Francesco Totti is AS Roma.
The conclusion of the 2015/16 season in Italy was one that had a lot of football fans worried that one of the true legendary figures left in the game was about to be tossed out on his arse by the club that he lives and breathes for, so there was delight when it was confirmed that the emperor of Rome had extended his contract for a further year.
Because it just wouldn't have been right.
You don't have to be a Roma fan to appreciate what he means to the club, and, of course, what the club means to him. If that wasn't clearly obvious to anyone who knows who Totti is, then the main himself outlined exactly why he could never play for a different team while writing for The Player's Tribune.
When I walked onto the pitch for the first match, I was overwhelmed with pride to play for my home. For my grandfather. For my family.
For 25 years the pressure — the privilege — has never changed.
Of course, there have been mistakes. And there was even a moment 12 years ago when I thought about leaving Roma for Real Madrid. When a very successful team, perhaps the strongest in the world, asks you to join, you start to think about what life might be like elsewhere. I had talks with the president of Roma, and that made a difference. But in the end, the talk I had with my family reminded me what life is about.
Home is everything.
For 39 years, Rome has been my home. For 25 years as a footballer, Rome has been my home. Whether winning the Scudetto or playing in the Champions League, I hope that I’ve represented and raised the Roma colors as high as I can. I hope that I’ve made you proud.
You could say I’m a man who is set in his ways. I didn’t even move out of my parents’ house until I was engaged to my wife, Ilary. So when I look back on my time here and what I’ll miss, I know it will be the routine, the everyday things. The many hours training, the many chats in the dressing room. I think what I’ll miss most is sharing a coffee with my teammates every day. Maybe if I come back as director one day, those moments will still be there.
People ask me, why spend your whole life in Rome?
Rome is my family, my friends, the people that I love. Rome is the sea, the mountains, the monuments. Rome, of course, is the Romans.
Rome is the yellow and red.
Rome, to me, is the world.
This club, this city, has been my life.
Sempre.
Beautiful.
Or bellissimo, rather, which was the only word that Totti used to describe the feeling he first had when he ran out onto the pitch wearing the colours of AS Roma.
That, along with the story of his mother outright refusing to talk with representatives from AC Milan who were interested in young Francesco were the highlight of Totti's outstanding contribution to The Player's Tribune.
You can read that post in full below, and it will leave you in absolutely no doubt as to how much Francesco Totti genuinely loves the club he plays for.
[via theplayerstribune.com]
