TOTTI: 300 GOALS, ONE LEGENDARY MAN
Another page in the footballing epic that is Francesco Totti was written today as AS Roma's legendary captain notched his 300th goal in Giallorossi colors. Twenty-one years and 16 days separate his first (September 4, 1994) and most recent (September 20, 2015). Back-to-back that's 7786 days. Foggia were the opponents in 1994 and today Sassuolo become the latest victims of one of Francesco Totti's goalscoring feats.
In the years in between the man has achieved so much with his beloved Roma. He has broken records, lifted trophies and helped the Giallorossi conquer Italy for only the third time in history. And he's done it all in a Roma jersey, a true one-club man.
Roma's iconic No.10 actually scored his first goal for the club wearing the No.9 shirt, against Foggia in front of the Curva Nord. That day Carlo Mazzone went with a 17-year-old kid because Abel Balbo was missing. And the young Francesco didn't disappoint, even though the result did (1-1). That is when it all began. That is when Totti started scoring goals and wowing pundits and opponents alike with his truly unique talent.
Four years later, Zdenek Zeman handed Totti the captain's armband and it was under the Czech coach's stewardship that he first hit double figures (13 goals in 1997-98) and took the No.10 jersey.
In 1999, with Fabio Capello in charge, Francesco hit the half-century mark when he converted from the spot to hand Roma a 1-0 win over Newcastle in the UEFA Cup.
His 100th was a brilliant free kick to put Roma 1-0 up against AC Milan in the 2002-03 Coppa Italia final, though sadly the occasion was ruined as the Rossoneri came back to win 1-4 and claim the trophy.
Less than three years later along came goal number 150. A Totti brace in January 2006 helped the Giallorossi see off Reggina 3-1 and the captain's second took him halfway to his current tally.
He made it 200 and counting in 2008 during a top-of-the-table clash with Inter at San Siro, a game remembered for Philippe Mexes' two yellow cards in a matter of minutes. It ended 1-1 amid a sea of protests, obscuring the skipper's latest milestone.
Totti made it a quarter of a thousand in 2011 on another day when the result didn't go Roma's way. Claudio Ranieri's side stormed into a 3-0 lead at Genoa with Totti netting the third, before the hosts incredibly turned the tables to win 4-3.
The rest is recent history. Il Capitano's 300 goals in 745 appearances give him a goals-per-game ratio of 0.40. An "incredible number" to quote the words of Rudi Garcia after today's match. Something only the longest-serving, highest-scoring, all-time greatest player in AS Roma history could achieve.
(Photo LaPresse)
