Roma legend Francesco Totti shared some memories with former teammate Hidetoshi Nakata and hinted at his hopes for a possible return to the club.
The former forward, who famously spent the entirety of his 24-year playing career with the Giallorossi from 1993 to 2017, has been endlessly linked with a role at the club after hanging up his boots six years ago.
In recent months, Jose Mourinho has made clear his desire to bring Totti back to Roma in a backroom role, keen to have the legendary figure back at the club. The former forward has opened up to the possibility, but hasn’t agreed a return to the team yet.
Speaking to Dazn and Sport Graphic Number via Calciomercato.com, the two Roma Scudetto heroes first shared their memories of each other.
Totti: “I wanted to meet Nakata, I like him as a person, always respectful and polite. It’s difficult in the world of football. He arrived in Trigoria on tiptoes, people who stay inside your heart.”
Nakata: “Totti was the mayor of Rome and of Roma, as a footballer I have never seen someone like him. He shot very well and even after Rome I didn’t see anyone as impressive. He was always in the middle, he didn’t run much! But he had superior quality to the other players.
“We had very strong players, Tommasi, Emerson, Zanetti, Di Francesco. Training was more difficult than the matches.”
Totti: “True, we scored two, three goals with everyone. We had many strong players, this made it more difficult. Mentally it was because if we didn’t play, we wasted years.”
Totti reflected on his loyalty to Roma.
“In 2004 I could have gone to Real Madrid but fortunately I stayed. It was right like this, for the love of the fans, for me, for the team. I played for Roma for 30 years, in the first team for 25.
“And they made me stop, otherwise I would still be playing. With what we have in Serie A today, there’s no need to even rush. But there are too many games at stake. The coach must be good at understanding how to set up the team.”
The pair then discussed the importance of working hard to earn a spot in the squad and their successes on the pitch.
Nakata: “Many good players didn’t play even though they were better than me, so I trained seriously because the others did too.”
Totti: “When they called you into action, you were always ready. This makes the difference in the group. Every time you came on you did something, even when I wasn’t playing, he always scored a goal or assisted. In this Scudetto everyone was important.
“Against Juve after 10 minutes we lost 2-0. We didn’t do anything, we were sluggish, six points behind Juve after three games.
“When he came in everything changed, it was his evening. We had Capello who was superstitious and the following week against Atalanta he substituted me for Nakata and Montella scored.”
Nakata: “I’ve never seen so many people enter before finishing the match. Crazy fear. 70,000 people entering the stadium. This team could have won other titles.”
Totti: “The following year we lost in the antepenultimate game. We lost against a relegated team and Juve overtook us. We were sure of winning and in Italy when you’re sure, you lose.”
The former Roma duo spoke about the work of Mourinho’s Roma squad this season.
Nakata: “What is your feeling about Mou’s Roma?”
Totti: “Ups and downs. For me he is one of the best in the world because the numbers cannot be changed. It may be early but if you win all those titles… We made two finals in two years, it had never happened in 100 years of Roma.”
Nakata: “You often talk to Mou, about what?”
Totti: “The team, the environment. The environment in Rome is beautiful but particular, you go from riches to rags in an instant. We were lucky, especially him, to find the perfect year, but in the year of the Scudetto, not even you could leave Trigoria, there were 5000 fans.
“But it was nice to experience something that cannot be described. Roma is a place different from all the others.”
Finally, Nakata asked Totti about his plans for the future and if he’d like to return to the club one day.
Nakata: “But would you like to return to Roma?”
Totti: “It depends on what you do. I would like to have a role alongside the team, as technical director. We are men of the pitch, if we don’t do it ourselves…”
Nakata: “What else would you like to do?”
Totti: “Traveling to learn about other cultures. Here in Japan, I didn’t come until the World Cup 21 years ago, I feel good. You’re quite warm here too.”