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Monday, March 2, 2009
Francesco Totti Famous Italy Player Football
Francesco Totti, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI (born September 27, 1976 in Rome), is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer who plays for Italian Serie A club Roma. His position is that of a striker or an attacking midfielder, though he is best known for playing as a second striker. Totti, who has spent his entire career at Roma, is the number-one goalscorer and the most capped player in the club's history.
Totti was born and raised in Rome's Porta Metronia neighborhood. He idolized ex-Roma captain Giuseppe Giannini, and regularly played football with older boys. His mother refused a lucrative offer from Milan, and he joined the Roma youth squad in 1989. Totti is known for his dazzling footwork and improvisation.
Roma's new coach for the 2005-06 season, Luciano Spalletti, went with a 4-2-3-1 formation, during which Totti would not remain forward waiting for crosses or passes, instead going back to take the ball, and thus creating spaces for the attacking midfielders. In this new position Totti began to score more frequently than the past, and he scored fifteen goals in 24 matches, during which the team won eleven consecutive games.
On February 19, 2006, Totti suffered a fracture of his left fibula and ligament damage during a match against Empoli after being fouled by Richard Vanigli. Totti risked missing the 2006 World Cup, but returned to the side on May 11, 2006 as a substitute in Roma's 3-1 Coppa Italia final defeat to Inter. A metal plate had been attached to his ankle during surgery, but doctors decided not to operate again and remove it following Totti's return, after concurring that it would not affect his gameplay.
The 2006-07 season was a personal high for Totti, as he finished as Serie A's top scorer with 26 goals as Roma finished runners-up to Inter but exacted revenge on the Nerazzurri as they took home the 2007 Coppa Italia. Totti also was the recipient of the ESM European Golden Shoe award as the top European goalscorer. Despite being the highest active goalscorer in Serie A, he was not among the finalists for the 2007 FIFA World Player of the Year due to his national team absence, though he was nominated for the 2007 Ballon d'Or, finishing tenth in the voting.
Totti scored his 200th goal with Roma in a 4-0 Coppa Italia win over Torino on January 16, 2008. He was named the Italian Footballer of the Year for the fifth time in his career on January 28. He suffered a season-ending injury to his right knee during a 1-1 draw with Livorno on April 19. Tests revealed a tear of his ACL that required surgery, and he is expected to miss up to four months.
Roma won their ninth Coppa Italia with a 2-1 victory over Internazionale on May 24. Though Totti did not play, he was still allowed to lift the cup as the team's captain. He said, "Winning the Coppa at home gives us immense satisfaction, because our fans deserve this. This victory shows that now we're really competitive." With this win, Totti also became the most successful captain in team history.
Totti first came into international prominence while playing in the UEFA youth tournaments and won the UEFA under-21 championships in 1996. After starring with the Azzurrini in Italy's Under-19 and Under-21 sides, he earned his first cap for Italy during a Euro 2000 qualifying victory against Switzerland on October 10, 1998. Though Italy lost to France in the final, Totti was named the man of the match.
Disappointment followed at the 2002 World Cup, with Totti failing to make a significant impact and then being sent off during Italy's second-round loss to South Korea after being handed a second yellow card by Byron Moreno.
Totti acquired a measure of infamy at Euro 2004 after he spat at Danish midfielder Christian Poulsen in a goalless draw on June 14, 2004. He was subsequently banned until the semifinals, but never made it back to action and finished the competition scoreless due to Italy's elimination in the first round.(wikipedia)
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