Francesco Totti will never age, grabs two assists for Roma in Europa League
Something something something, Italians, fine wine, aging gracefully. It seems like a wildly problematic stereotype at this point, but here we go again. We've seen it with Paolo Maldini, Alessandro Nesta, Andrea Pirlo and now Francesco Totti. At 40 years old, Totti stepped out on the pitch and was involved in three goals for Roma as they rolled over FK Astra Giurgiu in Europa League.
40. Years. Old.
The three goals Totti created are perfect representations of him as a player. The first was a fantastic looping free kick that fell perfectly at the feet of Kevin Strootman for him to stab home from close range. The second was a vicious pile driver (again, from a free kick), that the goalkeeper was lucky not only to keep out at the first go, but truly fortunate not to have his hands lopped off with the attempt before Federico Fazio nodded it over the line.
The third? Totti in a nutshell. It took all of a half second for Mohamed Salah to recognize that Totti with the ball at his feet means "time to feast," and in that instant, the little Egyptian was off. Totti did what Totti does, and an exquisite lofted through ball seemingly out of nowhere settled delicately on his teammate's foot.
Totti's been around in this game for 25 years, and at this point, every time he steps on the field it's a precious precious gem we should treasure forever. Unless, somehow, he really is magic, we only get to witness a year or two more of this majesty. Enjoy it while it lasts.
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