On his 38th birthday, Francesco Totti explains what the Roma fans mean to him and how he was surprised by Rudi Garcia.
The Giallorossi host Verona today at 17.00 UK time (16.00 GMT), click here for a match preview.
“Just looking at the Roma fans gives me goosebumps. Nobody can give you the love they do,” he told Roma TV and Roma Radio.
On his 38th birthday, Francesco Totti explains what the Roma fans mean to him and how he was surprised by Rudi Garcia.
The Giallorossi host Verona today at 17.00 UK time (16.00 GMT), click here for a match preview.
“Just looking at the Roma fans gives me goosebumps. Nobody can give you the love they do,” he told Roma TV and Roma Radio.
“It was a little odd having to explain to my children why my face is drawn on walls all over the city, though.”
In over 20 years at the club, Totti has been though two Sensi eras of ownership and American President James Pallotta.
“Franco Sensi was like a father for me and Rosella like a big sister. Pallotta is a great character. He’s young at heart and does everything, interested in every detail.
“He will certainly make Roma great. If one day he should give us this huge joy of having a stadium all of our own, he’d be even better, but even if he doesn’t achieve that he’s still great.
“It will be our home, where our fans can spend a lot of time even when there aren’t any games. Playing in it would be the ultimate and I know that’s difficult, but we await it anxiously. The important thing is that the stadium is built.”
Totti has also bonded with Coach Garcia, who inherited a team in disarray after the Coppa Italia Final to Lazio.
“The Coach is great and I don’t say that just because he lets me play! It wasn’t easy to think a foreigner would immediately settle into Italian football. It’s a different mentality and usually the overseas tacticians struggle at first, but he did the opposite. He formed a great squad and a great group, which had fallen apart after two years of ugly performances.
“I didn’t know Garcia before he came here and now I can say I met a great person, someone who is genuine, treats everyone the same way and lets everybody feel important.
“When a player feels good, he gives his Coach 101 per cent. We hope to share important moments with him, very soon.
“For the moment I don’t see myself becoming a Coach, as they tend to be crazy.”
Totti has won the Scudetto once, scoring in that decisive afternoon at the Olimpico.
“I will never forget June 17 2001. To score in front of the Curva, win what I had always dreamed of, the joy is indescribable. I hope to repeat it before I retire.”