Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
The news coming out of the Italian capital is quite big especially if you are a fan of AS Roma as their evergreen idol Francesco Totti will finally hang up his boots at the end of the season, Roma’s new sporting director has confirmed.
Monchi has joined the Serie A outfit from Sevilla and in his presentation in the Italian capital on Wednesday, the Spaniard revealed that the 40-year-old club legend will not have his contract renewed.
Instead, Totti will move upstairs at the Stadio Olimpico and take on a new role as director this summer. Totti has seemingly evaded father time for many a year will finally call it a day this Summer and join the likes of Philip Lahm and Xabi Alonso who have also announced their decision to quit football at the end of this campaign.
Speaking to the Italian press, Monchi said: ‘In terms of Totti, I already knew that there was an agreement with the club that this would be his final year as a player, then he’d start as a director.
‘Francesco is Roma, I want to be as close to him as possible. I’d love to learn even one per cent of the huge amount that he knows.’
Confusion reigned in the aftermath of the final Rome derby of the season on Sunday, as the club’s general manager told press that Totti’s would be taking to the field against Lazio for the final time, only for the player himself to contradict the statement.
‘Somebody else may be saying that, but not me,’ he told reporters after a disappointing 3-1 defeat.
The announcement means that Totti’s final competitive clash in a Roma shirt is likely to be at home to Genoa on May 28, as the curtain finally comes down on a glittering career that spans 25 years.
Despite his longevity, the striker won the Serie A title just once with Roma, in 2001, finishing runners up with the capital club on no fewer than eight occasions.
There was more success in the Coppa Italia, where he lifted the torphy in consecutive season in 2007 and 2008, although he was also handed runners up medals on five further occasions.
He also lifted the World Cup with Italy in 2006, starting the final as the Azzurri beat France on penalties, after helping to set up one of the goals in their incredible semi-final win over hosts Germany
He holds the joint record with Milan icon Paolo Maldini as having played in 25 Serie A seasons and has the third most appearances in the division’s history, with 616 to date.
Totti also made 103 appearances in UEFA competitions , facing English opponents on a number of occasions including Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle.
But English and Italian defences alike need worry no more after the announcement on Wednesday, with the player having signed a six-year contract as the club’s director from this summer.
