Tears streamed down the Roma fan's face; he momentarily tried to wipe them away. He couldn't miss the celebrations. Up went his phone and he tried to film what was going on down below. The sobs kept coming in deep sea swells. He was affogato in emotion. Drowned. Overcome. He gave into it. Let himself go completely.

But when he looks back at the footage he captured this morning, it will jump like Francesco Totti did over the advertising boards to commune with the Curva Sud after the 39-year-old came off the bench and netted two late goals to seal a 3-2 win over Torino on Wednesday night.

Unlike the blubbering fan, Roma's captain managed to find the right camera angle for his celebration and, when he did, the old romantic stared down the lens and told his wife Ilary: "I love you."

Thousands of hearts fluttered. If this is the reaction a star turn from the bench provokes, imagine the day when Totti actually does decide to hang up his boots.

In retrospect, the emotion displayed from Roma fans on Wednesday night has been building for a while. Fans are in the dark about Totti's future; they don't know whether this is his final season and treat every game as Totti's last. You can't prepare for it -- it's not like Kobe Bryant or Derek Jeter's farewell tour. No one knows if the Chievo game on May 8 will be Totti's final bow at the Stadio Olimpico. The fear is that, if there is no agreement reached by then, Totti will walk away and the supporters will miss the chance to say goodbye.

This whole story, in many respects, is about timing and that's what made the Torino win so special. Roma were 2-1 down with four minutes left on the clock when Totti arrived off the bench and, just 22 seconds later, he equalised with his first touch.

Apparently too slow to start these days, Totti scored the fastest goal by a substitute in Serie A this season. For his second touch, he put away a penalty to clinch victory. It was Totti's first doppietta (brace) in more than a year. The last one was in the derby which he commemorated with a selfie in front of the Curva Sud.

By contrast this one was later, which in and of itself was entirely appropriate because it was alleged that in the dressing room after Sunday's 3-3 draw with Atalanta, coach Luciano Spalletti reprimanded him for staying up until 2 a.m. playing cards. Totti had come on in that match and scored an 85th minute equaliser. Roma would have won too if Edin Dzeko had finished a late chance that also happened to be fashioned by their captain.

Afterwards, Spalletti didn't share the press' point of view that Totti had come to the rescue, just as he had done (in their opinion) against Bologna the previous Monday, when he played Mohamed Salah through to score and get Roma a point. "Totti didn't save anything," he said.

Comments like that have done little to discourage accusations of mismanagement and disrespect. Totti's sudden resurgence -- incredibly he has either scored or assisted a goal every 48 minutes this season -- is considered in some quarters as his revenge.

Il Tempo didn't report on Roma vs. Torino. It gave a different score: Totti 3-2 Spalletti. The lead editorial in Il Corriere dello Sport suggested that Spalletti and Totti's detractors should call a joint news conference to utter two words: "Chiediamo scusa." (We're sorry.)

"I'm always the bad guy," Spalletti told Mediaset in his postmatch interview. "But I make decisions to win games." The decision to use Totti like Juventus used Jose Altafini towards the end of his career -- as an impact sub -- should be welcomed with a round of applause rather than a slap in the face. Introducing Totti late when the pace of the game has slowed down is smart and if this was any other manager and any other player, we would probably be hailing them for making a game-changing substitution.

At the age of 39, does anyone (bar himself) believe Totti has the stamina to play 90 minutes at the pace and intensity expected week-in week-out? This reduced role, alla Altafini, is the way forward if Totti chooses accept it.

Spalletti is actually getting the best out of him and Roma's issue as a team is not Totti. It's their players' decision-making; their game management; a lack of balance; their mentality. But the furore around Totti is the distraction that keeps reporters away from that. Indeed, 10 of the 17 questions Spalletti fielded in his prematch press conference were about his captain.

Everything is seen as either/or. Totti or Edin Dzeko? Totti or Spalletti? But why the need to pit them against each other. Didn't Totti and Dzeko combine well on Sunday? Didn't Totti and Spalletti go out for dinner on Monday night? Can't they all get along and work together?

As far as Totti's contract goes, all emotion should, in theory, be taken out of it. A goal like the one he set up against Bologna shouldn't change the club's plans, but what about three goals and an assist in a week?

Without Totti, Roma would probably have taken no points from the last nine available. Instead they picked up five. The win over Torino was pivotal because fellow Champions League chasers Inter lost 1-0 to Genoa and Totti's input in Roma qualifying for the Champions League and pocketing another €77 million (like they did from their participation in the competition this season) has been every bit as important as Spalletti's role in getting the team back on track -- most notably with an eight-game winning streak between the end of January and mid-March.

Roma should give Totti another year. True, his immortality is as deceptive as it is beautiful. Father Time waits for no man. But if there is a place on earth where time is not finite then it's the Eternal City and no one turns the hands of the clock back better than its favourite son.

Source:
courtesy of ESPNFC

by James Horncastle

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