Totti the star on any stage
HE is one of the few remaining one-club icons in world football, and Francesco Totti still possesses all the class that has kept him at the top for two decades.
Totti led a star-studded Roma side in its first Melbourne training session at Lakeside Oval last night, and showed he still has the qualities that have won him a World Cup and a Serie A title with a deft touch and swagger to boot.
Two months shy of his 39th birthday, Totti remains the headline act of a Roma side that finished second (for the eighth time in his career) behind Juventus.
Joining him for the first time in a Roma outfit was Daniel De Silva, the brighteyed Aussie teenager hoping to succeed abroad.
It was the stuff of dreams last night as De Silva took his first steps to fulfilling his dreams.
With the Roma squad arriv- ing in Melbourne on Wednesday night De Silva, who joined the squad from WA having spent the past two seasons with Perth Glory, only met his new teammates yesterday.
Almost 21 years Totti’s junior, De Silva would have pinched himself when he ended his maiden session with the team playing on the same side as him in a 20-minute nine-versus-nine match.
Star attacker Gervinho and Brazil veteran Maicon were also on De Silva’s side, as half the players completed their first session with a reasonably intense game as their teammates completed a series of run-throughs.
Rudi Garcia’s side will have a final hitout today, before opening its International Champions Cup account tomorrow night against Real Madrid at the MCG.