King of Rome steps down
Rome, May 29: Even Daniele De Rossi, one of the hardest men in football, was reduced to tears as AS Roma talisman Francesco Totti brought down the curtain on a remarkable 25 years at his only professional club on Sunday.
A capacity crowd stayed behind for more than an hour after the end of the win over Genoa to bid farewell to a hugely gifted player who, many believed, could have won much more had he moved elsewhere but remained loyal to Roma throughout.
Totti, 40, came on in the 54th minute of the Serie A match and helped his team to a 3-2 win which guaranteed a secondplace finish and an automatic place in the Champions League group stage next season.
After that, it was time for the goodbyes.
Totti, who confirmed only on Thursday that the game would be his last for the club, walked around the stadium and stood in front of the Curva Sud, tears welling in his eyes, for several minutes before kicking an autographed ball high into the stands.
His team-mates lined up to congratulate him before he addressed the stadium. “I wanted to write a poem or a song but I’m not capable of that,” he said.
“It’s finally over. The moment which I hoped would never arrive is here. I’m taking off the shirt for the last time, although I’m not ready to do it, and maybe never will be.
“It’s not easy to turn out the light. In fact, I’m afraid — it’s not like taking a penalty”, he said, at which point almost everyone in the stadium appeared to be in tears.
In all he made 786 appearances, scoring 307 goals including 250 in Serie A — the secondhighest total by a single player after Silvio Piola between 1929 and 1954.
Totti said earlier this year that he was nearly lured to Real Madrid by the prospect of playing with Brazilian forward Ronaldo but resisted the temptation.
Even so, he hinted in his statement on Thursday that he could still continue playing elsewhere.
De Rossi, who himself has been at the club since 2001, was among those who could not hide their emotions.
“There are people who are not normal. There are careers that are not normal. I saw a banner that said the real battle against modern football is to wear the same jersey for 25 years,” he said.
“After 16 years, I will go into the dressing-room and he won’t be sitting in the same place. That won’t be easy.”
Results: Cagliari 2 (Joao Pedro 17, Pisacane 90+3) AC Milan 1 (Lapadula 72-pen); Roma 3 (Dzeko 10, De Rossi 74, Perotti 90) Genoa 2 (Pellegri 3, Lazovic 79); Sampdoria 2 (Quagliarella 50, Alvarez 90) Napoli 4 (Mertens 36, Insigne 42, Hamsik 49, Callejon 65); Crotone 3 (Nalini 14, 60, Falcinelli 22) Lazio 1 (Immobile 26-pen); Fiorentina 2 (Saponara 66, Vecino 85) Pescara 2 (Caprari 15, Bahebeck 65); Inter Milan 5 (Eder 5, 54, Perisic 18, Brozovic 36, Angella 78-og) Udinese 2 (Balic 76, Zapata 90+2); Palermo 2 (Nestorovski 76, Bruno Henrique 84) Empoli 1 (Krunic 87); Torino 5 (Boye 6, Baselli 22, De Silvestri 45+1, Falqué 57, Belotti 79) Sassuolo 3 (Defrel 14, 40, 82-pen).