What a joke...

by The BoyWonder Sat Jun 18, 2011 1:29 pm

With Luis Enrique wanting his team to play like Barcelona, now may be the time for Francesco Totti to leave Roma
With the LA Galaxy looking to replace David Beckham with another marquee signing, now may be as good a time as any for the Giallorossi to move on from their inspirational captain

COMMENT
By Julian DeMartinis

Francesco Totti: a name that needs no introduction, but a figure that requires much discussion this summer as his beloved Roma find themselves at a crossroads.

After years of poor financial handlings and crippling debt under Rosella Sensi, new American owner Thomas Di Benedetto is looking to take the club into a new era: one that promises attacking forays and ambition, success and enthusiasm. The club captain himself may be a vital part of the transition under the new regime, linking the past to the future like no other player could. However, given his advancing age and the possible incompatibility with the type of football that new coach Luis Enrique advocates, Totti’s final gift to Roma may be in his departure: a farewell engendering a new freedom within their attack and finally forcing his beloved club to learn how to live without him.

In terms of finances and age, the most realistic option for the ageing legend seems to be leaving. ‘Er Pupone’ will be 35 by the end of September, an indication that he does not have much time left to give to Roma. His departure could jump-start a transformation that would perfectly sync up with the ongoing Di Benedetto revolution.

Time to say goodbye? | It may be the right moment for Totti to leave

For the player himself, a move to the Galaxy may not seem prestigious, but he would be following in the footsteps of David Beckham and Thierry Henry. The superstar pair made the move to America following enormously successful European careers, and have continued to serve the sport they love by raising football’s profile in one area where potential for growth remains enormous. Totti’s immense skill-set and keen eye for goal would allow him to play in Major League Soccer for years to come, despite his advancing age, due to the league’s lower standard of technical quality. And with Beckham’s deal in Los Angeles due to expire at the end of the year, the $14 million-a-year contract Totti is reportedly set to be offered is of the like he’ll get nowhere else.
TOTTI'S TALLY AT ROMA
Season
1992-93
1993-94
1994-95
1995-96
1996-97
1997-98
1998-99
1999-00
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
Games
2
10
25
36
30
36
42
34
35
36
35
32
40
29
50
35
32
31
40
Goals
0
0
7
4
5
14
16
8
16
12
20
20
16
17
32
18
15
25
17
Finally, a departure to America would allow Roma to face the inevitable. Francesco Totti will inexorably diminish in importance as time catches up to talent; the sooner the break, the brighter his legacy will be remembered before he burns out and tarnishes his flame. The club would then be able to invest in a younger striker to beget a new formation and way of playing. Luis Enrique has stressed his desire to play a 4-3-3 at Roma and thus requires a dynamic striker capable of fast movement and precise one-touches: one who can slot in and out of position. Totti may still have much skill – 15 goals in 32 league matches last season illustrates as much – but not quite the characteristics to fit into that type of mould.

Giallorossi fans, however, may very well beg to differ. If the man up for discussion were almost any other player, the tifosi may well see his departure as a reluctant necessity on the road to betterment. This, however, is Totti, a man as untouchable as conceivable in the minds of Romanisti. The captain has written off detractors time and time again, and his effectiveness never seems to wane, as evidenced by 42 goals in his last three seasons. Indeed, it was only towards the end of Claudio Ranieri’s reign that age seemed to be affecting the talisman, but he quickly flourished under his friend Vincenzo Montella – and could perhaps do so again under Luis Enrique, at least for another season. New sporting director Walter Sabatini has stated that Totti is enormously important for the team and will be the focal point of the squad, though at his age and injury-proneness, questions remain about just how much he can actually play.

But players of the 34-year-old's calibre and loyalty are nearly impossible to find in the modern game, where money means everything and contracts are all but meaningless. Would it truly be worth saying goodbye to the club’s greatest ever player? It may very well be, if Totti’s presence in the side will cause an interruption in Luis Enrique’s plans. Roma followers, much like the club itself, must struggle with the ultimate question and debate just when is the right time to lose Totti and to move the club into a new chapter. It may be sooner than originally anticipated: the future of Roma begins now – with or without Francesco Totti.