Totti Francesco
Francesco Totti, is an Italian former professional footballer who played for Roma. He played primarily as an attacking midfielder or second striker, but could also play as a lone striker or winger. Totti spent his entire career at Roma, winning a Serie A title, two Coppa Italia titles, and two Supercoppa Italiana titles; he is the top goalscorer and the most capped player in the club’s history. Totti also holds the record for the youngest club captain in the history of Serie A. 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,[5][6] Totti is the second-highest scorer of all time in Italian league history with 250 goals; he also holds the record for the most goals scored in Serie A while playing for a single club. A creative offensive playmaker renowned for his vision, technique, and goalscoring ability, Totti is considered to be one of the greatest Italian players of all time, one of the most talented players of his generation, and Roma’s greatest ever player. He won a record eleven Oscar del calcio awards from the Italian Footballers’ Association: five Serie A Italian Footballer of the Year awards, two Serie A Footballer of the Year 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 award. Totti is the fifth-highest scoring Italian in all competitions, with 316 goals. A 2006 FIFA World Cup winner and UEFA Euro 2000 finalist with Italy, Totti was selected in the All-Star team for both tournaments; he also represented his country at the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004. He also won several individual awards, notably the 2007 European Golden Shoe and the Golden Foot. In 2004, he was named in the FIFA 100, a list of the world’s greatest living players as selected by Pelé, as part of FIFA’s centenary celebrations. In 2011, Totti was recognised by IFFHS as the most popular footballer in Europe. In November 2014, Totti extended his record as the oldest goalscorer in UEFA Champions League history, aged 38 years and 59 days.
“Totti is the world’s number one. He represents Italian football and the Italian fans will have fun with him” Diego Armando Maradona
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Totti first came into international prominence while playing in FIFA and UEFA youth tournaments. With the 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 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’s 4–1 defeat to Spain in the final of the UEFA Under-18 Championship, in July 1995. He subsequently won the UEFA Under-21 Championship with Italy in 1996, under manager Cesare Maldini; in the final, he opened the scoring as the match ended in a 1–1 draw against 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 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 under-16, under-19, and under-21 sides, Totti earned his first senior cap for Italy under the recently appointed international manager Dino Zoff during a 2–0 Euro 2000 qualifying victory against Switzerland on 10 October 1998. Totti scored his first goal for Italy on 26 April 2000 in a 2–0 friendly win over 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, on 13 October 2004. In total, Totti made 58 appearances for Italy between 1998 and 2006, scoring nine goals.
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Totti is regarded as one of the most talented Italian players of all time, and by some as Italy’s greatest player ever. Throughout his career, Totti played predominantly as a classic number 10, functioning either as an offensive-midfield playmaker or as a supporting or 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 midfield playmaker under Zdeněk Zeman, and most notably as a false-9 under Luciano Spalletti and Rudi García. While Totti was a prolific goalscorer, he was also renowned for his ball control, vision, and range of passing, as well as his ability to set the pace in midfield and provide through-balls and assists for his teammates, often through his trademark use of the 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 vision, precise long passing ability, and technique, which allowed him to play the ball first-time. Due to his movement and wide range of skills, his role has at times been described as that of a hardworking, generous, quick and dynamic centreforward, known as a centravanti di manovra in Italian. 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 made excellent use of his balance, 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 and free kick taker. Totti also scored several goals from chipped shots throughout his career, and often used the technique on penalties; one of the most famous instances in which Totti performed this type of penalty was in the 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, was later named the best goal in Serie A of the 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 (English: 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 eleven red cards, he has the joint-sixth highest number of sending offs in Serie A history.
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In the season 2001-2002 Totti being handed the number 10 shirt and Italy’s playmaking duties, much was expected of Totti in his debut World Cup 2002 under manager Giovanni Trapattoni.
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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 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.
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The Totti’s famous selfie goal celebration during the “derby” against Lazio became a one-of-a-kind celebration in football history and an authentic masterpiece for Roma’s fans. It 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.
“A great player! What a phenomenon!” Leo Messi
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Despite injury troubles, Totti recovered in time to join the national team for their victorious 2006 World Cup 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 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 his teammate Pirlo, Juan Román Riquelme, Bastian Schweinsteiger, and Luís Figo (4). Totti set up Pirlo’s goal from a short corner in Italy’s opening 2–0 win against Ghana, Marco Materazzi’s goal from a corner in Italy’s final group match, a 2–0 win against the Czech Republic, and two goals in a 3–0 win against 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 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, 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 All-Star Team.
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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 Euro 2008 qualifiers but was not successful.
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These boots were worn by Francesco Totti uniquely during some Fifa World Cup “GERMANY 2006” games including the games against Czech Republic, Australia, Germany and during the Final game against France which took place in Berlin on July 9th 2006. This pair of boots is absolutely unique, released in one pair only. It has a special sole exclusively made for the player for the World Cup due his injury happened few months before the competition. It is a very special soft sole, with smaller studs made by Diadora to make the player’s run smoother. Totti used this kind of sole only during the World Cup and only in the very first games of the season 2006/2007, but on a different style of boots. The special “Germany 2006” sided tag on boots makes these boots an authentic piece of football history. There is also a similar version of these boots that Totti used during World Cup trainings and pre World Cup friendly games with player’s signature on tongue and without the “Germany 2006” tag on side. Totti used his number 10 on tongue and the tag only during the official World Cup games. Number “10” on tongue is written in the same font of name sets and numbers of Fifa World Cup “GERMANY 2006” Italy National Team’s shirts, which is very weird, considering that the font belonged to Puma and not to Diadora. So we assume that Diadora requested to be allowed to use it on Totti’s boots.
Usual Francesco Totti’s sole
Francesco Totti’s World Cup 2006sole
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On 19 August 2007, Totti contributed to Roma’s 1–0 victory over Inter in the 2007 Supercoppa Italiana, winning a penalty which was subsequently converted by Daniele De Rossi. Totti scored his 200th goal for Roma in a 4–0 victory against Torino, in the Coppa Italia, on 16 January 2008. He was named the Serie A Italian Footballer of the Year 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, 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.
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In the season 2005-2006, Roma’s new coach Luciano Spalletti, 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”. 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 and ligament damage during a match against Empoli after being fouled by Richard Vanigli. Totti was at risk of missing the 2006 World Cup, 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 treatments of teriparatide to speed-up his fracture recovery.
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Totti was born in Rome to parents Lorenzo and Fiorella Totti. He was raised in the Porta Metronia neighbourhood. As a youngster he idolised ex-Roma captain Giuseppe Giannini, and regularly played football with older boys. Totti began to play youth team football at the age of 8, with Fortitudo, later joining Smit Trastevere and Lodigiani. After he came to the attention of scouts, his mother refused a lucrative offer from Milan 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.
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In the 2007-2008 season 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 (ACL) that required surgery, ruling him out for four months. Roma won their ninth Coppa Italia 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.
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Prior to the start of the 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, thus becoming the oldest scorer in the history of the competition; 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 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 record of the most goals scored in Serie A from penalties (68). On 31 May, in the final match-day of the 2014–15 season, he scored his 299th goal for Roma in a 2–1 home defeat to 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.
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This shirt was worn by Francesco Totti during the first half of Napoli vs Roma which took place in Napoli, San Paolo Stadium, on November 1st 2014. The shirt is very recognizable from game’s footage due some heavy creases in the lower part of both numbers probably made when numbers were heat pressed to the shirt. Th shirt has the official A.S.Roma’s “Matchday Authenticated” tag inside. In the season 2014/2015 A.S.Roma introduced a new revolutionary way to authenticate the shirts used in the games. Aside of regular supplier’s differences between player’s shirts and shop’s shirts, the team, owned by James Pallotta, which was also the NBA team of Boston Celtic’s owner, introduced an typical NBA authentication’s tag on the shirt. It is called “Matchday Authenticated” tag and it is glued on the inside out of the shirt. It contains a number’s code that is registered in the team’s database with all of the information about the shirt including the player and the game it was worn. This tag is only in the shirts that were really used in the game, so it is not available on regular player’s shirts. It makes the shirt certified to be really match worn, and A.S.Roma has activated a new service called “Matchday Authentication” where everybody who gets an A.S.Roma shirt with the “Matchday Authenticated” tag inside can request informations about the shirt.
“Time has tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘You can no longer enjoy the smell of the grass, the sun on your face as you bear down on the opposition’s goal, the adrenaline consuming you, the joy of celebrating’. It’s not easy to turn out the light. I’m afraid. It’s not the same fear you feel when you’re standing in front of the goal, about to take a penalty. This time, I can’t see what the future looks like through the holes of the net. With your support, I will succeed in turning the page and throwing myself into a new adventure. Being the captain of this team has been an honour. I will no longer entertain you with my feet, but my heart will always be there with you. Now, I will go down the stairs and enter the dressing room that welcomed me as a child and that I now leave as a man.” Francesco Totti
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On 7 June 2016 Francesco Totti renewed his contract for another year, stating that he would be retiring at the end of the 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 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 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 Astra Giurgiu in the 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 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 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 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 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, coming on as a substitute for Mohamed Salah in the 54th minute and received a standing ovation from the fans. The 40-year-old striker admitted he was unsure “what the future looks like” after drawing a line under his 24 storied years as a Roma player. Totti made his debut at the age of 16, in a league match at Brescia on March 28, 1993. He went on to make 786 appearances in all competitions for Roma, scoring 307 goals, with 250 of those coming in Serie A. He won the Scudetto once, under Fabio Capello’s stewardship in 2001, but found himself a runner-up with the Giallorossi on no fewer than nine occasions. Some fans chuckled. More of them sobbed. The tears had been flowing from before kick-off – Totti confessed that crying has been a daily occurrence in his own household of late – but by now it seemed there was not a dry eye left in the house. Totti Day had the feel of a public festival in Rome, buses commandeered to display a “Thanks Captain” message in lieu of their destination, while fans flocked to take their photo with “selfie statues” commissioned by Corriere dello Sport. Planes trailed messages of support overhead.
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This captain armband was exclusively made for Francesco Totti for the whole 2016-2017 season and used by the player in every game he was in the starting lineup. The armband features the seasons he played for A.S.Roma, the trophies he won and the names of his three children. This armband became very known between the fans so the team made a numbered limited edition of 3000 pieces of it to be sold on official team’s stores. The armband was sold out within few hours. The main difference between the player’s armband and the store’s armband is that the armbands sold in stores had an extra sewn tag with serial numbers XXXX/3000. They were also boxed in a special box. Another limited and numbered edition of 1000 pieces was given to the player for friends and sponsor. Only the armband without any numbered tag was the one used by the player during the season. After his farewell game against Genoa, Totti gave the armband he wore in the game to an A.S.Roma youth team player with a wish to follow his steps with the club.
