A true Roman legend: Francesco Totti

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.