Speaking of loyalty in football, Francesco Totti at AS Roma is one of the best examples.
May 28, 2017, Totti entered the field to replace Mohamed Salah in the 54th minute of AS Roma’s match against Genoa. This match is very important for Totti because this is the last performance of the Prince with the team from the capital.
Thousands of fans already packed the Stadio Olimpico and waited for the match to end. Totti continues to control the ball on the left side of the Genoa defense until finally the whistle marks the end of the match.
Roma won 3-2 over Genoa and ensured second place in the hands of ‘Capital Wolf’, but the most important thing that day was the departure of Totti from AS Roma’s squad forever.
Victory and loss are celebrated simultaneously. Totti then had to stand before tens of thousands of spectators to say parting words.
“You cannot of course just forget 25 years. You are always behind me, supporting me in good and bad moments,” Totti said in the opening remarks to his farewell speech.
Totti is the identity of AS Roma in more than two decades. It grew with the evolution that took place in AS Roma.
Totti’s expertise made him one of Italy’s fantasistas in the 90s, competing with Alessandro Del Piero who was his generation’s partner.
Totti was entrusted to be captain of AS Roma at the age of 22 in 1998. Since then, the leadership spirit of Totti has been increasingly formed.
He successfully led Roma to win the Italian League in the 2000/2001 season. Roma success broke the dominance of the Italian League, which was dominated by Juventus and AC Milan at the time.
But the Scudetto 2000/2001 turned out to be Totti’s only major title with Roma. Totti has indeed won two Coppa Italia and two Italian Super Cups, but the number of titles is certainly somewhat small for a player of the caliber of Totti.
Totti could have taken the easy way to collect more titles, for example by accepting Real Madrid’s offer to join. But this was not done by Totti.
Totti’s heart remains for Roma and that’s what kept him going, season after season, until finally Totti’s career age in AS Roma reached 25 years for the senior team, plus three years in the junior team.
The 25-year incision in the same club is certainly not easy for Totti, especially when he was in the golden phase of his career in the early 90s and early 2000s.
“Being born as a Roman and being a Romanist is a privilege. To be the captain of this team is an honor. You are always in my life.”
“I will no longer comfort you with my feet, but my heart will always be with you. Now I will go down the stairs and enter the dressing room that welcomed me as a child and I will leave as a grown man.”
“I am happy and proud to give AS Roma 28 years of love. I love you.”
Totti then waved, greeted by applause from people with wet eyes.
