Francesco Totti

Francesco Totti was born in Rome on 27 September 1976 and spent his entire professional club career with Roma, also representing the Italy national team. Widely considered one of the finest players of his era and among the greatest Italian footballers ever, he was a technically skilled and creative number 10, usually operating as an offensive playmaker or forward.

At Roma, Totti won one Serie A title, two Coppa Italia trophies, and two Supercoppa Italiana titles. Across all competitions for the club, he scored 307 goals and made 205 assists. In Serie A history, he ranks second all-time in goals (250) and first in assists. He is Roma’s all-time top scorer and most capped player, holds the record for most Serie A goals for a single club, and was the youngest captain in Serie A history. Italian sports media gave him nicknames including Er Bimbo de Oro, Er Pupone, L’Ottavo Re di Roma, L’Imperatore, and Er Capitano. In 2013, the New York Times called him a “Roman god in his game.”

On the international stage, Totti won the 2006 FIFA World Cup and reached the final of UEFA Euro 2000 with Italy, making the All-Star team for both tournaments. He also played in the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004. In 58 senior appearances for Italy, he scored 9 goals and provided 25 assists, and he remains Italy’s top assist provider in World Cup history with 6. In 2007, due to recurring physical problems, he retired from international football to focus on club play with Roma.

Totti won the 2007 European Golden Shoe and a record eleven awards from the Italian Footballers’ Association: five Serie A Italian Footballer of the Year awards, two Serie A Footballer of the Year awards, two Serie A Goal of the Year awards, one Serie A Goalscorer of the Year award, and one Serie A Young Footballer of the Year award. He also received the 2010 Golden Foot and was selected for the European Sports Media team of the season three times. In 2004, Pelé named him to the FIFA 100 list of the world’s greatest living players. In 2011, the IFFHS recognized him as the most popular footballer in Europe. In 2015, France Football rated him among the ten best footballers in the world over age 36. After retiring in 2017, he received the Player’s Career Award and the UEFA President’s Award.

Totti was born in Rome to Lorenzo and Fiorella Totti and grew up in the Porta Metronia neighborhood. As a child, he idolized former Roma captain Giuseppe Giannini and often played football with older boys. He began youth football in 1984 with Fortitudo, later moving to Trastevere and Lodigiani. After scouts noticed him, his mother turned down a lucrative offer from Milan to keep him in Rome. Though his youth club had agreed to sell him to Lazio’s youth side, Roma youth coach Gildo Giannini persuaded his parents to let him join Roma’s youth squad in 1989.

After three years in the youth system, Totti made his senior debut for Roma in Serie A at age 16, coming on in a 2–0 away win against Brescia on 28 March 1993 under coach Vujadin Boškov. The next season, under Carlo Mazzone, he played more regularly as a second striker and scored his first goal on 4 September 1994 in a 1–1 draw with Foggia. By 1995, he was a regular starter, scoring 16 goals over the next three seasons while creating many more, earning praise from Mazzone.

After Mazzone was sacked in summer 1996 and Giannini left, Totti was expected to take on a bigger role, but the team struggled in 1996–97, and new manager Carlos Bianchi limited his playing time. A loan move to Sampdoria in January 1997 was blocked by Roma chairman Franco Sensi, which led to tensions and Bianchi’s eventual departure.

Under Zdeněk Zeman, Totti matured physically and mentally. He adapted to playing on the left wing in a 4–3–3 formation, which gave him space to take on defenders and cut inside to shoot. He became stronger, fitter, and more complete, and was given the number 10 jersey. His first season under Zeman saw him reach double figures in Serie A goals for the first time, scoring 13 in total, including a goal in a 2–0 away win at Napoli on 22 February 1998. Roma finished fourth that season. Though not called up for the 1998 World Cup, his performances earned him the Guerin d’Oro for the highest average rating in Serie A. The following season, he began to gain further recognition.