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On 28th March, 1993, little did the then-AS Roma boss Vujadin Boškov know that the precocious 16-year old that he was handing his debut to in a league match against Brescia would go on to become the legend that is Francesco Totti. While that season would be Boškov’s first and last season in charge of Roma, little did he know that the teenage sensation he had unleashed upon the world would go on to rewrite records and become one of the most influential players of his generation!
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With nicknames like Il Bimbo d’Oro (The Golden Boy) and Il Re di Roma (The King of Rome), it comes as no surprise that Totti is regarded as the greatest player Roma has ever produced, and also one of the greatest in Italian football. Having completed an amazing 20 years in the Serie A last month, he is among the rare breed of teenage sensations who have not only lived up to their potential but have also gone beyond it. He has become one of those special players who come along once every decade, a man who has inspired numerous generations of footballers to come.
Many outside of Italy wouldn’t have really known or seen much of Totti and his talents, one of the reasons why he is probably destined to be among those few great players every generation who never really get the plaudits they deserve. In the last 2 decades, we’ve had Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Ronaldo, Zidane, Figo, Cristiano Ronaldo and now Messi labelled the “best footballer in the world” during various periods. Why? Because not only were they great exponents of the game with great technique and ability, but they all also won numerous trophies, both domestically and in Europe.
Totti never reached the above list because outside Italy, no one really saw what he was truly capable of. And to the rest of the world, the likes of Del Piero, Nedved, Pirlo, Buffon, Cannavaro, Maldini and Nesta became synonymous with Italy’s best, as they won trophies galore with their respective clubs, while Totti sadly remained a name that usually slipped through the cracks.
“Every player has some genius, but there’s only one Van Gogh, and there is nobody like Totti. Totti can transform a side. There are very few players who have that capability. He reminds me of Eusébio, as quick mentally as he is physically. If I was still playing football today, then I would have real problems marking Totti, a bit like I struggled to control Pelé in the past. He has those same characteristics.”
- Giovanni Trapattoni
Totti’s versatility was what made him such a standout, because he went against the norm of what being a versatile player usually meant. He was capable of playing in a variety of attacking roles, while performing exceptionally well in every single one of them. He was a jack of all trades, and the master of them all too. Having played under 14 different managers so far in his career at Roma, Totti was employed differently by each of them, ranging from a winger to a center-forward, a Trequartista to a False 9 and many more, yet he adjusted to each of those roles with consummate ease, something only a truly special player would be capable of doing.
He even helped revolutionize the role of the traditional centre-forward while playing under Luciano Spalletti. Totti popularized the False 9, a role we’re all too familiar with now, as he scored 26 goals in 2006-07 Serie A season. 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.
Loyalty was another one of Totti’s strong suits. A devout Giallorossi fan, his loyalty to the club made him special.
He was once asked, “Francesco, why don’t you play for another team for two or three years in order to win something more?” His reply clearly showed the respect and love he had for his club:
“Because I grew up playing for Roma and I want to die playing for Roma, because I have always been a Roma’s fan!“
While Roma were a good team, they never really had the players or the resources to dominate either in Italy or in Europe. So it’s not surprising that the only major trophies that adorn Totti’s 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.
His lack of success with Roma is why we rarely hear Totti’s name mentioned along the likes of Messi, Ronaldo, Zidane, etc. I guess it’s time we have a change of mindset about what defines a world class player, because if the likes of Totti don’t figure on such lists due to the lack of trophies, there is clearly something wrong in how we judge a footballer’s ability.
For 20 years, Totti defined Italian football. He knew just how good he was and never hid that under false modesty. He was not one to shy away from letting people know either. He always knew that had he decided to leave Roma, he’d have had no shortage of suitors warring for his signature, and it’s not hard to imagine how many more trophies and accolades he would have won at a bigger club.
“Totti is better than Baggio and Del Piero, even better than me. He is the best Italian player of the last 20 years, I finally choose him. He can do everything and do it well. Assists and goals, power and delicacies techniques. Extraordinary.”
- Gianni Rivera
Another example of just how exceptional a talent he is is that he has scored 227 goals in the Serie A, surpassing Italy’s revered Swedish goal machine, Gunnar Nordahl’s mark of 225 goals. Now No. 2 on the list of all-time goalscorers, Totti’s next milestone would be Silvio Piola’s mark of 274 goals, something that just might be out of his reach now. But still, his record of having scored 227 goals with 123 assists in 530 league appearances is tribute to just how great a forward he is, for he scored and created so many goals in a league that has always seen teams employ a more defensive style of play.
With everything in footballing now revolving around money, the value of loyalty in the game has been diluted, as players are now more than ready to throw it all away, to run after money or glory. In this mad hunt for money and glory, most players seem to forget that there’s only so much happiness money and fame can bring. Being famous and popular is so very different from being considered an idol and legend by millions of fans, for the former can be lost in an instant but the latter will remain forever. This is exactly why the likes of Totti, Giggs, Scholes, Gerrard and other one-club players of their generation will always be remembered by the fans, for they chose their club over the rest.
Francesco Totti will forever be the Il Gladiatore (The Gladiator) of Rome, with the Stadio Olimpico the coliseum where he stood tall, battling for his club week in, week out for over 2 decades. For it was the club he loved, breathed and lived, doing so for every game for over 2 decades. This kind of loyalty is something money and trophies can never buy, and is also why, for me at least, he is one of the greatest footballers of all time! And hopefully as the banner at the Stadio Olimpico says:
“And it doesn’t finish here. The best is yet to come.”
