April 09, 2013
| Andy West is a sports writer originally from the UK and now living in Barcelona. He has worked in professional football since 1998 and specialises in the Spanish Primera Division and the English Premier League. Follow him on Twitter at @andywest01. |
APRIL 9 — While Manchester United were doing their best to make the English Premier League title race a bit more interesting by losing at home to closest rivals (in every sense) Manchester City last night, another of Europe's great derbies was taking place as Roma and Lazio locked horns in Serie A.
The Italian encounter in the Stadio Olimpico was arguably the more meaningful of the two games. Although United's march towards the title shouldn't prove to be seriously affected by their surprise defeat, Roma and Lazio were both desperate for three points to maintain their slim hopes of qualifying for next season's Champions League.
The encounter also provided another chance to see Roma legend Francesco Totti on the big stage, and we should take as many of those opportunities as possible because there might not be too many more.
Totti is now 36 years old and, although he's still extremely fit and there has been no suggestion that imminent retirement is on his mind, it's only inevitable that the Roma captain will soon be forced to start winding down his magnificent career.
Like Ryan Giggs at Manchester United and Xavi at Barcelona, Totti has been the main man at Roma for so long it almost seems implausible. His Roma debut came more than 20 years ago, in March 1993, when the Premier League had only just been invented and Alex Ferguson (no "Sir" prefix back then) was still looking for his first league title in England.
Also in common with Giggs and Xavi is the fact that Totti has only ever played for one club. The difference, though, is that while the former pair never had good reason to seek pastures new as they have always been key players at one of the world's biggest clubs, Totti's loyalty to Roma is all the more admirable considering the fact that they have not always been successful.
Totti, make no mistake, has been one of the finest players of his generation and, at his prime, he could have practically taken his pick of the best teams on the planet if he'd ever decided to leave Roma.
His finest hour came in 2006, when he starred for Italy during their World Cup triumph and was subsequently named in the official team of the tournament. But Totti's career has been more about consistent excellence than occasional flashes of genius — although there have been plenty of those as well.
Roma fans will certainly not hear a word against their club's all-time leading scorer (282 goals and counting), and he would have won a lot more than 58 caps for Italy but for his early international retirement after the 2006 triumph.
Indeed, Totti's international career might yet make a dramatic re-emergence, as Italy coach Cesar Prandelli last month admitted he would be happy to consider the Roma No. 10 for next summer's World Cup finals in Brazil.
And the prospect of Totti acting as Italy's chief creative force next summer is far from outlandish, because his form in the current campaign has been as good as ever — his 10 assists are second only to Napoli's Marek Hamsik, while his sensational match-winning goal against reigning champions Juventus in February was without doubt one of the highlights of the European football season so far.
Totti was at it again last night, taking less than a minute to register his first shot on goal in the Derby della Capitale against Lazio.
He was constantly involved in the game and, after Lazio took the lead with a brilliant long-range strike from Brazilian midfielder Hernanes (Totti himself would have been proud), he always looked his team's most likely source of an equaliser, finishing the opening period with a stinging 25-yard half-volley that Lazio keeper Federici Marchetti did well to repel.
Roma were let off the hook early in the second half when Hernanes blazed wide from the penalty spot after a clear handball by Marquinhos, and Lazio were made to regret their profligacy 10 minutes later when Hernanes continued his eventful evening by fouling Miralem Pjanic inside the box for a clear penalty.
Inevitably, Totti stepped up and — equally inevitably — fired a precise low spot-kick into the bottom left hand corner to get his team back on level terms. The only surprise was that Totti then couldn't go on to provide a winner, although he did come close with a pair of well-struck long-range efforts that demanded excellent saves from Marchetti.
The final scoreline of 1-1 didn't really suit either team, with their prospects of catching AC Milan for the third Champions League place now looking remote.
But the game certainly did provide evidence — as if it were needed — that Francesco Totti is still a major force at the highest level. Perhaps we don't need to start thinking about retirement tributes just yet.
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
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