World Cup South Africa 2010
History - Groups - Players - Venues
Favorite Players by Country (Germany 2006)
Group E - Italy:
Francesco Totti
Place of Birth: Rome, Italy
Date of Birth: September 27th, 1976
Position: Midfielder, Forward
Clubs: Fortitudo, Smit Trastevere, Lodigiani, A.S. Roma
A creator as well as a scorer of goals, Francesco Totti can maneuver from a variety of attacking positions. But, it is in the free role behind the strikers that his skills and techniques are best showcased. He is widely regarded as one of the finest players in the modern game.
Totti was just 16 when he made his first appearance for AS Roma in a 2-0 away victory at Brescia on March 28, 1993. He scored four goals in 21 outings in 1994/95 and over the ensuing seasons became a team regular. He was named Italy's Player of the Year in 2000 and in 2003. The following season (2000/1) he helped AS Roma secure their first league title since 1983, having scored 13 Serie A goals
Playing in a more advanced role, Totti hit a career-high 20 goals as Roma finished second in Serie A behind A.C. Milan, many considered Roma as the better team in that season, and had the best football style.
More disappointment followed at the 2002 World Cup, with Totti failing to make a significant impact and then being sent off as Italy controversially lost to the South Korea in the second round, when he received a dubious second yellow card for alleged penalty area.
At Euro 2004, Totti gathered negative media interest when he spat at Christian Poulsen, a midfielder for Denmark who had sledged him for the whole match. Totti was subsequently banned until the semi-finals, but did not play in the tournament again, as Italy failed to qualify for the next round.
2004/05 was a very disappointing season. Although the only bright side was to finish second in the Italian Cup and qualify for the UEFA Cup, this season Roma had to replace 4 coaches starting with the departure of Fabio Capello and the resignation of Rudi Voller and Luigi Del Neri and an emergency call up for Bruno Conti. Nevertheless, Totti scored 12 goals.
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