24 years ago, on March 28, 1993, a 16-year-old made his debut for Roma against Brescia. The Giallorossi won that game 2-0, but certainly, no one could have predicted the impact that Franceco Totti would have for both the capital club and Italian football.
Flash-forward 24 years later, and Totti is set to say arrivederci to the club where he has spent over half his life. He may not have won a Ballon d'Or, or a Champions League, but he has won something that many player have not - a World Cup - and he is still regarded by calcio fans as one of the greatest talents to play the game. Notably, like John Terry or Steven Gerrard, he is one of a handful of notable players to actually spend his entire professional career with one club - something that is increasingly rare these days.
The evergreen captain may not get the global attention these days like Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, but he is still a respected figure in the game who many Italian football fans follow and his presence surely will be missed greatly. So it really should not surprise anyone that in 2011 he was voted as the most popular player in Europe by a study conducted by IFFHS.
Anyone who grew up watching Italian football certainly is familiar with Totti's influence during Roma's Scudetto winning season back in 2001. During the 2006/2007 season, his Capocannoniere prize was enough to help him to also win the European Golden Shoe; it was also during that same campaign that he was recognised as the Serie A assist-leader (for the second time in his career).
And on October 25, 2014, he made history at the oldest ever goalscorer in the Champions League when he netted a beautiful free-kick against Russian outfit CSKA Moscow at the age of 38 years and 59 days.
Totti made history in October 2014 when he scored the opener for Roma in a 1-1 draw with CSKA Moscow (shown here celebrating with his teammates)
Earlier that same season, Totti netted his 300th professional goal by scoring the opening goal for Roma against Manchester City
Roma will be taking on Genoa at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday, May 28th, and Luciano Spalletti is expected to give Totti some game-time. Given the Grifone's struggles, many will hope to see the 40-year-old veteran get more than just a few minutes on the pitch - and perhaps even score a goal!
Current standings in Serie A ahead of matchday 38
Here's how things stand so far after 37 rounds in the 2016/2017 Serie A season. How will it look after the final matchday?
| Classmt. | Équipe | J | G | N | P | BP | BC | Diff | TB | Forme | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Internazionale | 34 | 28 | 5 | 1 | 81 | 18 | +63 | 89 | GGNGG | |
| 2 | Milan | 34 | 21 | 7 | 6 | 64 | 39 | +25 | 70 | NPNGG | |
| 3 | Juventus | 34 | 18 | 11 | 5 | 47 | 26 | +21 | 65 | NNNGP | |
| 4 | Bologna | 34 | 17 | 12 | 5 | 49 | 27 | +22 | 63 | NGNNG | |
| 5 | Roma | 34 | 17 | 8 | 9 | 61 | 41 | +20 | 59 | NGPGN | |
| 6 | Atalanta | 33 | 17 | 6 | 10 | 61 | 37 | +24 | 57 | GGNPG | |
| 7 | Lazio | 34 | 17 | 4 | 13 | 43 | 35 | +8 | 55 | GGGPG | |
| 8 | Fiorentina | 33 | 14 | 8 | 11 | 50 | 37 | +13 | 50 | GGNPP | |
| 9 | Napoli | 34 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 52 | 43 | +9 | 50 | NPNGP | |
| 10 | Torino | 34 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 46 | PNNPG | |
| 11 | Monza | 34 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 36 | 44 | -8 | 44 | NPNPP | |
| 12 | Genoa | 34 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 38 | 40 | -2 | 42 | GPNGN | |
| 13 | Lecce | 34 | 8 | 12 | 14 | 31 | 49 | -18 | 36 | NGGPN | |
| 14 | Cagliari | 34 | 7 | 11 | 16 | 36 | 59 | -23 | 32 | PNNGN | |
| 15 | Hellas Verona | 34 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 31 | 45 | -14 | 31 | PGNPN | |
| 16 | Frosinone | 34 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 43 | 63 | -20 | 31 | GNNNN | |
| 17 | Empoli | 34 | 8 | 7 | 19 | 26 | 50 | -24 | 31 | PGPGP | |
| 18 | Udinese | 34 | 4 | 17 | 13 | 32 | 51 | -19 | 29 | NPPPN | |
| 19 | Sassuolo | 34 | 6 | 8 | 20 | 40 | 70 | -30 | 26 | PPNNN | |
| 20 | Salernitana | 34 | 2 | 9 | 23 | 26 | 73 | -47 | 15 | PPPNP |
Viewing information for Serie A matchday 38
The final round of Serie A will commence on Saturday, with Atalanta-Chievo and Bologna-Juventus kicking off simultaneously at 12:00 EST/18:00 CET. Then, on Sunday, calcio supporters worldwide will definitely not want to miss out on Roma-Genoa, with a start time of 12:00 EST/18:00 CET. The Stadio Olimpico is reportedly sold-out for this clash, as it will be Francesco Totti's final game in a Roma kit (albeit not necessarily the end of his long career!)
Other fixtures on Sunday, May 28th include Crotone-Lazio at 14:45 EST/20:45 CET. Serie A fans have been captivated lately by the debutants' uptick in form and will be curious to see if the Squali can achieve their goal of safety on the final matchday. They will need to beat Lazio and hope that the results of Palermo-Empoli end up in favor of the Rosanero to remain in the top flight for another term.
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