Francesco Totti
Essay by review • December 14, 2010 • Essay • 432 Words (2 Pages) • 1,515 Views
Francesco Totti was just 16 when he made his first appearance for AS Roma in a 2-0 away victory at Brescia Calcio on March 28, 1993. He scored four goals in twenty one outings in 1994-95 and over the ensuing seasons became a team regular. He was named Italy's Player of the Year in 2000 and in 2003. The following season (2000-01) he helped AS Roma secure their first league title since 1982-83, having scored thirteen Serie A goals. In the 2001-02 campaign Roma finished runners-up to Juventus, but Totti returned with a then personal-best of fourteen goals during the 2002-03 season.
* 2003-04: Playing in a more advanced role, Totti hit a career-high twenty goals as Roma finished second in Serie A behind A.C. Milan.
* 2004-05: A very disappointing season, the only bright side of which was Roma finishing second in the Italian Cup and thus qualifying for the UEFA Cup. In the 2004-05 season Roma had to replace four coaches. Despite all the problems, Totti scored twelve goals, and helped Vincenzo Montella score 21 with numerous assists. On December 19 2004, Totti broke A.S. Roma's goal scoring record when he scored against Parma. It was Totti's 107th goal for the club, a record previously held by Roberto Pruzzo.
* 2005-06: A strange season for Roma and Totti. On 19 February 2006, while playing in the Italian Championship against Empoli F.C., he suffered a fracture of his left fibula, and severed the interconnecting ligaments with the malleolus. He returned from his injury on 11 May 2006 as a substitute in Roma's 3-1 defeat to Inter Milan in the Coppa Italia. As in the 2004-05 season, A.S Roma came in second in the Italian Cup (again trailing to Inter Milan). In the Serie A they finished 5th, and only qualified for the Champions League after the Calciopoli verdicts stripped Juventus and Fiorentina of their Champions League spots. Roma were then awarded 2nd place.
The team won eleven consecutive matches, matching AC Milan's 1989-90 record. The last match was won was a 2-0 victory against rivals S.S Lazio, before a home draw thanks to a late goal from Inter ended the run. Coach Luciano Spalletti turned the team's line up from a defensive one to an attacking one (despite playing without strikers for most of the season, and for the last 8 or so games playing without Totti), and the team moved from fifteenth to fifth by the end of the season, with Totti
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