Thursday, February 21, 2008

Some players are just overlooked

After watching the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 tie between Real Madrid and Roma, one thing became clear, Francesco Totti might be the most underrated player of this generation. His performance in the first leg against Real was something to behold, all he did was create all kinds of chances for other players on his team.

When people talk about the great players of this generation, Totti's name is almost never mentioned. Throughout his career he has known only one club AS Roma. He is one of the few players that have spent his career in one shirt.

Last year, Totti carried Roma to second place finish in Serie A and was not listed on the list of finalist for FIFA Player of the Year. Why is that, I have no idea. I think that he had a better full year then Kaka did.

Some people might not respect him because he has not won major trophies, but that is not the case:

  • 2001 Serie A title
  • 2001 and 2007 Italian Super Cup
  • 2007 Copper Italia
  • 2006 World Cup
  • 1996 Under-21 European Championship
  • Italian footballer of the year: 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007
  • Serie A Young Footballer of the year: 1999
  • Serie A top scorer: 2006-2007
  • European Golden Boot winner: 2006-2007
  • 2006 FIFA World Cup All Star Team
  • EURO 2000 Team of the Tournament.

So lets all continue to enjoy the greatness of Totti before he rides off in the sun set.

No comments: