Roma’s fond arrivederci to Totti after 25 seasons
Francesco Totti yesterday bid farewell to Roma after a remarkable 25-season career with his hometown club, contributing to a 3-2 win over Genoa that secured the Giallorossi a Champions League spot.
Almost 60,000 fans in the Stadio Olimpico gave Totti a standing ovation when he replaced Mohamed Salah in the 54th minute.
After the match, a huge No 10 jersey with Totti’s name on it was unveiled in the middle of the pitch. All of Roma’s players put on shirts featuring Totti’s No 10, while the electronic boards lining the pitch read “Grazie Capitano”.
Totti – still to reveal his next move – then walked around the stadium’s athletics track with his wife and three children, at one point stopping to cry on the shoulder of his wife.
Even the Genoa players wore special shirts which read: “25 seasons with only one shirt, 785 appearances, 307 goals, world champion in 2006. Francesco Totti is part of football history”.
Roma’s victory, which secured second place in Serie A, came after goals from Edin Dzeko, Daniele De Rossi and Diego Perotti. Genoa’s opener was scored by 16-year-old Pietro Pellegri – the first player born in 2001 to notch a goal in Italy’s top flight.
Elsewhere, it was cup final weekend. In Spain, Barcelona manager Luis Enrique signed off with a 3-1 win over Alaves in the Copa del Rey, with firsthalf goals from Lionel Messi, Neymar and Paco Alcacer. Borussia Dortmund won the German Cup by beating Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1, while PSG sealed a double when they beat Angers 1-0 in stoppage time to lift the Coupe de France.