Today’s money-grabbing sportsmen can learn lots from Totti’s loyalty to Roma

IN A world of broken trust and shattered promises, of restless rootlessness and rampant avarice, I was reminded of the joy and satisfaction engendered by good, old-fashioned loyalty when that great Roma striker Francesco Totti, at the age of 40, called it a day two Sundays ago.

In a climate where everything has a price, where allegiances shift wherever the stink of money is greater, Totti’s dedication to one club serves as an illustration of the basic goodness at the heart of us all. It’s in surrendering to the forces of ego and greed that everything falls apart.

In an era which demands instant gratification, which eschews the tenet of toil, Totti’s career for Roma, as the quintessential one-club man, is a towering example of how loyalty is remembered and rewarded, and how it leaves a legacy that will stand the test of time.

Totti arrived at Roma as a junior at the age of 12; he made his Italian Serie A debut at 16. Last week, when it was all over, the 40-year-old received a farewell that was a fitting, emotional and spectacular tribute for the 28 years of service to his beloved Roma. It’s an approach to life and football that’s obsolete in these grabbing, narcissistic times. But, in truth, Totti’s loyalty is also an attitude that inspires – it’s the stuff ALSO INSIDE Junior Boks win ugly, P19 'Zizou can stay for life', P17 Pundits tear into Lions , P19 of goose-bumps, and the copious tears shed at a sell-out Stadio Olimpico was a sign of admiration and respect for Totti the legend; the loyal, mesmerising footballer who will live on in the hearts of many.

He inspired Roma to a Serie A title during his tenure, and he won the World Cup with Italy. Blessed with glorious touch and vision, and such breath-taking audacity and elan in possession, Totti’s achievements will be celebrated for generations. During his many successful years with Roma, and as his star status grew, there were many top clubs lined up for his signature, but Totti never wavered in his commitment to the club he loves so much. Because loyalty like his has no price. It’s a commitment borne deep within the soul, especially in today’s rush-rush, quick-fix society, in which loyalty is easily, crassly sacrificed on the altar of money and materialism.

There are, of course, other examples of such devotion to a club. And, here, we need to mention two AC Milan greats, Paolo Maldini and Franco Baresi, the Manchester United duo, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, and Liverpool’s Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard.

An unsung footballer I always remember for such dedicated loyalty back in the day was Southampton’s Matt Le Tissier. A fantastic player, with skill and class unmatched at the time, he stayed at the unfashionable club despite being in demand by all the big English sides.

But it’s probably a popular anecdote about Scholes that epitomises this principled stance of utmost fidelity, and love and fervour for one club. It’s a story told by Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti of the occasion he tried to sign Scholes, with a blank cheque at the ready, but was told by the Man United star: “If you want me to play for you, then you have to buy this club”. Enough said…

And, just to equate it all to a more local perspective, and looking at what has happened to Santos in recent years, it all probably stems from this modern-day fickleness. Back, during the Cape club’s glory years, in both the FPL and the PSL, it was driven by loyalty, players who loved the club with a genuine passion; they had dedicated footballers who they could go to war with. Now, in the absence of such loyalty and commitment, Santos have floundered badly and fallen on really difficult times.