Luciano Spalletti had himself a handful this past week; a tough defeat at the hands of Real Madrid, news that Daniele De Rossi would be out for three weeks, which was followed by an explosive interview from his captain, Francesco Totti, that implicated Spalletti as being disrespectful towards him.
Totti has only featured in cameo appearances since returning from a spell fraught with injuries the first half of the 2015-2016 season. As the greatest player in Roma’s history without question, Totti was the bright light in many dark spells during his over twenty-three year period representing his hometown club. Much of Roma’s recent successes can be attributed to him – and he knows it.
Francesco Totti Bust-Up a Media Circus
Time and time again, it was up to Il Bimbo d’Oro to save his club from disaster, and not just on the field. During periods of bankruptcy, Totti has been known to pay the salaries of youth players himself, out of his own pocket when the club had been unable to. He was the longtime UNICEF ambassador for Italy, and much of his spare time has been spent doing charity work.
So, when Totti says he’s unhappy, naturally all of Rome raises its tail. He is their favourite son, one of their own.
It mustn’t be forgotten – Totti is turning forty this year. Forty. While it’s commonplace for a keeper to reach this age and continue playing, for a striker, it’s rare. Totti has never been renowned for his athleticism though; his technical ability as a playmaker is what makes him special. There has never been nor will there ever be a player as special as he is in the attacking third. Names like Bergkamp, Ronaldinho, Zidane – they’ve all come and gone, yet Totti remains. A World Cup winner’s medal, a Golden Boot, a Serie A title and multiple Coppa Italia victories are just a quick glance into his trophy cabinet.
What motivates Totti is his hunger for victory, to overcome the odds and persevere for his hometown club as he has for the past two decades. Thus, when he is benched as he has been for the past two months that he has been healthy, it comes as not only surprising, but downright insulting considering Edin Dzeko’s goalscoring record this season.
The final straw for Totti was his three minute cameo role that he was presented with against Real Madrid on Wednesday. Frustrated, and tired of being passed over for the Bosnian, Totti was asked how he felt in an interview with Italian broadcasters RAI on Saturday. It was supposed to be an interview for a documentary on the tenth anniversary of Italy’s 2006 FIFA World Cup glory. Yet Totti took advantage of the situation to express his displeasure with not only Spalletti, but with those who operate the club – his contract expires in June, and he has yet to receive the extension that he desires.
In the interview, Totti implied that it would be terrible for his career to end like this – in a whimper. The irony in all of this? Luciano Spalletti had just finished revealing his plans for Totti to start alongside Dzeko in Sunday’s match against Palermo. Of course, Totti was dropped for his misconduct and sent to the stands, while Roma went on to beat Palermo 5-0. Dzeko missed a sitter in the opening minutes, but would go on to score twice in the match. In what was supposed to be Kevin Strootman’s triumphant return from injury on top of a fantastic victory, the Totti sideshow took away from it all.
The fact of the matter is, Luciano Spalletti has reiterated time and time again that he treats every player under him equally. Either he or Totti needs to realize that they must make concessions; yet again, this could simply be the Italian media blowing things out of proportion as they tend to be notorious for doing. All that can be said is hopefully this issue works itself out in the coming days – long live the eighth King of Rome!
