Francesco Totti
| 270px |
| Personal information |
| Full name |
Francesco Totti |
| Date of birth |
(1976-09-27) 27 September 1976 (age 35) |
| Place of birth |
Rome, Italy |
| Height |
1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) |
| Playing position |
Striker / Attacking midfielder |
| Club information |
| Current club |
Roma |
| Number |
10 |
| Youth career |
| 1984 |
Fortitudo |
| 1984–1986 |
Smit Trastevere |
| 1986–1989 |
Lodigiani |
| 1989–1992 |
Roma |
| Senior career* |
| Years |
Team |
Apps† |
(Gls)† |
| 1992– |
Roma |
501 |
(215) |
| National team |
| 1992 |
Italy U-15 |
6 |
(3) |
| 1991–1992 |
Italy U-16 |
13 |
(2) |
| 1993–1995 |
Italy U-18 |
14 |
(7) |
| 1995–1997 |
Italy U-21 |
8 |
(4) |
| 1997 |
Italy U-23 |
4 |
(2) |
| 1998–2006 |
Italy |
58 |
(9) |
|
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:00, 13 May 2012.
† Appearances (Goals).
|
Francesco Totti, Ufficiale OMRI,[1] (born 27 September 1976 in Rome) is an Italian footballer who is the captain of Serie A club Roma. His primary position is that of a trequartista, though he has also been successfully utilized as a lone striker. Totti has spent his entire career at Roma, is the number-one goalscorer and the most capped player in the club's history. He is considered as one of the finest players in his generation,[2][3][4][5][6][7] and also Roma's greatest player ever.[8][9]
A 2006 World Cup winner and Euro 2000 finalist, Totti was selected in the All-Star team for both tournaments. He has won many individual awards, including a record five Italian Footballer of the Year awards and two Serie A Footballer of the Year awards.[10] He was named in the FIFA 100, a list of the 125 greatest living footballers selected by Pelé as a part of FIFA's centenary celebrations.[11] In 2011, Totti has been recognized by IFFHS as the most popular footballer in Europe.[12]
Often referred to as Il Bimbo d'Oro (The Golden Boy), Er Pupone (The Big Baby), and Il Gladiatore (The Gladiator) by the Italian sports media, Totti is currently the top active Serie A goalscorer and fifth all-time in league history with 215 goals.
Totti was born in Rome, to parents Lorenzo and Fiorella Totti. His family raised in Porta Metronia neighbourhood. He idolized 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 Fortituto, then he joined Smit Trastevere and Lodigiani. After coming to the attention of scouts, his mother refused a lucrative offer from AC Milan to remain in his hometown,[13] and he joined the Roma youth squad in 1989.
After three years on the youth team, Totti made his first appearance for Roma's senior side at the age of sixteen, when coach Vujadin Boškov let him play in the 2–0 away victory against Brescia on 28 March 1993. In the following seasons, he began to play more games and scored his first goal on 24 September 1994 in a 1–1 draw against Foggia. By 1995, Totti had become a regular in the starting eleven and scored 16 goals in the next three seasons. When he assumed the team captaincy in 1998, he began to gain recognition as a club symbol. Manager Zdeněk Zeman played with an offensive 4–3–3 formation, in which Totti was the left winger. Totti scored 30 goals during Zeman's two-year managerial stint.
Though Totti was not called up for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, he was named the Serie A Young Footballer of the Year in the 1998–99 season.
Decal of Totti alongside the
Scudetto shield, displayed on a house in Rome.
By the 2000–01 campaign, Roma, then helmed by Fabio Capello, was building a competitive team around Totti, who had started to play as trequartista to take advantage of his passing skills. He scored thirteen goals in the campaign. On 17 June 2001, he won Scudetto, and scored one goal in a 3–0 Supercoppa Italiana victory against Fiorentina.
Totti was named the Italian Footballer of the Year for 2000 and 2001. He received his first Ballon d'Or nomination in 2000, finishing fourteenth in the voting and fifth the following year.[14] He had also become a widely recognized idol of the supporters, who were able to identify with Totti's background as a lifelong Roma supporter and Rome native and also his prowess on the pitch.
In the following seasons, Totti played as second striker as part of a 3–5–2 formation and scored a career-high twenty goals in the 2003–04 season as Roma finished runners-up to Milan in the Scudetto race. He also won his second consecutive Italian Footballer of the Year award. Despite a disappointing 2004–05 season that saw Capello leave for Juventus and Roma slip to eighth place while making four coaching changes during the course of the season, Totti maintained his consistent offensive output by scoring fifteen goals, among them his 100th Serie A goal against Internazionale on 3 October 2004. Two months later, on 19 December, he became Roma's all-time leading scorer after netting his 107th career goal against Parma, breaking the record previously held by Roberto Pruzzo.
Totti during the 2006–07 season.
Roma's new coach for the 2005–06 season, Luciano Spalletti, went with a 4–2–3–1 formation. In this formation, Totti would not remain forward waiting for crosses or passes but instead go back to take the ball, thus creating space for the attacking midfielders. In this new position, Totti began to score more frequently than the past and scored 15 goals in 24 matches. At one point during this streak, the team won 11 consecutive games.
On 19 February 2006, Totti suffered a fracture of his left fibula and ligament damage during a match against Empoli after being fouled by Richard Vanigli.[15] Totti risked missing the 2006 World Cup, but returned to the side on 11 May as a substitute in Roma's 3–1 Coppa Italia Final defeat to Internazionale. 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, after concurring that it would not affect his gameplay.[16]
The 2006–07 season was a personal high for Totti, as he finished as Serie A's top scorer with 26 goals as Roma finished runners-up to Inter but exacted revenge on the Nerazzurri as they took home the 2007 Coppa Italia. Totti also was the recipient of the ESM European Golden Shoe award as the top European goalscorer. Despite being the highest active goalscorer in Serie A, he was not among the finalists for the 2007 FIFA World Player of the Year[17] due to his national team absence, though he was nominated for the 2007 Ballon d'Or, finishing tenth in the voting.
Totti scored his 200th goal with Roma in a 4–0 Coppa Italia win over Torino on 16 January 2008. He was named the Italian Footballer of the Year for the fifth time in his career on 28 January. He 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 ACL that required surgery, making him miss four months.[18] Roma won their ninth Coppa Italia with a 2–1 victory over Internazionale on 24 May. Though Totti did not play, he was still allowed to lift the cup as the team's captain. With this win, Totti became the most successful captain in team history. At that time, he has won five titles and ten runners-up medals.
Totti during the 2008–09 season.
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 be replaced by Claudio Ranieri. Totti performed well in the inaugural UEFA Europa League. He has since scored three hat-tricks, first in a 7–1 away win against Gent in the third qualifying round and then another with the same score against Košice at the Olimpico in the play-off round. He also scored 3 goals against Bari in Serie A upon his return from a month-long injury.
On 30 November 2009, Totti confirmed he had signed a new five-year playing contract which will see him with the club until 2014, after which he will become a club director for a further five years.[19] The deal was made official by the Board of Directors on 16 December 2009.[20] Roma offered a gross annual salary of €8.9M for 2009–10 and €8.6M in the next 4 seasons.[21]
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, ultimately finishing runners-up after the final fixture. Despite Totti's several injury problems, he surpassed legends such as Gabriel Batistuta, Giuseppe Signori, and Kurt Hamrin in the all-time league 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. Roma lost 0–1, failing to bring home their 10th Coppa Italia.
Totti during the 2010–11 season.
In the 2010–11 season, Roma continued their 'traditional' early struggles, partly blamed on Ranieri's failure to develop a consistent set of tactics, changing both formations and lineups after every week. Though on a personal level, Totti won the Golden Foot award, Ranieri's lack of faith in Totti meant that the captain would face more time on the substitute's bench in favour of Marco Borriello, Mirko Vučinić and Jérémy Menez. This limited playing time (including an 91st minute substitution against Sampdoria[22]) resulted in only three league goals in 21 appearances. Following Roma's loss against Genoa on 20 February 2011, Ranieri resigned as trainer of Roma and Totti saw his former teammate Vincenzo Montella appoint to caretaker coach.
Montella reverted to Spalletti's 4–2–3–1 system and Totti appeared to find his best performance again. Within his first five league appearances under Montella, Totti, now reinstated into the starting lineup managed to score seven goals including braces against Lazio, Fiorentina and Udinese. On 3 March, Totti has been voted the best active Italian player in a poll conducted by La Gazzetta dello Sport with 100 Italian personalities, including footballers, politicians and showmen, took part in the vote.[23]
On 20 March, Totti became the sixth player in Serie A history to score 200 goals, finding the target twice in that 2–2 draw with Fiorentina to raise his total to 201.[24] On 1 May, Totti scored a brace against Bari to equal and overtake Roberto Baggio in the total number of goals scored in the league with his 205th and 206th goals.[25] Thus, he became the top fifth all-time Serie A goalscorer behind only Silvio Piola, Gunnar Nordahl, Giuseppe Meazza and José Altafini. Totti completed a remarkable turn-around in his season, completing the 2010–11 Serie A campaign with 15 goals - scoring 12 goals in Roma's last thirteen league fixtures.
2011–12 began with Totti getting few starts under Luis Enrique in a season that got off to a rocky start for Roma. He sustained an injury on 1 October 2011 in the second half against Atalanta which kept him out of action until being subbed in at the 66th minute on 20 November 2011 versus Lecce, which Roma won 2-1. During this absence, his presence was sorely missed on the pitch as the giallorossi's predominantly new and young team suffered highs and lows in their performances as they grew accustomed to each other. In mid-December, as Totti began regaining form post-injury, his presence became more regular in Luis Enrique's formations, often playing trequartista or attacking midfielder. On 12 December 2011 an otherwise strong performance on pitch against Juventus, inclusive of an assist to Daniele De Rossi's opening goal, was marred by missing a second half penalty. Totti offered up several more assists, notably Pablo Osvaldo's in Roma's 3-1 win over Napoli at the San Paolo, and Daniele De Rossi's goal against Catania at the Massimino. In the Roma tailsman's deeper position on pitch he doesn't seek out goals as often, opting to rather play more of a supporting role by bridging the attack and midfield, his presence and experience in games offering much needed depth.
On 8 January 2012, Totti scored his first goal of the season against Chievo, converting first one penalty in the first half and then another in the second, in a game which ended 2-0 for Roma. He went on to score two goals in a 5-1 win against 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. As the second round of the 2011-2012 season begins, Totti's goals remain at four but his performances continue to convince and in Roma's 4-0 win over rivals Internazionale on 5 February 2012, Totti's corner turned into an assist for Juan as he headed in the opening goal in Roma's dominating performance. As of that game, Totti's stats for the season are 8 goals and 7 assists in 25 appearances. Totti scored his fifth goal in 2011–12 season in a 3-1 victory over Udinese. He scored again in a 2-1 loss against Fiorentina, and two weeks later on his 500-th match in Serie A he scored two goals in a 2-2 draw against Catania at Olimpico.
Totti in the Euro 2000 final against France.
Totti first came into international prominence while playing in UEFA youth tournaments. He scored in Italy’s 4–1 defeat by Spain in the final of the UEFA Under-18 Championship in July 1995. Totti won the UEFA Under-21 Championship in 1996, in the final match, he opened the scoring in a 1–1 draw against the Spanish before triumphing on penalties. After starring with the Azzurrini in Italy's Under-19 and Under-21 sides, Totti earned his first cap for Italy during a Euro 2000 qualifying victory against Switzerland on 10 October 1998.
Italy went to Euro 2000 with Totti in excellent form. He scored 2 goals during the tournament. The first goal came against co-host nation Belgium in the first round, the second against Romania in the quarter-finals. His confidently chipped penalty in the semi-final shootout victory over the Netherlands was named as one of the "magic moments" of the tournament.[26] Though Italy lost to France in the final, Totti was named the man of the match[27] and was selected for the 22-man Team of the Tournament.
After being handed the number 10 shirt and Italy's playmaking duties, much was expected of Totti in his début World Cup. However, disappointment followed at the 2002 World Cup, with Totti failing to make a significant impact and then being sent off during Italy's second-round loss to South Korea after being handed a controversial second yellow card by Byron Moreno for an alleged dive in the penalty area.
Totti acquired a measure of infamy at Euro 2004 after he spat at Danish midfielder Christian Poulsen in a goalless draw on 14 June 2004. He was subsequently banned until the semifinals, but never made it back to action and finished the competition scoreless due to Italy's elimination in the first round.
Totti recovered in time to join the national team for their victorious 2006 World Cup campaign despite not having had much match practice during his three months on the sidelines recovering from injury. Marcello Lippi showed enormous faith in Totti, assuring him during his rehabilitation that his spot in the Azzurri World Cup team 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 Germany against all odds (and much of the Italian media's opinion). Totti did recuperate in time and in fact played the entire time in Berlin with metal plates in his ankle that had yet to be removed following the surgery. Nonetheless, he was a fixture in Marcello Lippi's side, playing in all of Italy's seven games. During the tournament he played along with Andrea Pirlo behind lone striker Luca Toni, forming a dangerous attacking-midfield pairing. Totti finished the tournament with the most assists of any player, as well as scoring a single goal via a penalty in Italy's 1–0 round-of-16 win over Australia on 26 June. In recognition of a successful tournament, Totti was selected for the 23-man All-Star Team.[28]
Totti intended to retire from the Azzurri after the end of the 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, in order to focus solely on club play with Roma. Then-Italy coach, Roberto Donadoni attempted to get Totti to change his mind for the remaining Euro 2008 qualifiers but was not successful.[29]
After the national team reunited with Marcello Lippi, Totti announced that he would play in the 2010 World Cup Finals in South Africa if he got called up.[30] However, there was no official statement release from Totti or Lippi about a possible comeback. In the event, Totti was not named in the final squad, and Italy was subsequently eliminated, finishing last in their group, their worst ever group stage result in World Cup history. Diego Maradona and former national teammates Fabio Cannavaro and Gianluigi Buffon said one of the reasons for Italy's early exit is that the Azzurri lack creative players like Totti.[31][32][33]
Totti is known for celebrating his goals in exuberant manner. His most famous celebration 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 Marco Delvecchio 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. He's displayed numerous message t-shirts under his jersey over the years, including two for his wife "6 Unica" ("You're the One") 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 (later freed). The most recent shirt's message was "Scusate il Ritardo" ("Sorry for the delay") which he flashed on 8 January 2012 in an apology to fans for his goal-scoring 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 laying 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 subsequently after the birth of his daughter. Blasi has revealed that Totti sucks his thumb also dedicating his celebration to her, and not only for their children.[34][35]
Totti's wife Ilary Blasi is a former showgirl who has been a co-host of Italia 1's hit show Le Iene since 2007. When the couple married on 19 June 2005 at the Basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli, their wedding was aired on television with 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 Beckham's" and their private lives are often speculated upon in Italian magazines and tabloids.
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, which is a soccer camp for children with disabilities. Totti also owns a motorcycle racing team called Totti Top Sport.
Totti became a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF in 2003,[36][37] and the FIFA/SOS Children's Villages in January 2006. As a fundraiser for a children's charity, he published two bestselling, 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 and Alessandro Nesta and former national team coach Giovanni Trapattoni in a short show called La sai l'ultima di Totti.
Totti is famous for his cucchiaio goalscoring technique, which inspired the title of his 2006 autobiography, Tutto Totti: Mo je faccio er cucchiaio (Romanesco for "I'm going to Chip Him").
Totti also collects jerseys from teams around the world. In 2003, after a Six Nations rugby match between Italy and Ireland, Irish players Brian O'Driscoll and Denis Hickie each received a Totti jersey in exchange for their own shirts.
Totti is featured on the cover of Pro Evolution Soccer 4 along with Thierry Henry and Italian referee Pierluigi Collina.[38]
Totti launched his official website http://www.francescototti.com/ in November 2009, where his professional stats, blog, merchandise, and related articles can be found.
On February 2010, Totti signed a lucrative sponsorship deal with online gambling company Party Poker. Totti admitted that he is truly passionate about poker, playing online and with his teammates.[39]
- Correct as of 13 May 2012.
1European competitions include the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League
2Other tournaments include the Supercoppa Italiana
| National Team |
Year |
International
Competitions |
Friendlies |
Total |
Goals per match |
| Apps |
Goals |
Apps |
Goals |
Apps |
Goals |
| Italy |
1998 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
| 1999 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
| 2000 |
8 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
12 |
4 |
0.333 |
| 2001 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
6 |
1 |
0.167 |
| 2002 |
4 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
| 2003 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
5 |
1 |
0.2 |
| 2004 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
6 |
2 |
0.333 |
| 2005 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
| 2006 |
7 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
9 |
1 |
0.111 |
| Total |
|
37 |
8 |
21 |
1 |
58 |
9 |
0.155 |
| Totti – goals for Italy |
| # |
Date |
Venue |
Opponent |
Score |
Result |
Competition |
| 1. |
26 April 2000 |
Stadio Oreste Granillo, Reggio Calabria, Italy |
 Portugal |
2 – 0
|
2 – 0
|
Friendly match |
| 2. |
14 June 2000 |
Koning Boudewijnstadion, Brussels, Belgium |
 Belgium |
1 – 0
|
2 – 0
|
UEFA Euro 2000 |
| 3. |
24 June 2000 |
Koning Boudewijnstadion, Brussels, Belgium |
 Romania |
1 – 0
|
2 – 0
|
UEFA Euro 2000 |
| 4. |
7 October 2000 |
Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan, Italy |
Romania |
3 – 0
|
3 – 0
|
2002 FIFA World Cup Qualification |
| 5. |
2 June 2001 |
Boris Paichadze Stadium, Tbilisi, Georgia |
 Georgia |
0 – 2
|
1 – 2
|
2002 FIFA World Cup Qualification |
| 6. |
11 June 2003 |
Helsingin olympiastadion, Helsinki, Finland |
 Finland |
0 – 1
|
0 – 2
|
UEFA Euro 2004 qualification |
| 7. |
13 October 2004 |
Stadio Ennio Tardini, Parma, Italy |
 Belarus |
1 – 0
|
4 – 3
|
2006 FIFA World Cup Qualification |
| 8. |
13 October 2004 |
Stadio Ennio Tardini, Parma, Italy |
Belarus |
3 – 1
|
4 – 3
|
2006 FIFA World Cup Qualification |
| 9. |
26 June 2006 |
Fritz Walter Stadion, Kaiserslautern, Germany |
 Australia |
1 – 0
|
1 – 0
|
2006 FIFA World Cup |
- Winners
- Runner-up
- Serie A (6): 2001–02, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2009–10
- Coppa Italia (4): 2002–03, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2009–10
- Supercoppa Italiana (3): 2006, 2008, 2010
- Winners
- Runner-up
- Serie A Active Leading Goalscorer: 215 goals
- Roma All-Time Leading Goalscorer: 270 goals
- Roma All-Time Leading Goalscorer in Serie A: 215 goals
- Roma All-Time Leading Goalscorer in UEFA Champions League: 16 goals
- Roma All-Time Leading Goalscorer in UEFA Europa League: 21 goals
- Roma All-Time Leading Goalscorer in UEFA Competitions: 37 goals
- Roma All-Time Appearance Maker: 641 games
- Roma All-Time Appearance Maker in Serie A: 501 games
- Roma All-Time Appearance Maker in UEFA Champions League: 50 games
- Roma All-Time Appearance Maker in UEFA Europa League: 38 games
- Roma All-Time Appearance Maker in UEFA competitions: 88 games
-
5th Class / Knight: Cavaliere Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana: 2000[41]
-
Collar of Merit Sports: Collare d'Oro al Merito Sportivo: 2006[42]
-
4th Class / Official: Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana: 2006[43]
|
- Ballon d'Or
- FIFA World Player of the Year
Totti's footprint on The Champions Promenade in Monaco.
|
| Persondata |
| Name |
Totti, Francesco |
| Alternative names |
|
| Short description |
Italian footballer |
| Date of birth |
27 September 1976 |
| Place of birth |
Rome, Italy |
| Date of death |
|
| Place of death |
|
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