THIRTEEN MONTHS AGO, Francesco Totti provided yet another magical moment to add to his incredibly impressive collection.
His beloved Roma had been trailing 2-0 to local rivals Lazio after half an hour. But he had popped up with a goal shortly after the restart to give his side renewed hope.
And then, with twenty-five minutes to go, he spectacularly flung himself at a left-wing cross to hook the ball to the far corner and level affairs.
The goal had a lot of added significance.
It was his 40th derby appearance and his first goal ensured he became the leading scorer in the fixture.
But only now was it an appropriate time to celebrate.
With some help from Roma’s goalkeeping coach, Totti turned his back to the iconic Curva Sud and took a selfie with his adoring fans celebrating behind him.
At 39 years of age, his legendary status showed no signs of dissipating.
But now it’s a different story.
Totti has made just five league appearances and his last shift was an ignominious three-minute cameo in a 2-0 Champions League defeat to Real Madrid last week.
Just a few days later, Totti gave an interview to Italian national broadcaster RAI and insinuated his relationship with manager Luciano Spalletti had broken down.
The coach had only arrived back at Roma in January – his second stint at the club – having won two Coppa Italia titles and an Italian Super Cup during his first spell in charge between 2005 and 2009.
“I can’t stay at Roma like this”, Totti said.
“It hurts to be on the bench. I understand at my age that I play less, but ending my career like this is bad for me as a man and what I’ve given to Roma. I demand more respect for all I’ve done here.
“What is my rapport like with Spalletti? We say ‘good morning’ and ‘good evening.’ That’s it. He said such nice things in the papers, but not to my face.”
Spalletti’s response was ruthless and lacked any semblance of sentiment. Totti was dropped from the squad for last Sunday’s game against Palermo.
Totti turned up at the Stadio Olimpico and took his seat in the stands pre-game. He knew what he was doing.
But so did Spalletti.
Despite the fans calling Totti’s name before kick-off, Roma didn’t need him and won 5-0.
It’s now five victories in a row and the club are on the cusp of a top-three place, the most in-form club in Serie A.
With Totti’s contract up in the summer, it’s difficult to see a happy ending to the fairytale. A big personality and a club icon who has captained Roma since October 1998 (when he was just 22), slinking into the background and effectively being forced into retirement isn’t in keeping with his character.
But, neither is leaving a club he’s been with for his entire career.
Either way, it would appear Roma and Totti are on collision course and neither are interested in applying the brakes anytime soon.
