The remarkable story of Francesco Totti's 2015-16 season
How Roma's iconic captain defied the odds to inspire the team to Champions League qualification as he neared the age of 40.
LANDMARK BEGINNINGS
Twenty-four years on since a fresh-faced Francesco Totti made his debut for boyhood club AS Roma, the veteran stepped onto the turf of his beloved Stadio Olimpico for the first time of yet another new season.
Roma had finished second in Serie A in 2014-15 - a massive 17 points behind runaway winners Juventus. For the new campaign, the Giallorossi - under the leadership of French tactician Rudi Garcia - needed to cut the gap. To help with the task, an exciting squad had been assembled, including new signings like Edin Dzeko, Mohamed Salah and Antonio Rudiger. But despite all the new additions, a familiar face would still be at the core. At the age of 39, Francesco Totti was hoping to captain Roma to their fourth Scudetto.
One week after playing his first game of the new season, the number 10 was handed another start as Roma hosted Sassuolo. The game didn't start well for the Lupi though, as their visitors took the lead through future Roma forward Gregoire Defrel.
True captains lead by example, though, and Totti showed why he was such a great leader 14 minutes later. A wayward pass from Sassuolo goalkeeper Andrea Consigli was intercepted by Giallorossi midfielder Miralem Pjanic, who played the ball forward to Totti. Swivelling around, Il Capitano diverted the ball past Consigli with his first touch. Roma were back on level terms, but this goal had an even greater significance for Totti. It was his 300th career goal for Roma.
Totti departed the field after 72 minutes, by which time the scoreline was, as it would finish, 2-2. After the final whistle, the footballing world came together to celebrate Totti's unique achievement - he had become the only player in history to score 300 goals for a single Italian club.
FROM GLORY TO DESPAIR
The next week, after getting some well-earned rest while his teammates lost to Sampdoria in midweek, Totti returned to the squad for a home clash with newly-promoted Carpi. It was a huge opportunity for the Giallorossi to bounce back to winning ways, and for Totti to strike against another victim. Brought on by Garcia at half-time for Dzeko, with Roma already 3-0 up, it should have been a stroll.
But it was far from it. Just 10 minutes after coming on, Totti was signalling to the bench. He needed to come off.
It was a heartbreaking moment for the King of Rome, as he discovered a hip injury that would send him for a spell on the sidelines. Healing isn't easy for a player in their later years, and this injury would keep Totti out for much longer than he and his fans would have liked.
Time seemed to drag on forever as Roma went one, two, three months without their captain. Performances were stagnating, results were faltering, and the pressure on Garcia was mounting. Totti could only watch on as Roma were embarrassed by BATE Borisov in the Champions League, while in Serie A they dropped points against lowly opponents such as Bologna, Atalanta and Chievo. Garcia was walking the tightrope, and Roma's aspirations for the season were slipping away.
In moments of desperation, heroes emerge. It was time for Totti to come back and do what he'd done for the past two decades. Drag Roma out of the depths and into glory.
It felt like an eternity since his last appearance, but on 9th January, 2016, it was finally time for Totti's comeback. Roma were drawing 1-1 with AC Milan, a side who were a shadow of their glory days at the time. With 20 minutes left on the clock, Totti entered the fray.
He couldn't inspire Roma to victory in his cameo that day, but his presence alone was the boost that the fans needed. As the season reached its halfway mark, the Giallorossi knew they had their captain back, ready to lead them when it mattered the most.
THE MAJOR FALLOUT
Having finally shaken off the injury, Totti was all set to see out the season in style with Roma.
After a substitute appearance against Frosinone in the league - in which he assisted the final goal - Totti was beginning to get himself in contention to be starting games again. However, he had to be patient. New manager Luciano Spalletti wasn't giving Totti much space in the team, and it pushed the captain to breaking point.
On 21st February, Roma were scheduled to play relegation-threatened Palermo, and reports indicated that Totti would be given a rare start. However, that morning, a TV interview was published in which Totti criticised Spalletti's treatment of him. That chance to start was gone. Spalletti dropped him from the squad altogether.
As it turned out, Roma didn't need Totti that day, as they thrashed the Sicilians 5-0. But there was still a sour taste in the mouths of many fans who had wanted to see their hero in action. No player is bigger than the team, but Totti is Roma. How could he have been treated in such a way?
A HERO'S RECEPTION
Spalletti may not have given Totti the appreciation he deserved, but two weeks on, he would be given an overwhelming reception by an away crowd.
Fall-out brushed under the carpet - or so it seemed - Totti was back in the frame for the second leg of Roma's Champions League Round of 16 clash with Real Madrid. More than a decade earlier, Totti had in fact come close to joining Real, but his heart couldn't let him out of Rome. Nevertheless, the Bernabeu crowd know a legend when they see one. And when Totti was introduced in the 74th minute, the stadium rose in applause for the man that could have been theirs.
It was a beautiful moment, where the sense of Totti's greatness really shone through. Real's fans had seen some true legends of the game pull on their shirt over the years, and even they had time for Totti.
Roma may have lost out that day, but in many respects, the night belonged to Totti. In what turned out to be his last ever Champions League appearance - Roma were knocked out in the play-off rounds by Porto the following season, with Il Capitano playing no part in either leg - Totti had brought an entire stadium together.
COMEBACK KING
Roma may have been out of the Champions League, but now they had important targets to meet. A top-three finish was now on the cards, but Fiorentina and Inter were breathing down their necks. Roma could not afford to slip up.
On 17th April, it looked like they were going to do just that. The Giallorossi had thrown away a two-goal lead against Atalanta, and found themselves 12 minutes away from defeat, when Spalletti turned to Totti. The King was coming on. And he was about to make a huge impact.
85 minutes on the clock, and an almighty goalmouth scramble ensues. Emerson Palmieri and Stephan El Shaarawy both see shots blocked, before the ball comes out to Totti. Lurking on the edge of the box, Totti doesn't even need to take a touch as he blasts the ball into the bottom corner. 3-3.
But that was just the start. Three days later, something even more magical would happen.
Roma are staring down at another potential defeat, as Torino lead them at the Stadio Olimpico with just four minutes remaining. There's a feeling of last resort as Spalletti throws Totti on.
But then, an incredible moment. Miralem Pjanic takes the free kick that had allowed Roma to bring Totti on. Kostas Manolas heads the ball on, and diving at the backpost, the main man is there. Francesco Totti stretches out to smash the ball in. Barely 10 seconds after coming on. Game on.
But it gets even better. In the final minute of normal time, Roma win a penalty. This is the chance. Roma can win it. To take charge of the situation, up he steps. No-one else is taking this. Francesco Totti... GOL! GOL! GOL! Roma 3-2! Totti doppietta!
Daniele Padelli did get a hand to it, but Totti struck the ball with enough power to ensure it ended up where it needed to be. Within the space of three minutes, Totti had single-handedly turned the game on its head. He was still alive and kicking. He still had so much to offer this team. He was still the main man.
It was beautiful. Fans in the stadium were crying. This was a seismic story. At the age of 39, Totti had bounced back from a whole range of factors against him, to inspire his team to victory in the unlikeliest of circumstances. Injuries, fall-outs with the coach, none of that mattered. Totti was the king of the moment. He had taken Roma from the verge of defeat to a crucial victory. It didn't matter how old he was - he was still such a special player.
THE ETERNAL KING OF ROME
To his fans, Totti didn't need to prove anything. He already had their eternal affection. But that miracle gave them yet another reason to love him. It was a crowning moment that represented his ability to win a game on his own. He'd done this before earlier in his career, but never quite in circumstances like these. Had anyone? It was sensational.
Roma finished third that year, enough to book their place in the play-offs for next season's Champions League. Totti was rightly rewarded with a 12-month contract extension, although he didn't play as much in his final year. However, he had still shown that he could have an input at whatever age. He may not have been able to move as freely as he once did, but his love for Roma was never going to fade, and that's what made the end to his 2015-16 season so heroic. Totti had written yet another amazing chapter to the incredible story of his career. Then, now and forever: C'è solo un capitano.
