a run of poor results, and what better way to do so than with a goal in the opening few minutes. Cengiz Under got his first goal of the season in quite some style. Picking up the ball just inside the Frosinone half, the Turkish winger nutmegged one opponent before dribbling past another. Under always plays with a direct, forward momentum, and his approach paid dividends as he found an opportunity to shoot from outside the box. He let fly with his left foot, and despite a fingertip from goalkeeper Marco Sportiello, the ball ended up in the bottom corner. It was Cengiz's commitment to running at opponents which made the goal, and the way he struck the ball meant it couldn't be stopped by Sportiello. Goal two: Javier Pastore (2-0) Pastore scored his first goal of the season against Atalanta with a backheel, and he used the same technique again to double his tally for the campaign. Davide Santon got the ball on the right wing, looked up and saw Pastore hovering on the edge of the box. Santon caught the defence out with a square pass to his teammate, who had bypassed a midfielder with his run. When Pastore got in front of his marker in the box, Santon timed the pass well, and Pastore found the far corner with another backheel. He didn't even need to look where the goal was, using spatial awareness and instinct. He played the ball cleanly with the inside of his foot, and it ran into the bottom corner. Goal three: Stephan El Shaarawy (3-0) Restored to the starting lineup, El Shaarawy contributed with a goal to give Roma a virtually unassailable lead going into the break. As Cengiz once again drove directly at defenders and broke into the box, El Shaarawy ghosted in at the back post. As the Frosinone defensive line got caught all over the place, Cengiz was left with a simple square pass to play to his opposite winger. El Shaarawy's pace, movement and intelligence allowed him to get into a scoring position, leaving him with a tap in into an empty net - much like his other goal this season, against Chievo. El Shaarawy was calm and composed, brushing the ball with ease into the goal. Goal four: Aleksandar Kolarov (4-0) Having been brought on for his debut, Luca Pellegrini was keen to make the most of the opportunity. And that he did, as he claimed an assist for the final goal. Running down the left wing, he drifted into the box, using strength to hold off an opponent. Pellegrini was determined and wasn't going to get out-muscled easily. Once in the box, he spotted Kolarov, unmarked, in a central position. Kolarov had shown desire to get into the box at a late stage of the game, showing a professional attitude. Knowing he had space, he calmly controlled the ball on his right foot, before shooting with his preferred left, opening up his body to allow him to place the ball at the right angle. It smashed the underside of the crossbar and bounced over the line to wrap up a convincing win. Highlights from Serie A YouTube
The life of a footballer is fleeting. They are just one of thousands of players worldwide during the time they are active, so it takes something special to stand out from the crowd.
If they manage to do that, and become one of the best of their generation, they then have to compete with the vast number of legends to have written history when stepping onto a football pitch. There is a plethora of talent that a player finds themselves alongside. They can only do so much to make sure they leave a legacy better than the others. Will people still remember Francesco Totti in ten, twenty years' time? Will his goals have faded from memory after 50 years? Will people even know his name 100 years from now? Of course they'll remember. Because the legend lives on. In a world where it's so easy to be forgotten, Totti has given fans a story that will stand the test of time. He has done things that few others have - stayed loyal to one club, scored over 300 goals, won the World Cup... the list goes on. These achievements won't fade away. Stories will be passed from generation to generation, with more and more people intrigued by the legend of Francesco Totti. Football fans remember their clubs' heroes, even those players from long ago. A Roma fan born in the 1970s, like Totti, will have heard the tales of Amedeo Amadei's goalscoring exploits more than 20 years before. Those born in the 1980s will know about Pedro Manfredini and Giacomo Losi from the side that won the 1961 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, the only European trophy the club has ever lifted. And those born after Totti made his debut in 1993 still know how good Falcao, Agostino Di Bartolomei and Roberto Pruzzo were when Roma won their second Scudetto in 1983. And so it will be with Totti. Knowledge of this hero will form part of every Romanista's education in years to come. Youngsters will learn about his skill, leadership and loyalty, and all the records he broke. They will hear of the trophies he inspired his team to, and how he sacrificed a career where he could have achieved anything so that he could follow his heart and play for the club he loved. Videos of all his goals are available online, and the new generations will be able to utilise this luxury to see for themselves just how good he was. They won't have to imagine what he was like; they'll experience the volleys against Udinese and Sampdoria, the chip against Inter, the curled finish against Milan with the outside of his boot. Those same emotions that gripped Romanisti for a quarter of a century will take hold of a new generation. They'll get their own feelings of what it was like to witness Francesco Totti. Totti's story is without comparison. A story of how he grew up in the Eternal City of Rome, fascinated by football. How he played against boys twice his age and ran rings around them. How he idolised Roma's number 10 Giuseppe Giannini, and eventually got to play on the same pitch as him. A story of how he broke into the first team of the club he had supported his whole life at the age of just 16. How he scored before reaching adulthood. And a story of how he went on to lead his team as captain from the age of just 22. A story of how he became only the third Roma captain to lift the Serie A trophy. How he shone on the global stage by winning the World Cup. And how he scored goal, after goal, after goal. A story of how he overtook records set by legends such as Pruzzo and Losi. And he didn't just beat them - he smashed them. If anyone will ever emulate his achievements, they'll have an awful lot of work to do. No, Totti won't be matched by anyone. He had the answer for any question on the pitch, a leader and a hero. His story continued, chapter upon chapter, until he became a part of the very fabric of his club. Francesco Totti has left a legacy through his playing career that will continue to inspire and amaze. Just as he looked up to Giannini, in future years there will be a whole host of youngsters fascinated by his own ability, children dreaming of becoming the next Francesco Totti. They'll be captured by his story and dream about replicating his achievements. Generation to generation, he'll never be forgotten. The legend lives on. Francesco Totti is more than just a name. Those two words mean so much, to so many, all across the globe. Those words have impacted so many people's lives, directly or indirectly, and have become a part of the identity of countless others.
That name, that person, that legend, was also built up by several other factors. Influential people, locations and memories all had some part to play in the shaping of one of Italian football's greatest names. Lots of things made Totti who he is. These are the main factors which contributed to his legend, one for each letter of his name. F is for Foggia The team against whom he scored his first professional goal. At the age of just 17, Totti rewarded the faith shown in him by those at the club with the opening goal in a 1-1 draw. He struck the ball with his left foot, sending it into the back of the net with power and accuracy. It was a pattern that would become rather familiar, as he went on to score 306 more times for the club. R is for Rome The city of his birth, of the team he represented for his entire career, and the place he refused to leave. Totti's upbringing in Rome had a major impact on his life and the decisions he would make as a footballer. Born and raised in the heart of Rome, he came to love his city and those around him. The influence of Roman culture on his upbringing cannot be understated. A is for Azzurri Totti represented the Italian national team 58 times, an international career which culminated in winning the 2006 World Cup. He was an integral part of that world-conquering side, playing in all the matches and being named in the team of the tournament after providing more assists than anybody else. He scored a total of nine goals across his spell with the Azzurri, creating many more for his teammates. N is for Nike The maker of his boots for the majority of his career. Totti's affiliation with Nike began in 2002, and his symbiotic relationship with the brand continues to this day, beyond his retirement. The company famously produced a limited edition gold boot for him for the end of his career, to celebrate 25 years of him playing for Roma. Footwear fit for a king. C is for Capitano The word 'capitano' is just a regular Italian word, but when mentioned in the same breath as Roma, you immediately know who the subject is. Totti wore the Roma armband for nearly 20 years, having been appointed captain in 1998. Roma have had their fair share of iconic leaders over the years, but Totti once again took it to the next level, being Roma's symbol and flag bearer for most of his career. E is for Edwin van der Sar The goalkeeper that Totti famously beat from the penalty spot with a panenka in Euro 2000. The semi-final between Netherlands and Italy had finished 0-0 after extra time, with the finalist to be decided by a tense penalty shootout. On the fifth penalty, Dutch keeper Van der Sar was left helpless as Totti delicately chipped the ball down the middle of his goal. Three spot kicks later, Italy booked their place in the final. Even in a situation of intense pressure, Totti could pull off the spectacular. S is for Selfie When Totti scored the equaliser for Roma in the January 2015 Derby Della Capitale, his second goal of the game, he equalled Dino Da Costa's record of scoring 11 goals against Lazio. To mark the occasion, Totti took an infamous selfie in front of the Curva Sud, celebrating the goal with his own people. It became one of the most iconic images in recent sporting memory, and showed that he's even in touch with the modern era despite his increasing age. C is for Cristian Totti's eldest son, born 6th November 2005. Cristian is also a budding footballer, although his father is keen to divert attention and pressure away from him. Totti Jr. is playing in the Roma youth ranks, and many fans will be looking forward to the day he might possibly follow in his father's footsteps by representing the first team. Unlike his father, Cristian can already speak English, at the age of just 12. C is also for Chanel, Totti's first daughter, born in May 2007. O is for Olimpico The location of many of his finest moments. A lot of things changed throughout Totti's career - coaches, teammates, sponsors - but the Stadio Olimpico always remained his home. A stadium he frequented as a boy, he would later hear his own name chanted from its stands. This ground is where he belongs, a second home to him. T is for Torino Totti has some fond memories of playing against Torino. On 20th April 2016, he wrote one of the greatest chapters of his story against them. At a time when many people thought he was down and out, Totti proved he still had what it took to be a winner by turning this game on its head. Torino were winning 2-1 when Totti was brought on in the 86th minute. By the 89th minute, Roma were winning 3-2, and Totti had scored both goals. Even in the latest stages of his career, he was still a game-changer. Coincidentally, he scored against Torino again just a few months later in the new season, with what turned out to be his last ever goal in Serie A. O is for One Club Man Make no mistake, Francesco Totti had the ability to play for any club in world football. This is a man who was nominated for the Ballon D'Or five times while playing for a club who don't have the same reputation as the likes of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or Manchester United. Imagine the accolades he could have won if he had gone on to play elsewhere. Instead, Totti chose to stay loyal to one jersey, and in an era where most players chase money or trophies, he remained true to himself and his people for all his career. T is for Trequartista Totti played in a range of positions throughout his career, but arguably the one where he was most at home was as a trequartista, or attacking midfielder. It was in this number 10 role that he played in Roma's 2000-01 Serie A winning season, a position from which he could create goals and score them himself. He also played as a left winger or a false nine at different points in his career, but his football was at its most enjoyable level when he was playing in behind the striker, given the freedom to orchestrate play. T is for Ten The number he wore on his back for so many years. Since squad numbers became compulsory in Serie A, Roma have only had three number tens - Giuseppe Giannini, Daniel Fonseca, and Totti. Having worn the shirt for 20 of his 25 years as a Roma player, it's fair to say the number has become synonymous with his name. While the number hasn't been retired by the club - at Totti's own request - it's hard to imagine a player who could inherit it in the future and go on to do it justice in the way Totti did for all those years. I is for Ilary Totti married Ilary Blasi in June 2005. Something of a celebrity couple in Italy, their relationship has brought three children - Cristian, Chanel, and another 'I', Isabel, born 2016. Family has been the centre of Totti's life away from the pitch and Ilary has always been there to support him. Through the many highs and lows, Totti's family has always been by his side - one of many factors that have made him the man he is today. It's April 2016. Roma are losing 2-1 at home to Torino, with minutes remaining. A slip up now could be costly in the race for Champions League qualification, with Inter only four points behind with five games left. Enter Francesco Totti.
Totti had been used sparingly by Luciano Spalletti after the Italian coach returned to the club that January, often making brief appearances from the bench. But now, Spalletti was out of ideas. He turned to Roma's captain, bringing off defensive midfielder Seydou Keita. It was now or never. Straight away, Miralem Pjanic crossed the ball from a free kick. Kostas Manolas headed it on and Totti followed the flight of the ball at the back post. The veteran dived forward, sticking his right boot out to fire the ball past Daniele Padelli. 2-2. Three minutes later, Roma won a penalty, as Diego Perotti's cross was handled in the box. Perotti himself was known as a proven penalty taker, but there was only going to be one player taking this. Totti took a deep breath, before shooting to Padelli's right-hand side. Time stood still for a moment... then the ball crossed the line. This was the stuff of legend. Totti had created magic to turn the game on its head. Fans in the stadium were reduced to tears as their hero pulled them back from the brink yet again. Roma would win the game, and secure 3rd place by the end of the season. Totti was certainly no stranger to inspiring comebacks. His influence in turning a loss into a win against Torino was not an isolated event. Throughout his career, Totti made a habit of changing the outcome of a game on his own. Just over a year earlier, he had scored two second half goals to bring Roma from 2-0 down to snatch a 2-2 draw against rivals Lazio, writing his name into Derby Della Capitale folklore by becoming the rivalry's all-time leading scorer. This was a man who never knew when to give up, who was hungry to win no matter the circumstances. It happened all throughout his career. Rewind to his very first goal for Roma, in a Serie A match with Foggia, and the result would have been different without his input. Roma drew 1-1 that day, and would have lost without Totti's goal. Even as a teenager, he was changing games - a habit that he wouldn't grow out of right up until his retirement. Over the course of his career, Totti's goals contributed to a mammoth 170 points for Roma. That's the extreme level of his impact on the club. After his goal earned a point against Foggia that September day in 1994, not a season went by in which at least one of Totti's goals changed the outcome of a match. For those wondering where Roma would have been without Totti, a fact like this puts things into perspective. He was turning cup ties on their heads right from the beginning, too. In October 1994, Roma were trailing Genoa 2-0 after the first leg of their Coppa Italia Round of 16 clash. It was none other than Totti who scored the opener in the second leg, only a month after officially becoming an adult, setting Roma on their way to a 3-2 win and a change of fortunes in the tie. The young Totti was showing he could have an influence on games even in the early days of his career. A few years later, under Zeman in the 1997-98 season, Totti's goals meant Roma finished four points better off. Consequently, they finished 4th, in the UEFA Cup places. Had Totti not been involved, Roma would have finished down in 7th, missing out on qualification for the competition. Over time, his contributions grew and grew. The following season was his first as captain, and the armband wasn't a burden for him, as his goals accounted for eight points. For the second consecutive year, Roma achieved a European qualification which they wouldn't have done without their talisman, and fate repeated itself for a third successive season when Totti helped Roma to a 6th-place finish in the 1999-2000 Serie A. The next year would be a sweet one for everyone at Roma. For only the third time in their history, the Giallorossi won the Scudetto, in a title race that went down to the wire. Totti scored on the final day, a decisive 3-1 win over Parma, with his 13th goal of the league season. In the club's most crucial times, he stepped up to the plate and delivered. Without his strikes that season, Roma wouldn't even have finished in the top two. Having won the Serie A title, Roma achieved Champions League qualification for the first time in Totti's career. Fabio Capello's side were drawn in a group with Real Madrid, Lokomotiv Moscow and Anderlecht. They finished 2nd in the group, qualifying for the second group stage. Along the way, Totti scored a late winner against Lokomotiv to ensure the Giallorossi finished above their Russian counterparts. The world was watching, and Totti was delivering. There were low points in Totti's remarkable journey, though. The 2004-05 season, in which Roma went through four managers, was a particular struggle. Roma were three points away from being relegated after only winning one of their last 13 games. Totti's 12 league goals that year were worth five points to the team. Without him, it would have been Serie B for only the second time in the club's history - a harrowing thought of what a world without Totti might have been like for Roma. On the bright side that year, Roma reached the Coppa Italia final, and it was Totti's winner against Udinese in the Last Four that put them there in the first place. Sadly, neither Totti nor any of his teammates could score in the two-legged final, as Inter won 3-0 on aggregate. Better things would return, and in 2006-07, Totti had his best goalscoring season ever. He netted 32 times in all competitions to clinch the European Golden Shoe. It was his most effective season for Roma, as he won the side 21 points with his goals, a performance that meant Roma finished five places better off, in second. As Totti entered the final 10 years of his career, he continued to inspire comebacks. One notable example was in the penultimate game of the 2009-10 season, when Roma were losing 1-0 to Cagliari with just 15 minutes left. Totti managed to equalise in the 79th minute, before finding the winner from the penalty spot just four minutes later in a dramatic turnaround. Totti always kept his composure late on. Against Udinese in April 2011, Totti had put Roma 1-0 up before Antonio Di Natale equalised late on. Never settling for a draw, Totti found the back of the net with the outside of his boot in the fourth minute of stoppage time, restoring Roma's lead with a piece of pure striking instinct. As he approached 40 years of age, and coaches became more reluctant to use him, Totti continued to defy the odds and lead Roma to unlikely comebacks. In April 2016, he came on as a late substitute against Atalanta and scored an equaliser in a 3-3 draw just seven minutes after entering the action. Totti struck the ball low and hard into the corner to rescue a point for Roma. Three days later, he would inspire the miraculous comeback against Torino; this was the perfect precursor to that infamous day. Totti only scored three goals in his final season, but two of them were game-changers. Against Sampdoria, he showed nerves of steel to score a 93rd-minute winner from the penalty spot in a game that had been delayed for over an hour due to rain. His last ever goal for Roma came in February 2017, against Cesena in the Coppa Italia quarter-final. It was another late penalty, as he fired Roma into the next round in the 97th minute. The old legs still had it. Many successful footballers possess great levels of skill and technique. But it takes someone special to impose themselves on a game in the way Francesco Totti did. Few players can win a game single-handed, performing when the rest of their teammates are not, but Totti was one of those players. As such, he earned dozens of important results for Roma, part of the process that made him so dear to the fanbase. It really is frightening to imagine where Roma might have been if he hadn't stayed with the club for his whole career. Playing for the same club for 25 years is no mean feat. Totti's longevity at the top, with his beloved club, is something unlikely to be matched ever again.
Totti's time with Roma can be emphasised by bringing to light the many things that have changed since his debut. The world is a different place to what it was in March 1993, when the fresh-faced 16-year-old was brought on for his Roma debut against Brescia. Those in attendance that day couldn't have imagined what they were witnessing the beginning of. As Totti's career continued well into his 30s and early 40s, he began to play with and against some great players who hadn't even been born when he made his debut. In a 4-3-2-1 formation, here is a lineup of the best he shared a pitch with. GK: Gianluigi Donnarumma (DOB: 25/2/1999) Like Totti, Donnarumma broke into the first team at his club at the age of just 16. The Italian has been virtually ever-present for AC Milan since, being heralded as one of the most promising keepers in European football. Totti played against Donnarumma twice - initially as a substitute in a 1-1 draw in January 2016, and again in May that year in a 3-1 win for Roma, the final game of the season. RB: Marquinhos (DOB: 14/5/1994) Brazilian defender Marquinhos spent one season playing with Francesco Totti and Roma, 2012-13, in which his reputation grew considerably. After proving himself as a skilled and versatile defender, Marquinhos earned a move to PSG in summer 2013. CB: Raphael Varane (DOB: 25/4/1993) When Roma came up against Real Madrid in the 2016 Champions League Round of 16, Totti faced the club he had come close to joining ten years earlier. Lining up against him was French defender Varane, who played all 90 minutes of the first leg. Totti was given a standing ovation at the Bernabeu in the return fixture. Just as Totti had in 2006, Varane became a World Cup winner in 2018. CB: Mattia Caldara (DOB: 5/5/1994) Caldara came through the ranks at Atalanta, before moving to Juventus, and then AC Milan. It was during his time with Atalanta that he featured against Totti, just weeks before Roma's favourite son retired. Totti only made a brief cameo in the draw, but it's still enough for Caldara to be able to say he's played against the legend. LB: Emerson Palmieri (DOB: 3/8/1994) The other full-back in this team was also a teammate of Totti's, rather than an opponent. Emerson Palmieri came to Roma in August 2015, giving him two seasons in which he could share the pitch with Totti. His final appearance alongside Totti came against Chievo, the penultimate game of the 2016-17 season. A week later, Emerson was brought off injured in Totti's last game before the captain came on. CM: Leandro Paredes (DOB: 29/6/1994) Another creative player who lined up in the same team as Totti on several occasions, Paredes spent the 2014-15 and 2016-17 seasons with Roma. In between that time, he had a loan spell with Empoli, although Totti did not play against him in either of the games that season. A deep-lying playmaker, Paredes was sold to Zenit in 2017. CM: Franck Kessie (DOB: 19/12/1996) A player that could reportedly have joined Roma, but chose Milan instead, the dynamic Kessie played against Totti and Roma while with Atalanta in 2017. Like Caldara, he played the entire game in the April matchup, in which Totti came on as a late sub. CM: Mateo Kovacic (DOB: 6/5/1994) Kovacic seems to have been around for a long time, but is still only 24. Back in October 2013, when he was still a teenager and played for Inter, the Croatian midfielder came on as a substitute in a 3-0 Roma win. Totti scored two goals that day. In the return fixture, neither player featured, while they met again once the following season. AM: Federico Bernardeschi (DOB: 16/2/1994) Roma and Fiorentina met five times after Bernardeschi's debut for La Viola without him playing on the same pitch as Totti, but that changed on 4th March 2016, when Totti came off the bench in a 4-1 Roma win. Both players wore number 10, but only one could be on the winning side, and that was Totti. They met again the next season, both coming off the bench, but that time it was Bernardeschi who saw his side gain the three points, via a 1-0 scoreline. AM: Paulo Dybala (DOB: 15/11/1993) In terms of playing style, Dybala is probably the most similar player to Totti in this lineup. Also a creative number 10, the Argentinian attacker was lighting up Serie A as a youngster with Palermo in the 2012-13 and 2014-15 seasons. His path crossed with Totti's twice in that first season, but not in the second year. However, he played against Totti for another side when he met him as a Juventus player in May 2017, a 3-1 win for Roma in which both players came on as subs. ST: Andrea Belotti (DOB: 20/12/1993) Like Dybala, Belotti lined up against Totti for two different clubs, of which the first was also Palermo. In May 2015, with Dybala left on the bench, both Totti and Belotti scored on the final day of the season. The latter's goal came deep into stoppage time, sealing a 2-1 win for the Sicilian side. After moving to Torino, Belotti played against Totti three times - one of which was the infamous game in which Totti scored two late goals from the bench to turn the game around to a 3-2 Roma win. Francesco Totti was always destined to break records for Roma. His longevity and technical ability meant he would achieve several landmarks that others couldn't match.
Over the course of his lengthy career, he set many records that will stand the test of time, some unlikely to ever be broken. His records weren't only about Roma though; he set new highs for Italian football, and even European football as a whole. He managed to equal some landmarks, such as Roberto Baggio and Alberto Gilardino's tally of scoring against 38 different teams in Serie A, and Paolo Maldini's record of playing in the most consecutive Serie A seasons, 25. But often, Totti went above and beyond what others had achieved. Here are ten records he holds outright. Roma's all-time leading appearance maker Totti represented his only club a remarkable 786 times. He was captain for over half of those games in his extraordinary 25-season spell. The previous record was held by legendary defender Giacomo Losi, who represented the club 455 times. Totti overtook Losi in 2008, and went on to smash the record. Playing for nearly ten more years beyond breaking the record, Totti set a total that will be practically impossible to beat. Roma's all-time top scorer No player in history has scored even half the number of goals for Roma that Francesco Totti has. Roberto Pruzzo was a goal machine for Roma in the 1980s, but Totti eclipsed his achievements by a huge margin. In total, Totti scored 307 goals in all competitions for Roma - more than the club's two next highest scorers, Pruzzo and Amedeo Amadei, combined. It's another record of his that will surely stand the test of time. Roma's all-time top scorer in UEFA competitions Totti certainly turned up for the big occasions. Despite Roma's fairly inconsistent record in Europe over the course of his career, Totti was always among the goals. He scored 38 goals for the club across the Champions League and UEFA Cup/Europa League, including a goal against Real Madrid on his UCL debut in 2001, showing he could handle the pressure against the biggest opponents. Most goals for a single Serie A club Only Silvio Piola scored more goals in Serie A than Totti. However, the crucial difference is that Piola scored for several clubs, whereas all of Totti's 250 league goals came in a Roma shirt. It's a figure that goes to show just how much Totti gave to the colours he loved. Closest to Totti in the list of players to score the most Serie A goals for one club is ex-Roma striker Gunnar Nordahl, who notched 210 times for AC Milan. Totti beat Nordahl's record in 2012, and set the bar even higher. Most consecutive seasons with a goal in Serie A When Totti scored against Sampdoria towards the start of the 2016-17 season, his last campaign as a player, it meant he had scored at least one goal in the last 23 consecutive seasons. His first goal had come in September 1994, and after that, he never stopped finding the back of the net. The penalty against Sampdoria was his penultimate Serie A goal, but he made sure to have an impact right until his final few weeks on the pitch. Youngest club captain of a Serie A side When Aldair vacated the Roma captaincy in 1997, there was only really one candidate. Totti only had six seasons of Serie A experience under his belt, but he was the man to lead the side forward on the pitch, the epitome of everything it meant to be a Romanista. At the age of 22, Totti became the youngest ever club captain of a Serie A side, and kept hold of the armband right until his retirement nearly 20 years later. Most penalties scored in Serie A Totti didn't just break records for Roma, but for Italian football too. He is the record holder of the most penalties scored in Serie A - and he achieved it in a dramatic way, too. Roma were playing Torino on 20th April 2016, and were losing when the veteran was brought on. Within five minutes he turned the game on its head. He had already bagged the equaliser after latching onto a free kick, before he remarkably won the game with a penalty. It was the 69th spot kick he had scored in Serie A, overtaking Roberto Baggio's record of 68. Totti scored two more penalties before the end of his career to set the bar at 71. All-time leading scorer in Serie A Rome derbies This is another prime example of Totti choosing the perfect occasion to break a record. Roma were trailing 2-0 in the Derby against Lazio at half time. They needed two goals to salvage something from the game, and coincidentally, Totti also needed two goals to equal Dino Da Costa's record of being the all-time leading scorer in the Derby Della Capitale. Those goals would also make Totti the outright top scorer in Serie A derbies, taking his tally to 11. The script was written, and Totti delivered. After pulling one back early in the second half, Totti also clinched an equaliser, diving for the ball at the backpost and volleying it across goal and into the back of the net. He grabbed a mobile phone, turned his back to the Curva Sud, and took the most iconic selfie in football history. Oldest scorer in Champions League Totti was still contributing so much in the twilight of his career, that he actually broke this record twice. He initially broke it in a group stage match against Manchester City in 2014, chipping Joe Hart to equalise in a 1-1 draw, three days after he had turned 38. Then, three weeks later, he extended the record in a win over CSKA Moscow. His free kick meant he had scored in the Champions League aged 38 years and 59 days. Oldest Roma player in Serie A Serie A is a league renowned for the longevity of its players, with it not uncommon for players to play late into their thirties. Totti went beyond that. When he stepped onto the turf for the final time against Genoa on 28th May 2017, he wrote his name in the record books as Roma's oldest ever player. He was 40 years, eight months and one day old when he played for his beloved team for one last time. Once again, this was another record he had broken several times. The next oldest Roma player in the league was Morgan De Sanctis, whose final game came at the age of 38 years, eight months and three days. Totti eclipsed him by two whole years. Many of these records may never be broken. Totti's influence and contribution went far beyond what the average player gives. When you consider how many more goals he scored than Pruzzo, or how many more times he played for the club than Daniele De Rossi or Giacomo Losi, two long-serving one-club men, it makes you realise there will probably never be another player like Totti. A player who prided himself on high standards, and while he may not have won as many trophies as he deserved to, he certainly has the figures to prove how good he was. For someone who only played for one club across his entire career, Totti certainly built up an impressive array of admirers.
While many neutrals from different parts of the world were blind to just how good he was, dozens of famous footballing faces noticed his talent. Teammates, opponents, or even legends who had played in a different era; it seems like anyone who was anyone in football had something positive to say about Totti. Here are ten quotes from football legends on their appreciation of Totti. 1. "Francesco Totti is the king of Rome. He is and will be the best player I ever saw!" Diego Maradona 2. "I liked Francesco straight away. Not only as a player but also as a person. He is a phenomenon, a rare player. It seems as if when he was born, the heavenly father said: 'Go down there and play football and that's it.' And he did what he was prescribed to do." Luigi Riva 3. "Totti has the technique of a South American and deserved to win a few more trophies with his Roma team. In fact, he also deserved to win the Ballon d’Or. He is an extraordinary player. When he started, nobody thought he would go on to become so great. In Italy it’s not easy for kids to come up through the youth academy and impose themselves on the first team, but he managed it and became the symbol of Roma. Totti manages to think with his feet and would’ve done great things with my Roma side in 1982-83." Paulo Roberto Falcao 4. "Totti is always strong, and as a Roman, fights for the team. He makes you feel great, and was a fantastic teammate. He has done a lot of brilliant things for Roma and for the Italian national team. I have always rooted for him." Cafu 5. "I have a lot of respect for Totti. When you talk about Roma, you think about Francesco Totti, and when you talk about Francesco Totti, you think about Roma. I’ve had to battle so many times against him. I have maximum respect for him." Thierry Henry 6. "He is the best player with whom I have ever worked. He could have won several Ballons d'Or had he left Roma for Barcelona or Manchester United. I have also worked with [Frank] Lampard and [Alessandro] Del Piero, but Francesco is the better player." Claudio Ranieri 7. "Who are the best five Italian players? Totti, Totti, Totti, Totti, Totti." Zdenek Zeman 8. "Francesco is not only a formidable player – a "fuoriclasse" as you say in Italy – but also a man with great qualities outside of football. For me he is one of the very best players in the history of the sport." Rudi Garcia 9. "Every player has some genius, but there's only one Van Gogh, and there is nobody like Totti." Giovanni Trapattoni 10. "Totti is the best player in the world." Pele It's the 21st September, 2016. Roma are playing against Crotone, and Francesco Totti has been handed a rare start by Luciano Spalletti, just under a week before his 40th birthday.
Leading the line against the Serie A newcomers is Edin Dzeko, who has already scored two goals in the early stages of the league season. The powerful striker is about to add a third. Roma have taken a two-goal lead into half-time, thanks to strikes from Stephan El Shaarawy and Mohamed Salah. The team have, as expected, enjoyed most of the possession and chances, and look all set to bounce back to winning ways, three days after their loss to Fiorentina. However, nothing is certain in football, so a good second half performance is essential. Three minutes into the second half, and Roma have started comfortably. They have possession deep in their own half, with Crotone sitting back. Leandro Paredes receives the ball just outside his own penalty area and looks up to see his captain, Totti. Il Capitano is stood in his own half, adjacent to the centre circle. Paredes feeds him the ball, and Totti goes on to show that his football brain is still performing at its maximum level. Without even looking, Totti curls the ball around his shoulder first time, playing a long aerial ball forward. His 50-yard pass falls straight into the path of Dzeko. The Crotone keeper rushes off his goalline, but there's nothing he can do as Dzeko strokes it over his head and into the back of the net. What a combination. Within five seconds of Totti receiving the ball in his own half, Roma had scored their third of the game. Totti didn't need to see where Dzeko was; he knew his teammate's position by instinct. He only needed one touch to play the number nine in with a magnificent first time pass. As the saying goes, talent hits a target no-one else can hit, but genius hits a target no-one else can see. Francesco Totti, at the age of 39, was still a genius. Totti made the goal out of nothing. In an age where build up play is everything and teams are scared to take risks, Roma's loyal captain bucked the trend with a sensational piece of creativity. He had a telepathic understanding of where Dzeko was, and played a pass that only a few others in world football have the ability to. Totti made the goal, but nothing should be taken away from Dzeko's finish either. He showed the calmness and composure that would later come to define him. But let's not forget that this was only the fifth game of the season. In the previous campaign, Dzeko had wasted a lot of chances, ultimately being dubbed a flop. That season, he turned the tables and went on to break all sorts of records, but at that point, he still hadn't built up a rhythm. This was the watershed moment, where he became a lethal finisher once again. Totti and Dzeko, two phenomenal footballers, had combined to create a beautiful goal. Number nine and number 10, both experienced professionals who have contributed to hundreds of goals in their careers. What a partnership this could be. In fact, this wasn't the first time they had linked up to create a goal. The goal against Crotone was almost a carbon copy of a goal that Dzeko had scored in pre-season, just two months earlier, against Terek Grozny. Again, Totti drifted back towards the half way line to pick up the ball, and again, he whipped it around the corner first time. Again, the ball landed right at Dzeko's feet, and again a goal was the outcome. The ex-Manchester City man used a different type of finish, sidefooting it past the keeper, and Totti's pass was a little shorter than the one he would play against Crotone, but other than that, it was virtually the same goal. And so, the Totti-Dzeko combination had its explanation. This intelligent partnership had come from the experience of playing together and understanding each other's movement. Crucially, it was about having two players with extraordinary skill levels to make such moves effective. Totti and Dzeko could create a lot of goals for Roma. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see as much of that partnership that season as some would've liked. While Dzeko went on to score a massive 39 goals that season, Totti didn't start another game in Serie A. Consequently, his assist for Dzeko in the Crotone game was the last time he would ever set up his Bosnian teammate. Playing time restricted, Totti was robbed of the opportunity of creating more goals in his final season as a professional footballer. Even though Dzeko didn't struggle without Totti, the combination could still have been used more often. In some tight games that season, Roma struggled to break defences down, but Spalletti was still reluctant to use Totti. Totti who, in that same season, had created a goal out of nothing within five seconds. He understood Dzeko perfectly, and the link-up between the pair could have seen Roma turn some draws into wins, or losses into draws - or even second place into first place. Totti was still capable of making goals for Roma, but ultimately, Spalletti decided not to take advantage of this. Roma were just four points away from the Scudetto that year, and who knows whether or not more involvement of Totti could have changed the scenario to one where Roma won the title. Likewise, after Totti's retirement, goals have sometimes been hard to come by. Meanwhile, someone who could still create them with ease is watching in the stands as a director. Francesco Totti and Edin Dzeko are two forwards who have played at the very top level. They have both made their own pieces of history for this club, and have done things many others can only dream of. It's just a shame that their paths didn't cross sooner, and we didn't get to enjoy more of their combinations for Roma. |
samuel bannister
Founder and editor of Giallorossi Yorkshire, who is also a columnist for Roma's official website about the women's team. Categories
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