Francesco Totti
(; born 27 September 1976) is an Italian former professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who played solely for
Roma
Roma or ROMA may refer to:
Places Australia
* Roma, Queensland, a town
** Roma Airport
** Roma Courthouse
** Electoral district of Roma, defunct
** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council
* Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
and the
Italy national team. He is often referred to as ''Er Bimbo de Oro'' (The Golden Boy), ''L'Ottavo Re di Roma'' (The Eighth King of Rome), ''Er Pupone'' (The Big Baby), and ''Il Capitano'' (The Captain) by the Italian sports media. A creative offensive
playmaker
In association football, a playmaker is a player who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing passing moves which lead to goals, through their vision, technique, ball control, creativity ...
who could play as an
attacking midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
and as a
forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
* Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Sm ...
(
second striker
Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...
, lone
striker, or
winger), renowned for his vision, technique, and goalscoring ability, Totti is considered to be one of the best players of his generation.
Totti
spent his entire career at Roma, winning a
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Copp ...
title, two
Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity ...
titles, and two
Supercoppa Italiana
The Supercoppa Italiana ( en, Italian Super Cup) is an annual football match contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season. If the same team wins both the Serie A and Coppa Italia titles in the previous seas ...
titles. He is the
second-highest scorer of all time in Italian league history with 250 goals, and is the
sixth-highest scoring Italian in all competitions with 316 goals.
Totti is the
top goalscorer and the
most capped player in Roma's history, holds the record for the most goals scored in Serie A while playing for a single club, and also holds the record for the youngest club captain in the history of Serie A. In November 2014, Totti extended his record as the oldest goalscorer in
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
history, aged 38 years and 59 days.
A
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...
winner and
UEFA Euro 2000
The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe.
The finals tournament wa ...
finalist with
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, Totti was selected in the All-Star team for both tournaments; he also represented his country at the
2002 World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea ...
and
Euro 2004
The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football competition contested by the List of men's national associatio ...
. In 2007, Totti announced his international retirement due to recurring physical problems
and in order to focus solely on club play with Roma.
Totti won a record eleven
Oscar del Calcio
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People
* Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms.
* Oscar (Irish mythology), ...
awards from the
Italian Footballers' Association
The Italian Footballers' Association (Italian: ''Associazione Italiana Calciatori''), also referred to by the acronym AIC, is the association for footballers in Italy. It was established in 1968 and currently has 4,500 members, of which 2,500 ar ...
: five
Serie A Italian Footballer of the Year
The AIC Serie A Italian Footballer of the Year ( it, Migliore calciatore italiano AIC) was a yearly award organized by the Italian Footballers' Association (AIC) given to the Italian footballer who was considered to have performed the best over ...
awards, two
Serie A Footballer of the Year
Series may refer to:
People with the name
* Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series
* George Series (1920–1995), English physicist
Arts, entertainment, and media
Music
* Series, the ordered sets used i ...
awards, two Serie A Goal of the Year awards, one Serie A Goalscorer of the Year award, and one
Serie A Young Footballer of the Year
The AIC Serie A Young Footballer of the Year ( it, Migliore calciatore giovane AIC) was a yearly award organized by the Italian Footballers' Association (AIC) given to the under-24 footballer who was considered to have performed the best over the ...
award. He also won the 2007
European Golden Shoe
The European Golden Shoe, also known as European Golden Boot, is an award that is presented each season to the leading goalscorer in league matches from the top division of a European national league. The trophy is a sculpture of a football bo ...
and the 2010
Golden Foot
The Golden Foot award is an international football award, given to players who stand out for their athletic achievements (both as individuals and team players) and for their personality. The award is only given to active players of at least 28 year ...
. Totti was selected in the
European Sports Media team of the season three times. In 2004, he was named in the
FIFA 100
The FIFA 100 is a list of Brazilian footballer Pelé's choice of the "greatest living footballers". Unveiled on 4 March 2004 at a gala ceremony in London, England, the FIFA 100 marked part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the fo ...
, a list of the world's greatest living players as selected by
Pelé
Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FI ...
, as part of
FIFA's centenary celebrations. In 2011, Totti was recognised by
IFFHS
The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for s ...
as the most popular footballer in Europe. In 2015, ''
France Football
''France Football'' is a French weekly magazine containing football news from all over the world. It is considered to be one of the most reputable sports publications in Europe, mostly because of its photographic reports, in-depth and exclusi ...
'' rated him as one of the ten-best footballers in the world who are over age 36. Following his retirement in 2017, Totti was awarded the
Player's Career Award and the
UEFA President's Award The UEFA President's Award recognises outstanding achievements, professional excellence and exemplary personal qualities. The accolade, first introduced by UEFA in 1998, is usually awarded annually to a football personality who is deemed to have ad ...
.
Early life

Totti was born in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus ( legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
to parents Lorenzo and Fiorella Totti. He was raised in the
Porta Metronia
Porta Metronia is a gate in the third-century Aurelian Walls of Rome, Italy. The gate is located in the southern section of the wall between Porta San Giovanni to the east and Porta Latina to the south.
During the tenth century, beyond this g ...
neighbourhood.
As a youngster he idolised ex-Roma captain
Giuseppe Giannini
Giuseppe Giannini (; born 20 August 1964) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
He spent the majority of his 15-year playing career with A.S. Roma, and was regarded by supporters as a club symbol, before his s ...
, and regularly played football with older boys.
Totti began to play youth team football in 1984, with
Fortitudo
Fortitudo means courage or fortitude. It may also refer to:
* Fortitudo (planet), also known Xi Aquilae b
* Fortitudo-Pro Roma S.G.S., a sports society in Rome, formerly named "Fortitudo"
* Cosenza Calcio 1914, soccer team in Cosenza formerly name ...
, later joining
Trastevere
Trastevere () is the 13th ''rione'' of Rome: it is identified by the initials R. XIII and it is located within Municipio I. Its name comes from Latin ''trans Tiberim'', literally 'beyond the Tiber'.
Its coat of arms depicts a golden head of a lio ...
and
Lodigiani. After he came to the attention of scouts, his mother refused a lucrative offer from
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4  ...
in order to keep him in his home town. Although his youth club initially had come to an agreement to sell Totti to the
Lazio youth side, one of
Roma's youth coaches, Gildo Giannini, persuaded his parents to let him join the
Roma youth squad in 1989.
Club career
Roma
1992–1997: Early seasons
After three years in the youth team, Totti made his first appearance for
Roma
Roma or ROMA may refer to:
Places Australia
* Roma, Queensland, a town
** Roma Airport
** Roma Courthouse
** Electoral district of Roma, defunct
** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council
* Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
's senior side in
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Copp ...
at the age of 16, when coach
Vujadin Boškov
Vujadin Boškov ( sr-cyr, Вујадин Бошков, ; 16 May 1931 – 27 April 2014) was a Serbian footballer and manager.
A midfielder, he played 57 matches for the Yugoslav national team. He experienced his greatest success as a coach in ...
called him up in the 2–0 away victory against
Brescia
Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Ise ...
on 28 March
1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
. In the following season under
Carlo Mazzone
Carlo "Carletto" Mazzone (born 19 March 1937 in Rome) is an Italian retired professional association footballer and manager, who played as a centre-back.
Playing career
Mazzone played several seasons for A.S. Roma, as well as for SPAL and Ascoli ...
, Totti began to play more regularly as a second striker,
and scored his first goal on 4 September
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson Ma ...
in a 1–1 draw against
Foggia
Foggia (, , ; nap, label= Foggiano, Fògge ) is a city and former ''comune'' of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. In 2013, its population was 153,143. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere, also know ...
.
By 1995, Totti had become a regular in Roma's starting line-up and scored 16 goals during the next three seasons, while creating several more, as his talent was praised by his manager Mazzone.
Following Mazzone's sacking in the summer of 1996 and the departure of Giannini, Totti was expected to play a more prominent role, after several promising seasons; however, the team underperformed during the
1996–97 season, while Totti struggled to gain playing time under new manager
Carlos Bianchi
Carlos Arcesio Bianchi (born 26 April 1949), nicknamed ''El Virrey'' (''The Viceroy''), is an Argentine former football player and manager. A prolific goalscorer, although he had a bright career as a forward in Argentina and France, Bianchi is ...
, and was even set to leave for
Sampdoria
Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa.
The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s ...
on loan in January 1997. Roma's chairman at the time however,
Franco Sensi
Francesco Sensi, Cavaliere del lavoro (29 July 1926 – 17 August 2008) was an Italian oil tycoon. He was born in Rome, where he lived throughout his entire life, though he also served time as mayor of Visso, the city where his family came fro ...
, impeded the transfer, leading to further tensions with the manager, who eventually parted ways with the club.
1997–1999: Roma's number 10 and captain
Totti's years under
Zdeněk Zeman
Zdeněk Zeman (; born 12 May 1947) is a Czech-Italian football coach.
Known for his exciting, offensive footballing tactics and use of the 4–3–3 formation, Zeman has managed numerous teams over the years, mostly in Italian football. He ha ...
represented a period of both physical and mental maturation as a player. From a technical and tactical standpoint, he proved to be compatible on the left wing in the rigid formations of the Bohemian coach, as his new role gave him more space to take on defenders in one on one situations, and cut into the centre to shoot on goal with his stronger foot;
he also became physically more powerful, fit, hard-working, and complete.
He displayed a greater responsibility for the team, and was presented with the
number 10 jersey.
His first season under Zeman started well, with Totti taking advantage of a
4–3–3 formation and making his breakthrough with the club. He finished the league season reaching double figures in goals scored for the first time in his career;
including a goal in the club's 2–0 away win against
Napoli
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
on 22 February 1998, Totti scored 13 goals in Serie A in total, and contributed to Roma's fourth place league finish that year.
Although he was not called up for the
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the football world championship for men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for th ...
by Italy manager
Cesare Maldini
Cesare Maldini (; 5 February 1932 – 3 April 2016) was an Italian professional football manager and player who played as a defender.
Father to Paolo Maldini and grandfather to Daniel Maldini, Cesare began his career with Italian side Tries ...
, his consistent performances, creativity and goalscoring throughout the course of the previous Serie A season saw him being awarded the
Guerin d'Oro
The Guerin d'Oro ''(Golden Guerin)'' was an annual award which was handed out by the Italian magazine ''Guerin Sportivo'' to the best Serie A football player.
The first winner of the award was Claudio Sala, while the last was Carlos Tevez.
Hist ...
for the
1997–98 season, given to him for having achieved the highest average rating of any Serie A player.
The following season, he began to gain recognition as a club symbol and as a leader,
and on 31 October 1998, Totti became the official team captain, and the youngest Serie A club captain ever at the age of 22, inheriting the armband from
Aldair
Aldair Nascimento dos Santos (; born 30 November 1965), known simply as Aldair, is a Brazilian retired footballer who played as a defender, and who was part of the Brazil national team that won the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
Considered as one of ...
.
On 29 November 1998, Totti scored the equalising goal in a 3–3 draw against cross-city rivals
Lazio
it, Laziale
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
; this was his first ever goal in the
Rome Derby
The Derby della Capitale ( en, Derby of the capital city), also known as Derby Capitolino and Derby del Cupolone, as well as The Rome Derby in English and Derby di Roma in Italian, is the football local derby in Rome, Italy, between Lazio and ...
.
Overall, he scored 30 goals and provided 26 assists during Zeman's two-year managerial stint.
For his performances, he was named the
Serie A Young Footballer of the Year
The AIC Serie A Young Footballer of the Year ( it, Migliore calciatore giovane AIC) was a yearly award organized by the Italian Footballers' Association (AIC) given to the under-24 footballer who was considered to have performed the best over the ...
for the
1998–99 season.
1999–2004: The ''Scudetto'' as a playmaker

In June 1999, Roma's then-president Franco Sensi sacked Zeman and signed
Fabio Capello
Fabio Capello (; born 18 June 1946) is an Italian former professional football manager and player.
As a player, Capello represented SPAL 1907, Roma, Milan and Juventus. He played as a midfielder and won several trophies during his career whi ...
as a replacement, with the aim of winning the league title. By the
2000–01 campaign under the new coach, Roma were building a competitive team around Totti, who was by now being utilised as a creative
attacking midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
by Capello in a
3–4–1–2 formation, due to his passing skills and
playmaking abilities.
Totti scored in a 2–0 home win over
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...
on his season debut on 1 October 2000. On 10 December, Totti scored the match-winning goal in a 2–1 home win against
Udinese
Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sports club, and on 5 July 1911 as a foo ...
with a powerful left-footed volley to help Roma to their fifth home win of the season. He continued his goalscoring form by scoring against Napoli at home in a 3–0 victory on 28 January 2001, as Roma finished the first half of the league season in first place. Totti continued to play an important role in keeping the club at the top of the table throughout the remainder of the season, gaining a comfortable lead over rivals
Juventus
Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football league system. Founded in ...
. On 17 June 2001, at the
Stadio Olimpico
The Stadio Olimpico (English: ''Olympic Stadium'') is the largest sports facility in Rome, Italy, seating over 70,000 spectators. It is located within the Foro Italico sports complex, north of the city. The structure is owned by the Italian N ...
, Roma beat
Parma
Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second mos ...
3–1, with their three main attackers, Totti,
Vincenzo Montella
Vincenzo Montella (; born 18 June 1974) is an Italian retired footballer and current manager, who played as a striker. He is current manager of Süper Lig club Adana Demirspor.
Montella's nickname during his playing career was "Aeroplanino", i ...
and
Gabriel Batistuta
Gabriel Omar Batistuta (; born 1 February 1969) is an Argentine former professional footballer. During his playing career, Batistuta was nicknamed Batigol () as well as El Ángel Gabriel (; Spanish for ''Angel Gabriel''). Regarded as one of the ...
scoring one goal each, as Roma were crowned champions of Italy for the
third time in their history. Totti finished the league season with 13 goals, equalling what was at the time his personal goalscoring record in a single Serie A season.
On 19 August 2001, Totti won his first
Supercoppa Italiana
The Supercoppa Italiana ( en, Italian Super Cup) is an annual football match contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season. If the same team wins both the Serie A and Coppa Italia titles in the previous seas ...
, scoring and assisting in the 3–0 win against
Fiorentina
ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fol ...
. Totti was named the
Serie A Italian Footballer of the Year
The AIC Serie A Italian Footballer of the Year ( it, Migliore calciatore italiano AIC) was a yearly award organized by the Italian Footballers' Association (AIC) given to the Italian footballer who was considered to have performed the best over ...
for both 2000 and 2001,
and won the
Serie A Footballer of the Year
Series may refer to:
People with the name
* Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series
* George Series (1920–1995), English physicist
Arts, entertainment, and media
Music
* Series, the ordered sets used i ...
Award for the first time in his career in 2000.
He received his first
Ballon d'Or
The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual football award presented by French news magazine '' France Football'' since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year (fo ...
nomination in
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
, finishing 14th in voting, and fifth the
following year. Due to his performances and leadership, Totti had established himself as a hero to the Roma fans, who were also able to identify with his background as a Roma native and lifelong supporter.

Over the following seasons, Totti played in a free role as either a forward or second striker in a
3–5–2 formation, often alongside either Batistuta or the newly acquired youngster
Antonio Cassano
Antonio Cassano (; born 12 July 1982) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a forward. A talented and technically gifted player, he was usually deployed as a supporting forward, but could also play as an attacking midfie ...
.
He scored his first hat-trick in Serie A, in a 3–2 away win over
Brescia
Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Ise ...
on 30 September 2002. Totti also scored the only goal in Roma's decisive 1–0 victory at the
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium
The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium ( es, Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, ) is a association football, football stadium in Madrid, Spain. With a current seating capacity of 81,044, it has been the home stadium of Real Madrid C.F., Real Madrid since its c ...
against
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid.
Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
on 30 October 2002; this was the first time in 35 years that an Italian team had won a match in
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), an ...
. He continued his goalscoring exploits against
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...
, scoring two goals in Roma's 3–0 win. Despite this, Roma only finished third in their
Champions League group, and in eighth position in Serie A,
although they managed to reach the
2003 Coppa Italia final
The 2003 Coppa Italia Final was the final of the 2002–03 Coppa Italia, the 56th season of the top cup competition in Italian football. The match was played over two legs on 20 May and 31 May 2003 between Roma and Milan. This was the 13th Cop ...
. In the final against Milan, Totti scored three times from free kicks over both legs (one goal at home and two at the
San Siro
Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, commonly known as San Siro, is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy, which is the home of A.C. Milan and Inter Milan. It has a seating capacity of 80,018, making it one of the largest stadiums ...
), but Roma lost out to Milan 6–3 on aggregate.
In 2003, Totti won his second Serie A Footballer of the Year Award.
In the
2003–04 season, Totti played a key role as Roma finished runner-up to Milan in the ''
Scudetto
The ''scudetto'' ( Italian for: "little shield") is a decoration having the colors of the flag of Italy which is sewn onto the jersey of the Italian sports clubs that won the highest level championship of their respective sport in the previous se ...
'' race. Throughout the league season, he scored 20 goals, his best haul in Serie A up to that point, which allowed him to win his second Guerin d'Oro as the player with the best average rating in Serie A throughout the season.
Moreover, the Roma captain notably scored trademark chipped goals on two occasions throughout the season, against Brescia and
Empoli
Empoli () is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Florence, Tuscany, Italy, about southwest of Florence, to the south of the Arno in a plain formed by the river. The plain has been usable for agriculture since Roman times. The comm ...
.
2004–2009: Transition to striker
Despite Roma's disappointing
2004–05 season, which saw the departure of a number of players and several managerial changes, Totti maintained consistent form by scoring 12 goals in Serie A,
[ and 15 in all competitions, among which was his 100th Serie A goal from a free kick in a 3–3 draw against ]Internazionale
Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter i ...
, on 3 October 2004. Two months later, on 19 December, he became Roma's all-time leading scorer in Serie A after netting his 107th career league goal against Parma, breaking the record previously held by Roberto Pruzzo
Roberto Pruzzo (; born 1 April 1955) is an Italian former football player and coach who played as a forward. He represented Italy at UEFA Euro 1980. A prolific goalscorer, Pruzzo was considered one of the best Italian forwards of his generatio ...
. Although Roma finished the league season in eighth place, Totti helped the team reach the 2005 Coppa Italia final
The 2005 Coppa Italia Final was the final of the 2004–05 Coppa Italia, the 58th season of the top cup competition in Italian football. The match was played over two legs between Roma and Internazionale. This was the 12th Coppa Italia final play ...
; however Roma lost to Inter.
Roma's new coach for the 2005–06 season, Luciano Spalletti
Luciano Spalletti (; born 7 March 1959) is an Italian football manager and a former player. He is currently the manager of Italian Serie A club Napoli.
Playing career
Born in Certaldo, Metropolitan City of Florence, Spalletti started his career ...
, went with a 4–2–3–1 formation, deploying Totti in a newer, more offensive role as a lone striker. Despite his new attacking role, Totti usually dropped deep to pick up the ball in midfield rather than operating in the penalty area, thus creating space for the attacking midfielders and wingers to making offensive runs; the resulting system was later described as a 4–6–0, while Totti's particular attacking role was dubbed the "false 9
Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...
". In this new position, Totti continued to score frequently, managing 15 goals in 24 league matches. In the spring of 2005, he renewed his contract until 2010, with an annual salary of €5.4 million. On 19 February 2006, he suffered a fracture of his left fibula
The fibula or calf bone is a human leg, leg bone on the Lateral (anatomy), lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long ...
and ligament damage during a match against Empoli after being fouled by Richard Vanigli
Richard Vanigli (born 1 June 1971 in Forlì) is an Italian former Association football, footballer, currently in charge as Cristiano Lucarelli's assistant coach at Calcio Catania, Catania.
Playing career
A hard-working Defender (association foo ...
. Totti was at risk of missing the 2006 World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...
, but returned to the side on 11 May 2006 as a substitute in Roma's 3–1 Coppa Italia final defeat to Inter. A metal plate had been attached to his ankle during surgery, but doctors decided not to operate again and remove it following Totti's return, concurring that the plate would not affect his game. He was given off-label
Off-label use is the use of pharmaceutical drugs for an unapproved indication or in an unapproved age group, dosage, or route of administration. Both prescription drugs and over-the-counter drugs (OTCs) can be used in off-label ways, although mo ...
treatments of teriparatide
Teriparatide, sold under the brand name Forteo, is a form of parathyroid hormone (PTH) consisting of the first (N-terminus) 34 amino acids, which is the bioactive portion of the hormone. It is an effective anabolic (promoting bone formation) age ...
to speed-up his fracture recovery.
The 2006–07 season was a personal high for Totti as he scored 26 goals in Serie A, as well as another six between the Champions League (scoring three times in the group stage and once in the round of 16 tie against Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...
) and the Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity ...
, in addition to 15 assists in 50 games across all competitions. Despite their elimination from the Champions League by Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
in the quarter-finals, and a second-place finish in the league
League or The League may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band
* ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football
Sports
* Sports league
* Rugby league, full contact footba ...
, Roma won the Coppa Italia final against league champions Inter with a 6–2 victory at home (Totti scored the opening goal after 50 seconds) and a 2–1 defeat at the San Siro in Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4  ...
. Totti finished the season as Serie A top scorer with 26 goals, and on 17 June, he also received the ESM European Golden Shoe
The European Golden Shoe, also known as European Golden Boot, is an award that is presented each season to the leading goalscorer in league matches from the top division of a European national league. The trophy is a sculpture of a football bo ...
award as the top European goalscorer of the season. Despite being the highest active goalscorer in Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Copp ...
, he was not among the finalists for the 2007 FIFA World Player of the Year Brazilian midfielder Kaká won the 2007 FIFA World Player of the Year award, while another Brazilian, Marta, took home the women's award. The winners were announced at the FIFA World Player Gala held at the Zurich Opera House on December 17, 2007. ...
due to his absence from the national team, although he was nominated for the 2007 Ballon d'Or
The 2007 Ballon d'Or, given to the best football player in the world as judged by an international panel of sports journalists, was awarded to Kaká. This was the first year in which players from clubs outside the UEFA federation were eligible fo ...
, finishing tenth in the voting.
On 19 August 2007, Totti contributed to Roma's 1–0 victory over Inter in the 2007 Supercoppa Italiana
The 2007 Supercoppa Italiana was a match contested by 2006–07 Serie A winners Internazionale and 2006–07 Coppa Italia winners Roma.
The match took place on 19 August 2007 in San Siro, Milan, and resulted in a 1–0 victory for Roma. The goal ...
, winning a penalty which was subsequently converted by Daniele De Rossi
Daniele De Rossi (; born 24 July 1983) is a former Italian professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder and is currently manager of side SPAL. He is mostly known for his time playing with his hometown club Roma in Serie A, ...
. Totti scored his 200th goal for Roma in a 4–0 victory against Torino
Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...
in the Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity ...
, on 16 January 2008. He was named the Serie A Italian Footballer of the Year
The AIC Serie A Italian Footballer of the Year ( it, Migliore calciatore italiano AIC) was a yearly award organized by the Italian Footballers' Association (AIC) given to the Italian footballer who was considered to have performed the best over ...
for the fifth time in his career on 28 January. The following month, on 24 February, he reached 386 appearances in Serie A with Roma in a match against Fiorentina, equalling the club appearance record previously held by Giacomo Losi
Giacomo Losi (; born 10 September 1935) is an Italian former football manager and player, who played as a defender. He spent his entire professional career, from 1955 to 1969, with Italian club A.S. Roma.
Though he was not a native of Rome, dur ...
, Roma's captain in the 1960s. He broke the record on 27 February, in the club's following league match against Inter. On 9 March, he reached his 500th overall appearance for Roma, scoring the second goal of the match from a penalty kick in a 2–0 away win over Napoli. Totti suffered a season-ending injury to his right knee during a 1–1 draw with Livorno on 19 April. Tests revealed a tear of his anterior cruciate ligament
The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...
(ACL) that required surgery, ruling him out for four months. Roma won their ninth Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity ...
with a 2–1 victory over Inter on 24 May; although Totti did not play the match, he was still allowed to lift the cup as the team's captain. With this win, Totti became the most successful captain in the club's history, with five titles and ten runners-up medals.
In the 2008–09 season, Totti recovered from the previous injury, and took part in the 2008 Supercoppa Italiana
The 2008 Supercoppa Italiana was a football match that was played by 2007–08 Serie A winners Internazionale and 2007–08 Coppa Italia winners Roma. The match proved to be a tightly contested affair. After exchanging goals, it appeared that In ...
final on 24 August 2008; following a 2–2 draw with Inter after extra-time, Totti missed his penalty in the resulting shootout, which allowed Javier Zanetti
Javier Adelmar Zanetti (; born 10 August 1973) is an Argentine former professional footballer. He is regarded as one of the best players of his generation, and is especially well known for his role in Inter Milan's treble-winning 2009–10 seaso ...
to win the match for Inter with the following spot-kick. On 8 November 2008, he made his 400th appearance in Serie A, in a 1–1 away draw against Bologna, scoring the opening goal of the match. Later that month, he went on to help his team beat Lazio in the Rome derby
The Derby della Capitale ( en, Derby of the capital city), also known as Derby Capitolino and Derby del Cupolone, as well as The Rome Derby in English and Derby di Roma in Italian, is the football local derby in Rome, Italy, between Lazio and ...
, assisting Júlio Baptista
Júlio César Clemente Pereira Baptista (born 1 October 1981) is a Brazilian football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder or a forward. He is the current manager of Valladolid B.
Baptista is nicknamed "The Beast" ...
's match-winning goal. Totti's run of good form continued as he provided assists for Mirko Vučinić
Mirko Vučinić (, ; born 1 October 1983) is a Montenegrin former professional footballer who played as a forward.
Having caught the attention of Pantaleo Corvino, the sporting director of the Italian club Lecce, he transferred there in the ...
and scored a lobbed goal in a 3–0 win in a league game against Lecce
Lecce ( ); el, label=Griko, Luppìu, script=Latn; la, Lupiae; grc, Λουπίαι, translit=Loupíai), group=pron is a historic city of 95,766 inhabitants (2015) in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Lecce, the provinc ...
on 23 November, while he netted a free kick in a 3–1 away win against CFR Cluj
Fotbal Club CFR 1907 Cluj, commonly known as CFR Cluj ( or ), is a Romanian professional football club based in the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, which competes in the Liga I. It was founded in 1907 as ''Kolozsvári Vasutas Sport Club'', wh ...
in the Champions League later that week, on 27 November. He also scored the second goal in a 2–0 win against Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture ...
on 10 December, which ensured Roma's passage to the round of 16 of the competition as group winners. On 19 April 2009, Totti scored his 175th Serie A goal in a 3–2 home win over Lecce, overtaking Amedeo Amadei
Amedeo Amadei (; 26 July 1921 – 24 November 2013) was a professional Italian football player and manager, who played as a striker. Following his death in 2013, he was one of eleven members to be inducted into the A.S. Roma Hall of Fame. A fa ...
as Roma's all-time highest goalscorer; with the goal, Totti also became one of the top-ten goalscorers in Serie A history.
2009–2011: Struggles and return to form
Roma's difficult start to the 2008–09 season and continued struggles at the start of the 2009–10 season saw Spalletti resign after his four-year reign and he was replaced by Claudio Ranieri
Claudio Ranieri Grande Ufficiale OMRI (; born 20 October 1951) is an Italian football manager and former player. He will be the new head coach of club Cagliari from 1 January 2023.
Ranieri began his managerial career in the lower leagues in I ...
. Totti performed well in the inaugural UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...
; he scored two hat-tricks
A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three.
Origin
The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wi ...
in the competition that season, first in a 7–1 away win against Gent
Gent is a shortened form of the word gentleman. It may also refer to:
* Ghent ( Dutch: Gent), a Belgian city
** K.A.A. Gent, a football club from Ghent
** K.R.C. Gent, a football club from Ghent
** Gent RFC, a rugby club in Ghent
** .gent, a ...
in the third qualifying round
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute''
Places
* 3rd Street (disambiguation)
* Third Avenue (disambiguation)
* Hig ...
and then another in the same scoreline against MFK Košice at the Stadio Olimpico in the play-off round
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
. In Serie A, he also scored three goals against Bari on 22 November 2009, seven years on from his last hat-trick in Serie A. Eight days later, Totti confirmed he had signed a new five-year playing contract which would see him at the club until 2014, after which he stated he would become a club director for a further five years. Roma offered him an annual salary of €8.9 million for 2009–10 and €8.6 million a year for the next four seasons.
With a 24-match unbeaten run in Serie A, Roma became the only challengers to Inter in the last three rounds for the league title that season, ultimately finishing runners-up after the final game. Despite suffering several injury problems, he surpassed former prolific strikers such as Gabriel Batistuta, Giuseppe Signori
Giuseppe "Beppe" Signori (; born 17 February 1968) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a forward.
He played for several clubs in Italy throughout his career, and also had spells in Greece and Hungary with Iraklis Thessa ...
, and Kurt Hamrin
Kurt Roland "Kurre" Hamrin (; born 19 November 1934) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a winger. He began his career in his home country with AIK, but later played for several Italian clubs, most notably Fiorentina, with w ...
, putting him in sixth place in the all-time Serie A scoring records. Totti also played in the Coppa Italia final against Inter on 5 May 2010, but received a red card in the closing minutes of the second half for kicking Mario Balotelli
Mario Balotelli Barwuah (; '' né'' Barwuah; born 12 August 1990) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Swiss Super League club Sion.
Balotelli started his professional football career in 2005 at Lumezzane, befo ...
; Roma lost the match 0–1, thus failing to bring home a record tenth Coppa Italia title.
In the 2010–11 season, Roma suffered yet another defeat to Inter in the 2010 Supercoppa Italiana
The 2010 Supercoppa Italiana was the 23rd Supercoppa Italiana, an annual football match contested by the winners of the previous season's Serie A and Coppa Italia competitions. The match was played at the San Siro on 21 August 2010, and contested ...
, continuing their "traditional" early struggles, which Totti partly blamed on Ranieri's defensive mindset and failure to develop a consistent set of tactics. On a personal level, Totti won the Golden Foot
The Golden Foot award is an international football award, given to players who stand out for their athletic achievements (both as individuals and team players) and for their personality. The award is only given to active players of at least 28 year ...
award, but Ranieri's lack of faith in him due to his age meant that the captain would spend a lot of time on the substitute's bench in favour of younger forwards, such as Marco Borriello
Marco Borriello (; born 18 June 1982) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a striker.
Throughout his career, Borriello played for several Italian clubs, including Treviso, Triestina, Milan, Empoli, Reggina, Sampdoria, Gen ...
, Mirko Vučinić and Jérémy Ménez
Jérémy Ménez (born 7 May 1987) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for Italian Serie B club Reggina. Ménez has been described as an ambipedal, technically skilled, pacy playmaker.
Ménez began his career spending ...
. His limited playing time, which included a controversial 91st minute substitution in a 2–1 away loss against Sampdoria, resulted in several clashes with Ranieri, and saw him fall out of form, scoring only three league goals in 21 appearances; as a result of his limited appearances, despondence and strenuous relationship with the manager, rumours even circulated in the media that Totti was considering leaving Roma. Following Roma's 4–3 loss against Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of t ...
on 20 February 2011, Ranieri resigned as manager, with Totti's former teammate Vincenzo Montella appointed as caretaker coach.
Montella reverted to Spalletti's 4–2–3–1 system and Totti appeared to recapture his best form, finding the net more frequently towards the end of the season. On 3 March, Totti was voted the best active Italian player in a poll conducted by ''La Gazzetta dello Sport
''La Gazzetta dello Sport'' (; "The Sports Gazette") is an Italian daily newspaper dedicated to coverage of various sports. Founded in 1896, it is the most widely read daily newspaper of any kind in Italy (in 2018).
History and profile
''La ...
''; 100 Italian personalities including footballers, politicians and celebrities took part in the vote. On 13 March 2011, he scored two goals against Lazio which gave Roma their fifth consecutive victory in the Rome Derby. The following match, on 20 March, Totti became the sixth player in Serie A history to score 200 goals, finding the target twice in a 2–2 draw against Fiorentina to total 201 league goals. On 1 May, Totti scored a brace against Bari to equal and subsequently overtake Roberto Baggio
Roberto Baggio (; born 18 February 1967) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a second striker, or as an attacking midfielder, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. He is the former pre ...
as the fifth-highest goalscorer in Serie A with his 205th and 206th career league goals, putting him behind only Silvio Piola
Silvio Piola (; 29 September 1913 – 4 October 1996) was an Italian footballer who played as a striker. He is known as a highly prominent figure in the history of Italian football due to several records he set, and he is regarded as one of the ...
, Gunnar Nordahl
Nils Gunnar Nordahl (; 19 October 1921 – 15 September 1995) was a Swedish professional footballer. A highly prolific, powerful, and physically strong striker, with an eye for goal, he is best known for his spell at AC Milan from 1949 to 1956, ...
, Giuseppe Meazza
Giuseppe "Peppino" Meazza (; 23 August 1910 – 21 August 1979), also known as il Balilla, was an Italian football manager and player. Throughout his career, he played mainly for Inter Milan in the 1930s, scoring 242 goals in 365 games for the ...
and José Altafini. Totti ended the 2010–11 Serie A campaign with 15 goals – with twelve of his goals coming in Roma's last 13 league fixtures.
At the end of the season, Roma underwent a change of ownership, with the former club owner Rosella Sensi being replaced by an American consortium led by Thomas R. DiBenedetto, Thomas DiBenedetto. Under the new management, the club did not offer a permanent contract to Montella, which led to him leaving to coach another Serie A side, Calcio Catania, Catania. The Roma management appointed Luis Enrique (footballer), Luis Enrique, who had previous coached the FC Barcelona B, Barcelona B side, in a bid to emulate FC Barcelona, Barcelona's football style.
2011–2012: Back to playmaker
The 2011–12 A.S. Roma season, 2011–12 season saw Totti initially receive few starts under Roma's new manager Luis Enrique, as the club's early struggles continued. Totti sustained an injury on 1 October 2011 in the second half of a match against Atalanta B.C., Atalanta, which kept him out of action until 20 November; he returned to the pitch against Lecce, when he came off the bench in the 66th minute, as Roma won the match 2–1.
In mid-December, as Totti began regaining form post-injury, he started playing more regularly, often in a creative role as an attacking midfielder. On 12 December, he set up Daniele De Rossi's opening goal in a 1–1 home draw against eventual league champions Juventus, although Totti missed a second-half penalty during the match. He provided several more assists that season, notably for Dani Osvaldo's goal in Roma's 3–1 win over Napoli at the Stadio San Paolo on 18 December 2011, and also set up De Rossi's goal against Catania at the Massimino stadium. Playing in a deeper position on the pitch, the Roma talisman did not seek to score goals as often, opting rather to play more of a supporting role by bridging the gap between attack and midfield, using his presence, leadership and experience in games to offer some much needed depth to the team.
On 8 January 2012, Totti scored his first goals of the season in a 2–0 win against A.C. Chievo Verona, Chievo, converting one penalty in the first half and another in the second. He went on to score two goals in a 5–1 win against A.C. Cesena, Cesena which allowed Totti to set a new record, as his second goal of the match brought his tally to 211 league goals – the most any player has ever scored for a single club in Serie A. Despite his inability to find the back of the net as the second half of the season began, he continued to perform well, as he notably assisted Juan (footballer, born 1979), Juan's goal from a corner in Roma's 4–0 win over Inter on 5 February. On 12 April, Totti scored his fifth goal of the season in a 3–1 victory over Udinese. He scored again in a 2–1 loss against Fiorentina on 25 April, and two weeks later, on his 500th match in Serie A, he scored two goals in a 2–2 draw against Catania at the Stadio Olimpico.
2012–2013: Breaking records
After Luis Enrique decided to resign due to an unsuccessful season in which Roma failed to qualify for European football for the first time in 15 years, the club decided to appoint their former manager Zdeněk Zeman
Zdeněk Zeman (; born 12 May 1947) is a Czech-Italian football coach.
Known for his exciting, offensive footballing tactics and use of the 4–3–3 formation, Zeman has managed numerous teams over the years, mostly in Italian football. He ha ...
, with whom Totti would once again be reunited. Zeman tried to play Totti in a free role as a left forward or winger in his preferred 4–3–3 tactical line-up. Although this was a similar role to that which he had played during Zeman's previous spell 13 years before, Totti's freedom also enabled him to drop deep into the midfield to press opponents and pick up the ball, as well as attacking on the left wing. On 2 September, Totti provided 2 assists for Alessandro Florenzi and Dani Osvaldo in Roma's 3–1 win over Inter at the San Siro. After the match, he received praise from the media due to his performance, even as he approached his 36th birthday. On 21 October, Totti surpassed both Giuseppe Meazza and José Altafini's joint-record after scoring the first of Roma's goals in a 4–2 away win at Genoa, becoming the third-highest scorer in Serie A history with 217 goals. On 8 December, Totti scored two goals, his fifth and sixth of the season, in a 4–2 home victory against Fiorentina.
Following the club's negative performances, Zeman was sacked and replaced by the club's technique coach Aurelio Andreazzoli in early February 2013. Under his new manager, Totti scored a goal against Juventus on 16 February, with a powerful strike, as Roma shocked the league leaders in a 1–0 win. On 3 March, he scored his 225th goal against Genoa to become Serie A's joint second-top scorer – alongside Gunnar Nordahl – as Roma cruised to a 3–1 victory. Totti finally broke Nordahl's record by scoring against Parma on 18 March, increasing his Serie A tally to 226 goals. On 8 April, with a goal from a penalty kick in the 1–1 draw against Lazio, he became the joint top scorer of all time in Serie A in the Rome Derby with nine goals, putting him on par with Dino da Costa and Marco Delvecchio. Totti finished the 2012–13 Serie A season with 12 goals and 12 assists from 34 appearances. Totti also reached the 2013 Coppa Italia Final, 2013 Coppa Italia final with Roma, but lost the match 0–1 on 26 May to cross-city rivals Lazio.
2013–2015: Free forward
With the arrival of Roma's new coach Rudi Garcia in the summer of 2013, Totti was once again deployed as a false 9
Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...
, while also functioning as a supporting forward, or as winger on the left on occasion. On 20 September 2013, Roma announced that Totti had signed a new contract, keeping him at the club until 2016, past his 39th birthday. He scored his first goal of the 2013–14 A.S. Roma season, 2013–14 season on 16 September, against Parma in a 3–1 victory. He followed up the goal with two strikes in Roma's 3–0 away victory over Inter, helping the team maintain a 100% record after seven games. On 20 November, he received the "Captain of Captains" award by the association Editutto and Baker Tilly Revisa.
On 14 February, Totti was sidelined for about a month after sustaining a bruised right buttock. He returned to the pitch on 17 March against Udinese, scoring the first goal of the match as he helped his team to a 3–2 win. Eight days later, Totti celebrated 700 overall appearances with Roma against Torino
Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...
. On 2 April, he scored his 20th career goal against Parma (a personal record against any side) in a 4–2 victory. He finished the season with eight goals and ten assists, ending the year as the top assist provider of the 2013–14 Serie A season.
Prior to the start of the 2014–15 A.S. Roma season, 2014–15 season, Totti had been one of the star players of Roma's pre-season friendlies.
On 30 September 2014, three days after his 38th birthday, Totti scored Roma's equaliser in a Champions League group stage draw at Manchester City F.C., Manchester City, thus becoming the oldest scorer in the UEFA Champions League history; it was also Totti's 300th professional career goal. On 25 October, Totti scored the opening goal from a free kick in a 1–1 draw against PFC CSKA Moscow, CSKA Moscow, extending his record of oldest goalscorer in the history of the competition to 38 years and 59 days.
On 11 January 2015, Totti scored two goals against local rivals Lazio, making him the joint all-time top scorer in the Rome Derby in official club competitions, alongside Dino Da Costa, with 11 goals, as well as the Serie A top scorer in the Rome Derby. On 9 May, Totti scored from a penalty in a 2–1 away defeat to Milan, equalling Roberto Baggio for the Football records in Italy#Most goals from a penalty kick, record of the most goals scored in Serie A from penalties (68). On 31 May, in the final match-day of the 2014–15 Serie A, 2014–15 season, he scored his 299th goal for Roma in a 2–1 home defeat to U.S. Città di Palermo, Palermo. Totti finished the season as Roma's leading scorer with ten goals in all competitions, the seventh time in which he had been the team's top scorer.
2015–2017: Final years as a super sub
On his second league appearance of the 2015–16 Serie A season, Totti scored his 300th career club goal in all competitions with Roma in a 2–2 home draw with U.S. Sassuolo Calcio, Sassuolo, on 20 September 2015. On 26 September 2015, the day before his 39th birthday, he sustained an injury, straining his right hip flexor in a 5–1 win over Carpi F.C. 1909, Carpi, ruling him out for three months. He returned to the pitch as a substitute in a 1–1 home draw against Milan, on 9 January 2016, equalling Gianluca Pagliuca as the Football records in Italy#Appearances, third all-time highest appearance holder in Serie A history, with 592 appearances.
On 21 February 2016, Totti publicly criticised returning manager – and Rudi Garcia's replacement – Luciano Spalletti in the media for his lack of playing time since his return from injury. He was subsequently dropped for Roma's 5–0 win over Palermo, with the decision causing an uproar among the fans and in the media, while rumours once again began to circulate that Totti would be leaving the club once his contract had expired at the end of the season, as a result of his limited appearances and clashes with Spalletti. On 8 March, Totti came on as a substitute for Stephan El Shaarawy in the return leg of the round of 16 of the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League, UEFA Champions League against Real Madrid, and was given a standing ovation by the fans at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid; Roma lost the match 2–0, however, and were eliminated from the competition following a 4–0 aggregate loss. On 20 April, he came off the bench in the 86th minute, one goal down to Torino at home to rescue the team with a brace; one in the 87th minute and a penalty in the 89th minute to win the match 3–2. With his 69th goal in Serie A from the penalty spot, he overtook Roberto Baggio as the outright top scorer of penalties in Serie A history. Totti's double also made him the oldest player in Serie A history to score two goals in a single league match, at the age of 39 years, 6 months and 23 days, breaking Silvio Piola's previous record of 39 years, 4 months and 2 days, which he had managed with Novara Calcio, Novara on 1 February 1953, after scoring a brace against his former team Lazio.
On 2 May, Totti came off the bench and scored from a free kick to help Roma to come from behind and achieve a 3–2 away win over Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of t ...
; this was his 21st goal from a free kick in Serie A, which put him alongside Baggio as the joint all-time Football records in Italy#Most goals from a free kick, fourth-highest scorer of free kicks in Serie A history, behind only Alessandro Del Piero, Andrea Pirlo, and Siniša Mihajlović. Totti came off the bench in each of the past five Serie A games and contributed four goals and an assist. On 8 May, Totti came off the bench to set up Roma's final goal in a 3–0 home win over Chievo in his 600th Serie A appearance, becoming the third player ever to reach this milestone. Overall, Totti only made 13 league appearances throughout the season but scored four goals in the final six matches as a substitute. On 7 June, he renewed his contract for another year, stating that he would be retiring at the end of the 2016–17 A.S. Roma season, 2016–17 season; he also revealed he had signed a six-year contract as Roma's technical director once the season ends.
On his first appearance of the 2016–17 A.S. Roma season, 2016–17 season against Sampdoria on 11 September, Totti equalled Paolo Maldini's record of playing in 25 Serie A seasons. With Roma trailing 2–1 at half time, Totti came off the bench and assisted Edin Džeko's temporary equaliser, later also scoring the match-winning goal from a penalty in injury time to secure a 3–2 home win in 2016–17 Serie A, Serie A; Totti's goal meant that he had managed to score at least once in each of the past 23 consecutive seasons of his career. On 25 September, he scored his 250th Serie A goal from the penalty spot in a 3–1 away defeat to Torino, just two days before his 40th birthday. On his first start two days after his 40th birthday, on 29 September, Totti was praised for his performance and longevity in a 4–0 home win over FC Astra Giurgiu, Astra Giurgiu in the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League, Europa League; he played all 90 minutes of the match, providing two assists, while also being involved in a third goal. On 20 October, Totti made his 100th appearance in UEFA club competitions, setting up two goals in a 3–3 home draw against FK Austria Wien, Austria Wien in the Europa League. In late October, he sustained a muscle injury to the flexor of his left thigh during a training session, which ruled him out indefinitely. He returned to action as a substitute in a 3–2 home win over Delfino Pescara 1936, Pescara on 27 November.
On 1 February 2017, Totti scored a decisive injury-time penalty in the 97th minute of a 2–1 home victory against Cesena in the 2016–17 Coppa Italia, Coppa Italia quarter-finals; the win enabled Roma to advance to the semi-finals of the tournament. On 15 April, he came on as a substitute in a 1–1 home draw against Atalanta to make his 615th appearance in Serie A, equalling Javier Zanetti
Javier Adelmar Zanetti (; born 10 August 1973) is an Argentine former professional footballer. He is regarded as one of the best players of his generation, and is especially well known for his role in Inter Milan's treble-winning 2009–10 seaso ...
as the joint third highest appearance holder of all time in Serie A.
On 28 May, Totti made his final appearance for Roma in a 3–2 home win against Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of t ...
, coming on as a substitute for Mohamed Salah in the 54th minute and received a standing ovation from the fans.
International career
Youth career and early senior career
Totti first came into international prominence while playing in FIFA and UEFA youth tournaments. With the Italy national under-16 football team, Italy under-16 side, under manager Sergio Vatta, Totti reached the final of the 1993 UEFA European Under-16 Championship in Turkey; Italy were defeated 1–0 by Poland national under-16 football team, Poland as Totti missed the final due to suspension. Four months later, Totti played in 1993 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Japan and scored Italy's goal in the tournament as the ''Azzurrini'' were eliminated in group stage. Totti also scored in Italy national under-19 football team, Italy's 4–1 defeat to Spain national under-19 football team, Spain in the final of the UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship, UEFA Under-18 Championship, in July 1995. He subsequently won the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, UEFA Under-21 Championship with Italy national under-21 football team, Italy in 1996 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, 1996, under manager Cesare Maldini
Cesare Maldini (; 5 February 1932 – 3 April 2016) was an Italian professional football manager and player who played as a defender.
Father to Paolo Maldini and grandfather to Daniel Maldini, Cesare began his career with Italian side Tries ...
; in the final, he opened the scoring as the match ended in a 1–1 draw against Spain national under-21 football team, Spain, although Italy were able to win the final on penalties. The following year, he also played a key role in helping Italy to win a gold medal at the Football at the 1997 Mediterranean Games, 1997 Mediterranean Games, on home soil, scoring twice throughout the tournament. Due to his contribution in these tournaments, Totti was later included in the all-time Under-21 EURO dream team in 2015.
After starring with the ''Azzurrini'' in Italy's Italy national under-16 football team, under-16, Italy national under-19 football team, under-19, and under-21 sides, Totti earned his first senior cap for Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
under the recently appointed international manager Dino Zoff during a 2–0 UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying, Euro 2000 qualifying victory against Switzerland national football team, Switzerland on 10 October 1998. Totti scored his first goal for Italy on 26 April 2000 in a 2–0 friendly win over Portugal national football team, Portugal in Reggio Calabria. He scored his first brace for Italy in a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification match in a 4–3 home win over Belarus national football team, Belarus, on 13 October 2004. In total, Totti made 58 appearances for Italy between 1998 and 2006, scoring nine goals and making 24 assists.
Euro 2000
Italy went to UEFA Euro 2000, Euro 2000 with Totti in excellent form. Overall, he scored two goals and provided an assist during the tournament. His first goal of the tournament came against co-host nation Belgium national football team, Belgium in the first round, as Totti headed in Demetrio Albertini's cross from a set-piece; he was named man of the match for his performance. His second goal of the tournament came against Romania national football team, Romania in the quarter-finals, with an accurate strike following Stefano Fiore's assist. In Italy's semi-final Penalty shootout, shootout victory over co-hosts the Netherlands national football team, Netherlands, Totti's confidently Panenka (penalty kick), chipped penalty was named as one of the "magic moments" of the tournament. A few moments before taking the penalty, Totti whispered the famous sentence "Mo je faccio er Cucchiaio" (Roman dialect for "Now I'm scoring with a Panenka") to his teammate and friend Luigi Di Biagio.
Though Italy lost to 1998 FIFA World Cup, reigning World Cup Champions France national football team, France 2–1 in extra time in the UEFA Euro 2000 Final, final, Totti was named the man of the match, and he started the play which led to Marco Delvecchio's opening goal; Totti sent an unmarked Gianluca Pessotto down the right wing with a back-heel pass, allowing him space to cross the ball into the area, where it was put into the net by Delvecchio. Later, during the second half of the match, Totti provided two scoring opportunities for Alessandro Del Piero, which the Juventus forward was unable to convert. Totti was selected for the 22-man UEFA Euro 2000#UEFA Team of the Tournament, Team of the Tournament due to his performances throughout the European Championship.
2002 World Cup
After being handed the Squad number (association football), number 10 shirt and Italy's playmaking duties, much was expected of Totti in his debut FIFA World Cup, World Cup under manager Giovanni Trapattoni. Despite a promising start at the 2002 World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea ...
held in Japan and Korea, as he set-up Christian Vieri's first goal in Italy's 2–0 opening win over Ecuador national football team, Ecuador, disappointment followed, with Totti failing to score or make a significant impact throughout the tournament. Despite helping to set up Vieri's goal in a disappointing and controversial 2–1 defeat to Croatia national football team, Croatia in Italy's second group match, his lacklustre performances throughout the tournament were later criticised by the Italian media, in particular his failure to capitalise on several scoring chances in Italy's 1–1 draw against Mexico national football team, Mexico in their final group match, as Italy only narrowly qualified for the knockout stage.
Despite setting up Vieri's goal in Italy's 2002 FIFA World Cup knockout stage#South Korea vs Italy, second round defeat to co-hosts South Korea national football team, South Korea from a corner, his performance was once again criticised, in particular as he was Misconduct (football), sent off in extra time after being handed a controversial second yellow card by referee Byron Moreno for Diving (association football), simulation.
Euro 2004
Although he was once again expected to be Italy's star player in the number 10 role, Totti acquired a measure of infamy at Euro 2004
The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football competition contested by the List of men's national associatio ...
after he spat at Denmark national football team, Danish midfielder Christian Poulsen in a goalless draw in Italy's opening group match of the tournament on 14 June 2004. He was subsequently banned until the semi-finals, but never made it back to action and finished the competition scoreless due to Italy's elimination in the first round on direct encounters, following a three-way five point tie with Sweden national football team, Sweden and Denmark.
2006 World Cup
Despite injury troubles, Totti recovered in time to join the national team for their victorious 2006 World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...
campaign, despite a lack of match practice during his three months on the sidelines. Italy manager Marcello Lippi showed enormous faith in Totti, assuring him during his rehabilitation that his spot in Italy's World Cup squad was secure and to focus on recuperating. This encouragement and show of faith fueled Totti's desire to work even harder to overcome what could have been a career-ending injury and make it to the World Cup against all odds (and much of the Italian media's opinion).
Totti did recuperate in time and was eventually named to Lippi's final 23-man squad for the 2006 World Cup. Despite initial concerns over his match fitness, Totti was an important player in Marcello Lippi's team, and played in all seven games for Italy, including the victorious 2006 FIFA World Cup Final, final against France, which Italy won on penalties, although he was substituted off in the 61st minute. He played the entire time in Germany with metal plates and screws in his ankle that had yet to be removed following the surgery. Throughout the tournament, he usually played as an attacking midfielder, in front of deep-lying playmaker Andrea Pirlo, and behind strikers Luca Toni, Alberto Gilardino, Vincenzo Iaquinta, or Filippo Inzaghi; these players were supported defensively by Gennaro Gattuso, Simone Perrotta and Daniele De Rossi in midfield.[ Totti finished the tournament with the joint-highest number of assists, along with Juan Román Riquelme (4). Totti set up Pirlo's goal from a short corner in Italy's opening 2–0 win against Ghana national football team, Ghana, Marco Materazzi's goal from a corner in Italy's final group match, a 2–0 win against the Czech Republic national football team, Czech Republic, and two goals in a 3–0 win against Ukraine national football team, Ukraine in the quarter-finals: the opener by Gianluca Zambrotta, and one of Luca Toni's goals. Totti also scored a goal via an injury-time penalty in Italy's 1–0 round of 16 win over Australia national soccer team, Australia on 26 June, and was involved in Del Piero's last-minute extra-time goal in the semi-final, which sealed a 2–0 victory for the Italians over hosts Germany national football team, Germany, and a place in the World Cup final. Throughout the competition, Totti completed 185 passes and took 19 shots;][ in recognition of a successful tournament, he was selected for the 23-man 2006 FIFA World Cup#All star team, All-Star Team.
]
Retirement
Totti intended to retire from international football after the 2006 World Cup, but reneged on his decision and remained undecided on his future for over a year, not being called up in the meantime. He made his retirement official on 20 July 2007, at the beginning of the 2007–08 Serie A season, due to recurring physical problems and in order to focus solely on club play with Roma. Italy's coach at the time, Roberto Donadoni, attempted to get Totti to change his mind for the remaining UEFA Euro 2008, Euro 2008 qualifiers but was not successful.
After Marcello Lippi's reappointment as the national team's manager following Euro 2008, Totti announced that he would play in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa if he were to receive a call-up; however, there was no official statement release from Totti or Lippi about a possible comeback. For the final tournament, Totti was not named in the 23-man squad, and Italy was subsequently eliminated, failing to win a match and finishing last in their group, their worst-ever World Cup performance. Diego Maradona and former national teammates Fabio Cannavaro and Gianluigi Buffon said one of the reasons for Italy's early exit was due to the lack of creative players like Totti in the team.
In March 2013, Lippi's successor as Italy's coach, Cesare Prandelli, stated that he would consider Totti for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, 2014 World Cup squad. In October 2013, Prandelli said, "Totti is in fantastic form. His condition right now does make you reflect. If the World Cup was around the corner, I would have no doubts and would absolutely call him up. But we will evaluate the player's condition one month prior to the World Cup." However, at the time of the choice of the final 23-man Italian squad for the World Cup, the Italy coach excluded the Roma striker, preferring to focus the team around younger players. Some in the media criticised the decision, such as former Brazilian international footballer Cafu, who had been Totti's teammate at Roma, who revealed that he would have liked to see Totti competing for Italy at the World Cup in Brazil, and that he preferred the Roma captain over Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Without Totti, Italy was eliminated in the first round for the second consecutive time, finishing third in their group.
In May 2016, several injuries in the Italian squad, as well as a lack of attacking options and Totti's run of good form as a substitute for Roma, led some in the media to call for manager Antonio Conte to include Totti as a reserve in Italy's UEFA Euro 2016, Euro 2016 squad; however, he was later left out of Conte's 30-man preliminary Italy squad for the final tournament.
Player profile
Style of play
Often referred to as ''Er Bimbo de Oro'' (The Golden Boy), ''L'Ottavo Re di Roma'' (The Eighth King of Rome), ''Er Pupone'' (The Big Baby), ''Il Capitano'' (The Captain), and ''Il Gladiatore'' (The Gladiator) by the Italian sports media, Totti is considered to be one of the greatest Italian players of all time, one of the best players of his generation, and Roma's greatest ever player. Totti is also regarded by some as Italy's greatest player ever. Throughout his career, he played predominantly as a classic number 10, functioning either as an attacking midfielder, offensive-midfield playmaker
In association football, a playmaker is a player who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing passing moves which lead to goals, through their vision, technique, ball control, creativity ...
or as a supporting or second striker, deep-lying forward behind the main striker; only in the later years of his Roma career was he mainly employed as a lone striker. An elegant, world-class, and technically gifted attacking midfielder with a good knowledge of the game, Totti was a tactically versatile player, capable of playing anywhere along the front line, and was also occasionally deployed as a winger or as a central midfielder under Zdeněk Zeman, and most notably as a false 9
Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...
under Luciano Spalletti and Rudi Garcia. Under Luis Enrique, he was also occasionally fielded in a more withdrawn creative role in midfield, functioning as a deep-lying playmaker.
While Totti was a prolific goalscorer, he was also renowned for his ball control, vision, creativity, and range of passing, as well as his ability to set the pace in midfield and provide through-balls and Assist (football), assists for his teammates, often through his trademark use of the no-look pass or backheel, in particular when holding up the ball or playing with his back to goal. Throughout his career, Totti drew particular praise from pundits for his excellent vision, technique, and precise long passing ability, which allowed him to play the ball first-time. Due to his movement and range of skills, his role has at times been described as that of a hardworking, unselfish and dynamic centre-forward, known as a ''centravanti di manovra'' in Italian (which literally translates to "manoeuvring centre-forward"). Known for his work rate, longevity, and willingness to contribute defensively, Totti underwent an athletic development during his time under Zeman: he undertook a muscle-strengthening programme to adapt to the rhythms of 21st-century football, gaining physical strength, stamina, fitness and shooting power to the detriment of some of his speed and agility, which also enabled him to maintain a consistent level of performance in his later career.
Throughout his career, Totti utilised his balance, dribbling (association football), dribbling skills, and acceleration in order to get past opponents; despite being naturally right-footed, he possessed a powerful and accurate shot from both inside and outside the area with either foot, and was also an accurate Penalty kick (association football), penalty kick and Direct free kick, free kick taker, who was capable of striking the ball either with power or Curl (football), swerve from set pieces. Totti also scored several goals from Chip (association football), chipped Shooting (association football), shots throughout his career, and often used the Panenka (penalty kick), technique on penalties, which was also known as the ''cucchiaio'' technique (or "spoon" in Italian); one of the most famous instances in which Totti performed this type of penalty was in the victorious shootout of Italy's Euro 2000 semi-final match against the Netherlands. One of his most famous lobbed goals, in which he dribbled past Inter's Marco Materazzi before chipping the ball over goalkeeper Júlio César (football goalkeeper, born 1979), Júlio César, was later named the best goal in Serie A of the 2005–06 Serie A, 2005–06 season. He scored another notable goal using this technique against Lazio in the 2002 ''Derby della Capitale'', which ended in a 5–1 win for Roma. The title of Totti's 2006 autobiography ''Tutto Totti'': ''Mo je faccio er cucchiaio'' ( en, All about Totti: ''I'm gonna chip him now'') referenced this technique, as well as the statement made to his Italy teammates before his memorable Euro 2000 semi-final shootout penalty against the Netherlands. Having served as Roma's captain for several years, Totti was praised for his leadership.
Despite his talent and ability, however, Totti drew criticism at times for his character and lack of discipline on the pitch, which occasionally caused him to commit bad fouls and receive unnecessary bookings; with Football records in Italy#Bookings, eleven red cards, he has the joint-sixth highest number of sending offs in Serie A history.
Goal celebrations
Totti was known for his exuberant and humorous goal celebrations. One of his famous celebrations took place on 11 April 1999 in the second ''Derby della Capitale'' of the 1998–99 Serie A, 1998–99 season, in which he scored during the final minutes of the game and celebrated by flashing a T-shirt under his jersey, which read ''"Vi ho purgato ancora"'' ("I've purged you guys again"), in reference to events at the previous derby against Lazio on 29 November 1998 when Totti helped Roma come back from 3–1 down with an assist to Eusebio Di Francesco for 3–2 and finally a goal of his own for 3–3. Another derby goal against Lazio saw him take over a sideline camera and aim it at the Roma fans.
Totti has displayed numerous T-shirts with messages on them from under his jersey over the years, including two for his wife; ''"6 Unica"'' ("You're One of a kind") and ''"6 Sempre Unica"'' ("You're Still the One"), and a political one ''"Liberate Giuliana"'' ("Free Giuliana") in honor of Giuliana Sgrena, an Italian journalist kidnapped in 2005 by insurgents in Iraq who was later freed. The most recent message was ''"Scusate il Ritardo"'' ("Sorry for the delay") which he flashed on 8 January 2012 as an apology to fans for his goalscoring drought after scoring his first goal of the season versus Chievo.
As a tribute to his then-pregnant wife, Ilary Blasi, Totti imitated a childbirth scene by stuffing the ball under his shirt and lying on his back while his teammates extracted the ball. His current ritual of sucking his thumb after a goal began after his son was born and continued after the birth of his daughter. Blasi has revealed that Totti also sucks his thumb in dedication to her and not just for their children. On 11 January 2015, Totti scored twice against Lazio in the ''Derby della Capitale'' as Roma came back from 2–0 down; he then took a selfie with Roma fans.
After retirement
On 17 July 2017, Totti confirmed his retirement from professional football and announced that he had accepted an offer from his former team Roma to become a club director. On 18 September, Totti began studying for a course in order to obtain his UEFA B coaching licence. However, he withdrew from the course two weeks later, as he was unable to attend the course regularly due to his commitments as a director of Roma; his former teammate Simone Perrotta took his place.
On 17 June 2019, he announced his resignations from his managerial role at AS Roma, in an hour-long press conference held at the Italian Olympic Committee headquarters where he publicly accused chairman James Pallotta and the management for not involving him enough into the club's decision making, up to the point of stating he would reconsider a comeback only under a different ownership. The events marked the end for his 30-year long formal association with the club.
Outside of professional football
Personal life
Totti married Ilary Blasi, a former showgirl and a co-host of Italia 1's ''Le Iene'', on 19 June 2005 at the Basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli. Their wedding was aired on television with the proceeds being donated to charity. They had their first child, Cristian, on 6 November 2005. Their second child, a daughter named Chanel, was born on 13 May 2007. The couple has often been referred to as the "Italian Posh and Becks, Beckhams" and their private lives are often speculated upon in Italian magazines and tabloids. On 10 March 2016, the couple had their third child, Isabel. On 11 July 2022, it was announced that Totti and Blasi had separated. Totti is a Roman Catholic.
Totti's brother Riccardo serves as his agent, and manages many of his brand and business interests, under the name Number Ten, including the Francesco Totti Academy, a football training school, and the Totti Soccer School, a football camp for children with disabilities. Totti also owns a motorcycle racing team called Totti Top Sport.
On 12 October 2020, Totti's father, Enzo, died at 76 years old due to COVID-19 amid its COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, pandemic in Italy.
Philanthropy
Totti became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador#Italy, goodwill ambassador for UNICEF in 2003, and an ambassador for the FIFA/SOS Children's Villages in January 2006. As a fundraiser for a children's charity, he published two best-selling, self-effacing joke books containing jokes the locals often told about him and his teammates. Some of the jokes were filmed in short sketches featuring himself with good friends and national teammates Alessandro Del Piero, Gianluigi Buffon, Christian Vieri, Antonio Cassano, Marco Delvecchio, Alessandro Nesta and former national team coach Giovanni Trapattoni in a short show called ''La sai l'ultima di Totti''. On 16 January 2008, he appeared as "PaperTotti" in the Disney comics, Disney comic series ''Topolino''. The proceeds of the subscriptions were given to charity. The Roma captain's official testimonial was a fund raising match between singers and celebrities played on 12 May 2008 to help raise money for the construction of the Campus Produttivo della Legalità e della Solidarietà (Productive Campus of Legality and Solidarity).
In 2009, Totti helped launch a new campaign promoting Football Adopting Abandoned Children, which came about in collaboration with the Friends of Children and the Association of Italian Players. In the project, he adopted a team of around 11 young Kenyans to play football in Nairobi, and then to coach them along the way. In 2015, Totti and several of his teammates took to the pitch for "Tennis with Stars" in the Foro Italico in Rome, an event to help disadvantaged children. Tennis players such as Novak Djokovic and Flavia Pennetta participated at the event. On 27 September 2016, Totti celebrated his 40th birthday live on his new Facebook page, at the Tor Crescenza castle in Rome.
Totti recorded a video message for a comatose hospital patient who awoke from her coma when his voice was played; Totti visited the patient in the hospital in September 2020.
Television, cinema and publicity
In 2002, Fiat principal executive Gianni Agnelli, a lifelong fan and ex-president of Juventus, chose Totti to publicize the launch of the new Stilo instead of a Juventus player. Having been signed to sportswear company Nike, Inc., Nike, Totti featured in Nike's "Secret Tournament" advertisement, directed by Terry Gilliam, in the buildup to the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan. He appeared alongside Ronaldo (Brazilian footballer), Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Luís Figo, Roberto Carlos and Hidetoshi Nakata, with former player Eric Cantona the tournament "referee".
Totti has featured in EA Sports' FIFA (video game series), ''FIFA'' video game series; he starred on the cover of the Italian edition of ''FIFA 2002''. He also featured on the cover of ''Pro Evolution Soccer 4'' along with Thierry Henry and Italian referee Pierluigi Collina. Between 2005 and 2008, his sponsors changed to sportswear company Diadora and soft drink Pepsi Twist, with a commercial filmed in the camps of Trigoria by director Gabriele Muccino. Since May 2006, he has appeared in advertisements for telephone company Vodafone. In December 2006 Totti and his wife Ilary Blasi lent their voices to an Italian dubbing of an episode of the television series ''The Simpsons'' entitled "Marge and Homer Turn a Couple Play", in which Totti voiced Buck Mitchell.
In 2007, he appeared in the movie ''L'allenatore nel Pallone 2'' in the role of a defense attorney. Since 2008, he has participated several times in the television program ''C'è posta per te'', in the second series of the Italian drama ''Cesaroni'', in the reality show ''Grande Fratello (season 8), Grande Fratello 8'' and in an episode of ''Paperissima''. In September 2008, a collection of figurines dedicated to him appeared in newsstands in the Lazio region entitled "Francesco Totti, the captain". In 2009, Totti sent a message of support to Iranian youths during the 2009 Iranian presidential election protests. In February 2010, Totti was named an ambassador for online poker company Party Poker.
In May 2010, Totti appeared alongside actor Russell Crowe in Rome to promote the special edition of the film ''Gladiator (2000 film), Gladiator'', celebrating the tenth year of the film's release. In December 2014, two murals of Totti, sponsored by Nike, were created in Rome. In 2014, the Swiss artist David Diehl painted Totti as one of 16 football icons most beloved by their fans. In 2015, ''France Football
''France Football'' is a French weekly magazine containing football news from all over the world. It is considered to be one of the most reputable sports publications in Europe, mostly because of its photographic reports, in-depth and exclusi ...
'' rated him one of the ten best footballers in the world over the age of 36. In 2015, Totti's famous Goal celebration#Memorable celebrations, selfie goal celebration was included amongst the goal celebrations available for ''FIFA 16'' and ''Pro Evolution Soccer 2016''; he also took a selfie in the official trailer of the video game on YouTube. On 1 August 2017, a rocket carrying Totti's number 10 shirt from his final game with Roma against Genoa was launched into space from French Guiana.
In 2020 he was the subject of ''My Name Is Francesco Totti (Mi chiamo Francesco Totti)'', a documentary film by Alex Infascelli.
Career statistics
Club
International
:''Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Totti goal''.
Honours
Roma
*Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Copp ...
: 2000–01
*Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity ...
: 2006–07 Coppa Italia, 2006–07, 2007–08 Coppa Italia, 2007–08
*Supercoppa Italiana
The Supercoppa Italiana ( en, Italian Super Cup) is an annual football match contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season. If the same team wins both the Serie A and Coppa Italia titles in the previous seas ...
: 2001 Supercoppa Italiana, 2001, 2007 Supercoppa Italiana, 2007
Italy[
*FIFA World Cup: 2006 FIFA World Cup, 2006
Italy Youth
*Mediterranean Games, Mediterranean Games (Under-23): 1997 Mediterranean Games, 1997
*UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, UEFA European Under-21 Championship: 1996 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, 1996
Individual
*]Guerin d'Oro
The Guerin d'Oro ''(Golden Guerin)'' was an annual award which was handed out by the Italian magazine ''Guerin Sportivo'' to the best Serie A football player.
The first winner of the award was Claudio Sala, while the last was Carlos Tevez.
Hist ...
: 1998, 2004
*Serie A Young Footballer of the Year
The AIC Serie A Young Footballer of the Year ( it, Migliore calciatore giovane AIC) was a yearly award organized by the Italian Footballers' Association (AIC) given to the under-24 footballer who was considered to have performed the best over the ...
: 1999
*UEFA Euro 2000 Final: Man of the Match
*UEFA Euro 2000
The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe.
The finals tournament wa ...
: 2000 UEFA European Football Championship#Awards, Team of the Tournament
*Serie A Footballer of the Year
Series may refer to:
People with the name
* Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series
* George Series (1920–1995), English physicist
Arts, entertainment, and media
Music
* Series, the ordered sets used i ...
: 2000, 2003
*Serie A Italian Footballer of the Year
The AIC Serie A Italian Footballer of the Year ( it, Migliore calciatore italiano AIC) was a yearly award organized by the Italian Footballers' Association (AIC) given to the Italian footballer who was considered to have performed the best over ...
: 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007
*European Sports Media#ESM Team of the Year, ESM Team of the Year: European Sports Media#2000.E2.80.9301, 2000–01, European Sports Media#2003.E2.80.9304, 2003–04, European Sports Media#2006.E2.80.9307, 2006–07
*FIFA 100
The FIFA 100 is a list of Brazilian footballer Pelé's choice of the "greatest living footballers". Unveiled on 4 March 2004 at a gala ceremony in London, England, the FIFA 100 marked part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the fo ...
*Gran Galà del Calcio#Serie A Goal of the Year, Serie A Goal of the Year: 2005, 2006
*2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...
2006 FIFA World Cup#All-star team, All-star team
*2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...
top assist provider
*Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Copp ...
top assist provider: 1998–99, 2013–14 Serie A#Top assists, 2013–14
*''Capocannoniere'': 2006–07 Serie A#Top goalscorers, 2006–07
*European Golden Shoe
The European Golden Shoe, also known as European Golden Boot, is an award that is presented each season to the leading goalscorer in league matches from the top division of a European national league. The trophy is a sculpture of a football bo ...
: 2006–07
*Gran Galà del Calcio#Serie A_Goalscorer of the Year, Serie A Goalscorer of the Year: 2007
*Pallone d'Argento: 2007–08
*Golden Foot
The Golden Foot award is an international football award, given to players who stand out for their athletic achievements (both as individuals and team players) and for their personality. The award is only given to active players of at least 28 year ...
: 2010
*Premio Nazionale Carriera Esemplare "Gaetano Scirea": 2014
*Premio internazionale Giacinto Facchetti: 2014
*UEFA European Under-21 Championship All-time XI: 2015
*A.S. Roma Hall of Fame: 2017
*UEFA President's Award The UEFA President's Award recognises outstanding achievements, professional excellence and exemplary personal qualities. The accolade, first introduced by UEFA in 1998, is usually awarded annually to a football personality who is deemed to have ad ...
: 2017
*Gazzetta Sports Awards Legend: 2017
*Globe Soccer Awards, Globe Soccer Player Career Award: 2017
*Laureus World Sports Awards#Winners by year, Laureus Academy World Sports Exceptional Achievement Award: 2018
*Gran Galà del_Calcio#Lifetime Achievement Award, AIC Lifetime Achievement Award: 2018
*Italian Football Hall of Fame: 2018
Orders
:*
5th Class / Knight: ''Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, Cavaliere Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana'': 2000
:*
Italian National Olympic Committee, CONI: Golden Collar of Sports Merit: ''Collare d'Oro al Merito Sportivo'': 2006
:*
4th Class / Officer: ''Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana'': 2006
Records
*Roma All-Time Leading Goalscorer: 307 goals
*Roma All-Time Leading Goalscorer in Serie A: 250 goals
*Roma All-Time Leading Goalscorer in UEFA Champions League: 17 goals
*Roma All-Time Leading Goalscorer in UEFA Europa League: 21 goals
*Roma All-Time Leading Goalscorer in UEFA Competitions: 38 goals
*Roma All-Time Appearance Maker: 786 games
*Roma All-Time Appearance Maker in Serie A: 619 games
*Roma All-Time Appearance Maker in UEFA Champions League: 57 games
*Roma All-Time Appearance Maker in UEFA Europa League: 46 games
*Roma All-Time Appearance Maker in UEFA competitions: 103 games
*European Cup and UEFA Champions League records and statistics#Oldest and youngest, UEFA Champions League oldest goalscorer: aged 38 years 59 days
*Serie A youngest club's captain: aged 22 years 34 days
*Most goals for a single club in Serie A: 250 goals
*Football records in Italy#Goalscoring, Second-most goals scored in Serie A: 250 goals
*Rome Derby
The Derby della Capitale ( en, Derby of the capital city), also known as Derby Capitolino and Derby del Cupolone, as well as The Rome Derby in English and Derby di Roma in Italian, is the football local derby in Rome, Italy, between Lazio and ...
All-Time Leading Goalscorer in Serie A: 11 goals
*Football records in Italy#Most goals from a penalty kick, Most penalties scored in Serie A: 71 goals
*Most different teams scored against in Serie A (alongside Roberto Baggio and Alberto Gilardino): 38
Bibliography
*''Tutte le barzellette su Totti. (Raccolte da me)'', Milano, Mondadori, 2003. (All the jokes about Totti. Collected by me)
*''Le nuove barzellette su Totti. (Raccolte ancora da me)'', Milano, Mondadori, 2004. (The new jokes about Totti. Collected by me again)
*''«Mo je faccio er cucchiaio». Il mio calcio'', Milano, Mondadori, 2006. (I'm gonna chip him now. My football)
*''Tutto Totti'', Milano, Mondadori, 2006. (All about Totti)
*''La mia vita, i miei gol'' (book + DVD), Milano, Mondadori, 2007. (My life, my goals)
*''Quando i bambini fanno "ahó" '' (book + DVD), Milano, Mondadori, 2009. (When the children shout "Ahó")
*''E mo' te spiego Roma. La mia guida all'antica Roma'', Milano, Mondadori, 2012. (And Now I Explain Rome to You. My Guide to Ancient Rome)
*"Totteide" di Franco Constantini Imprimatur 2013
*''Roma 10. In giro per Roma col Capitano'', Milano, Mondadori, 2014. (Roma 10. Around Rome with the Captain)
See also
*List of one-club men in association football, List of one-club men
*Football records in Italy
References
Bibliography
* Fernando Acitelli, ''Francesco Totti. Il tribuno di Porta Latina'', Arezzo, Limina, 2002. (Francesco Totti. The tribune of Porta Latina)
* Mario Sconcerti, ''La differenza di Totti'', Arezzo, Limina, 2004. (The difference of Totti)
* Francesco Bovaio, con Cristiano Ditta, ''Francesco Totti. Semplicemente numero dieci'', Milano, Giunti Editore, 2006. (Francesco Totti. Simply number ten)
* Massimo Cecchini, ''Francesco Totti. Vita, parole e impresse dell'ultimo gladiatore'', Roma, Aliberti, 2009. (Totti. Life, words and feats of the last gladiator)
* Tonino Cagnucci, ''Francesco Totti. dai politici al cuore'', Roma, Limina, 2010. (Francesco Totti. From politicians to heart)
* Gianluca Tino, ''L'invasione degli UltraTotti'', Roma, Eraclea, 2010. (The invasion of UltraTotti)
* Francesca Spaziani Testa, ''Francesco Totti minuto per minuto'', Firenze-San Casciano V.P, Castelvecchi, 2012. (Francesco Totti minute by minute)
* Francesco Costantini, ''Totteide. (Poema epico)'', Roma, Imprimatur, 2013. (Totteide. Epic poem)
External links
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Lega Serie A profile
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*
FIGC national team archive
Italia1910 profile
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Totti, Francesco
1976 births
Living people
Italian Roman Catholics
Footballers from Rome
Italian footballers
Association football forwards
A.S. Roma players
Serie A players
FIFA 100
Italy youth international footballers
Italy under-21 international footballers
Italy international footballers
Competitors at the 1997 Mediterranean Games
UEFA Euro 2000 players
2002 FIFA World Cup players
UEFA Euro 2004 players
2006 FIFA World Cup players
FIFA World Cup-winning players
Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Italy
Mediterranean Games medalists in football
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors
Officers of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
Knights of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic