Francesco Totti - Il Gladiatore di Roma

Shame about the results, especially that loss, would've been good to see if you could go the season unbeaten!! Having said that, at least you're still first in the league

It would be kinda weird and creepy if Roma lose in the 17th league match of the season in real life. Anyways, HAHAHAAHHAHAHAHHA

Nick: Yeah, was hoping for an unbeaten season but oh well, you're right, we are still top!

Pauker: That would be odd indeed

Sorry about the lack of updates lads, been busy with the family. Will be updating soon hopefully

Thank you guys so much for a Story of the Month nomination in the first month of this story's life, it's a huge accomplishment for me! It's even better that I had TWO stories nominated, this one and my Inter story, which is really amazing for me. I hope all my regular voters get out there and vote for me!

Sorry about my lack of updates lately; I've been super busy during this holiday period with lots of family visiting. I promise that I will be updating as soon as I possibly can. Thank you!

Caught up to this story, doing great! And congrats for the nomination for SoTM

It seems that AS Roma’s scintillating start to the season has left some of the team’s better performers amidst a good deal of interest from big foreign clubs. It seems as though scouts hailing from Manchester lead the pack as Manchester United looks to be leading the race to sign American midfielder Michael Bradley.

Having normally played in a box-to-box role under Zdenk Zeman and later Aurelio Andreazzoli in his first season, Francesco Totti has revolutionized Bradley’s play by putting him in a deeper role where he was excelled in breaking up opposition attacks, stabilizing the defense, and distributing the ball effectively. His success in defensive midfield has also allowed Totti to push Daniele De Rossi higher up the pitch to add more to the attack.

Despite enduing a somewhat slow start last season after joining the Giallorossi from league rivals Chievo Verona for €3,500,000, the American central midfielder has enjoyed a breakout campaign thus far, making 16 appearances so far in Serie A. Known for his work rate, stamina, and defensive capabilities, the industrious 26 year old has become a major target for the EPL title defending Red Devils of Manchester.

While a move to the so-called Theatre of Dreams, officially known as Old Trafford, may seem a tantalizing move for any player, Bradley has yet to comment on the situation. David Moyes, however, has certainly made his opinion known, saying, “Michael’s exactly the sort of player we want here; very talented and hard working. Hopefully we can bring him to England.”

Francesco Totti seems to have other ideas, though, and told the eager press, “It’s laughable, really. We’ve got something special going on here at AS Roma, and Michael is a key part of the set up here. I’m certain he will be staying, and I’d hope Mr. Moyes learns not to talk about players that aren’t contracted to his club.”

Despite Totti’s adamancy that Bradley will be staying on at the Giallorossi, the rumors will certainly continue until there is some movement. The USA international is contracted to Roma until 2016 and is on €37k per week but it is expected that he will be offered double that should he choose to move to United. The biggest rumors are that Totti will not settle for anything less than a €25,000,000 bid, which may just be out of the Red Devils’ price range.

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Don't sell him, he's American!

He's american sell him ;P

awesome career ehehhe

The Madridista and Pauker: We'll see, I do love me some good 'Muricans, plus the owner James Pallotta is American...

LeedsUnitedForLife: Thanks bud

When AS Roma were drawn to play mid-table Serie B side Padova, almost everybody expected the top division leaders to bounce back from their recent poor form and grab a strong win. While on paper it may seem as though they did so, in truth the match was anything but easy, and the only performance that one could call strong was that of Francesco Totti himself.

Totti made a couple of changes to his usual XI for the Coppa Italia encounter, starting Tin Jedvaj, Gervinho, Mattia Destro, and giving new signing Antonio Adan his first start. However, his team, which lined up in a new 4-3-3 formation, struggled to keep the ball or have a major impact on the game for much of the match.

Despite their inability to keep much possession, many of the game’s early chances fell to Roma mainly due to the dribbling endeavors of Adem Ljajic down the left flank. Just five minutes in the wily Serb drifted past two Padova defenders before slipping Mattia Destro through on goal, only for Colombi to make a top class save to prevent an early disaster for his club.

The Giallorossi otherwise struggled and debutant Antonio Adan was called into action almost on the stroke of halftime when he made a spectacular diving save to deny Maneiro’s long range effort. The ex-Real Madrid goalkeeper hardly put a foot wrong all game, and, judging from his performance in this match, may just stake a claim in De Sanctis’ spot in the XI.

Then, controversy struck. Croatian starlet Tin Jedvaj was adjudged to have been pushed by Padova striker Maneiro in the box as he rose for a corner kick and a very soft penalty was given to Roma. Adem Ljajic stepped up, and, despite looking confident, rifled the spot kick well wide of the target. He tried to make up for the miss a minute later with a cracking long range effort that struck the crossbar, and thus what looked like would be Roma’s only true chance of the game went unfinished.

Then il Gladiatore di Roma struck.

Sensing that his side was in need of a goal, player-manager Francesco Totti subbed himself on and switched the tactics back to a 4-3-1-2 as he informed his side to look for a late winner. As the legendary captain so often he does, Totti came up absolutely huge.

First he played provider. The Giallorossi were swarming forward, probing and passing around the Padova penalty area, seeking the goal to spare their blushes and project them into the next round of fixtures, and it came in the unlikely form of left back Dodo. The Brazilian defender pinged the ball into Totti who laid it back perfectly for a first time shot, and Dodo made no mistake, burying it in the top corner.

In injury time, Totti sealed the deal after he was unceremoniously hacked down by Padova defender Legati. Totti stepped up to take the penalty he had earned and made absolutely no mistake, hammering the ball past Colombi for his eighth goal of the season to double his side’s slender advantage and secure passage to the next round.

“We were very poor today,” said Totti after the match. “Padova gave us a very good match, and we were not up to scratch until the final ten minutes. However, we got the win in the end, and now we have to improve on this performance in a few days against Napoli.”

Later this month, coincidentally enough, Roma will travel to the Stadio San Paolo to take on Napoli in the next round of the Coppa Italia.


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Damn that match was nuts with the cards.

Whoa nice update did both teams get fined?

Awesome story, Neal