When we talk about devotion to one club and endless loyalty in Italian football, three names come to mind – Francesco Totti, Paolo Maldini and Alessandro Del Piero.Each of the stories are unique but the case of Prince of Rome is special in it’s own way. Some incredible moments of loyalty came with Totti telling Roman Abramovich that he could only have him if the Russian bought AS Roma. Or when Francesco rejected incredible amounts of money offered by Real Madrid to become one of the Galacticos.Today, Totti enjoys his retirement from playing football and basks in the fame that doesn’t fade. In an interview with The Guardian, Totti spoke about many things – favorite childhood shows, the challenges of watching football from the sidelines, the “what if” moments, as well as whether he lets his 15-year-old son Cristian beat him at pinball.”I do not allow him. Things in life must be earned, not given”, Totti nipps it in the bud.Francesco Totti (©Gallo Images)How could we expect anything else from a man who built his entire career on the foundations of merit and achieved success the hard way, not by adhering to richer football empires…Legendary Diego Armando Maradona called him “the best footballer he has ever watched” , and after 25 years of football on the pitch, more than 300 goals and only one Scudetto won, he says he has no regrets.”I’m not someone who sits in an armchair today and thinks about what he could have achieved if he had chosen differently. I did everything I could and took everything I was given.”He says that one Scudetto in his hometown and the club of his childhood means to him like ten with another team. He lifted the only title of Italian champion back in 2001.”The city where you were born is always the most beautiful in the world. That is true, everyone has a special feeling for the city in which he was born and lives. For me, Rome is really the most beautiful city in the world.”Asked to compare today’s football and the one from the time when it started, Totti made it clear. Back then it was played out of love, today it is about the money.”I started playing football at different times. It was a completely different football compared to today’s. Football was then made of love, affection by and for the fans. It was much easier to play for the club you love, for which you support. It is no small thing to play 25 years for one club, to be a captain, one of the most important players.Jose called me and said: ”Do you want to enjoy some sun or stay in the rain?”You always measure up to others. Let me tell you – it is impossible to measure the present time with the past. Today, everything is business. You go where you will earn the most. And that’s fair, isn’t it?”When you read something like this from Totti, many would probably think that he retired four decades ago, not four years ago. Like many, Totti also had a chance to take, at the time, fabulous money from Real Madrid who wanted to sign him in 2006. Had he agreed to move to Madrid he would have become the highest paid player on the planet at the time. But it did not happen. It was one of few moments when Totti could have left his city and his club. The first came when he was only 12 years old, when the famous sports director of AC Milan, Ariedo Braida, personally knocked on the door of Totti’s family house and invited him to sign for the youth team of Rossoneri.The winner of the 2006 World Cup revealed in his autobiography that Milan was “the only team in which he wanted to play alongside Roma as a kid”, but that he and his parents then refused a check for 150,000,000 lira, which is in today’s currency 87,000 USD, which was huge money at the time.”I made the decision myself, in my own head. My parents often gave me advice and it is always right to listen to them. But then I was young, I knew the future was mine, I wanted to stay.”Sun, 17/10, 21.45: (1.87) JUVENTUS (3.70) ROMA (4.50)Real Madrid is a different story. Totti has just turned 30, he became the winner of the World Cup with Italy, and he received an invitation that few would refuse. Blancos tried to hire him five years earlier, but Roma then refused any sort of negotiation. In 2006, Totti was at the biggest crossroads in his career…”Of course I was thinking about going to Real. There were days when I was in Madrid with one foot and in Rome with the other. But even then, and I stand by it now, I made the decision to stay responsibly and honestly. I felt that I should stay and when such a feeling pulls you – it is impossible for you to leave “, says Totti.”Real Madrid was then the only team I wanted to go to and play for. The experience in another country could have been so wonderful, for me, for the family … But, I made the decision soberly and I was not wrong. Don’t you think so too?”, asks the living legend of the Roman club.the famous selfie celebration against Lazio in 2015 (©Gallo Images)The author of the interview writes that Totti mentioned the word “destiny” several times during the conversation, while talking about the key moments of his career.”A certain destiny awaits us all, but it is important that you embrace it. You live day by day, you live with what is in front of you. You go step by step, you realize that a lot is waiting for you.”Even today, he regrets the way his playing career ended. The change at the board of the club brought a purge that did not bypass Totti. He was told that his time had expired, after which the people from the club wanted him to appear in front of the fans and say a few words before the Roman derby against Lazio in the spring of 2017. And that was it…”You never really want to stop (playing football). Honestly, I didn’t accept the club’s decision well in the beginning. But, over time, I slowly persuaded myself to think that this was actually the right thing for me.”Totti in 1994/95 season (©Gallo Images)He is also not OK with the fact that the club still did not offer him to take over one of the managing or directorial positions at AS Roma.”I am not happy about that, because Roma was always one of the most important things for me. But it’s destiny. I guess… Now, if someone called me, we would have to talk about everything well first, and I would have to think about it. “Today he is into managerial work – he has his own agency for scouting young talents…”My idea is to find talented football players and show them the right way. I don’t know if it will be easy, but I will do everything to succeed.”He admits, however, that he will not impose his football ideas to new generations.”No, I will not give them any lessons. There are some things that you simply have within you, otherwise it will be difficult to reach a certain level. With desire, sacrifice and determination, you can achieve something. Talent comes in you. Talent cannot be gained through work.”In the end, will heir Cristian become a winner like his dad?”We’ll see. I hope so”.
