When Francesco Totti Wanted To Miss A Penalty In His Final Roma Game

Francesco Totti pretty much became a symbol for AS Roma during his playing career but when he retired in 2017 he signed off wanting to miss a penalty at the Stadio Olimpico in his final game.

After 786 games and 307 goals in the famous Roma colours, Totti broke the hearts of millions when he waved goodbye to I Giallorossi at the end of the 2016/17 season.

His final match came in a thrilling 3-2 victory against Genoa, the Italian forward was handed the captain's armband by Daniele De Rossi after coming on as a second half substitute.

Juan Jesus revealed that his then teammate wanted to finish up the game against Genoa by missing a penalty.

During a radio interview in Brazil, Jesus, said, "Before his last game, Totti told us that if he had a penalty he would not score and he would send the ball to the tifosi."

The idea was to be a gesture to send the ball towards the fans, although they'd surely have prefered to celebrate a goal, in order to say thank you for all their support over the years.

Totti was never going to put his plan into action unless his team were winning the match, although even a one goal lead could have been pretty risky.

In the end there were no penalties awarded at the Stadio Olimpico that night, so the former club captain never had to worry about missing.

Instead the former Serie A champion sent a message to the fans after full time saying, "I'd like to think that for you, my career has become a fairytale for you to pass on."

The win meant that Roma qualified for the following season's Champions League, which seemed like a far more fitting way for Totti to pay tribute to the fans than blasting a football at them.

He became a club director after retiring in July 2017 but only lasted two years in the boardroom. He quit in June 2019 claiming club chairman James Pallotta had not involved him enough in decisions about the running of the club.

His resignation ended 30 years with the club in which he won the Serie A title in 2001, two Coppa Italias and two Supercopas, as well as winning the World Cup with Italy.

A true modern legend of the sport.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Francesco Totti, Serie A, AS Roma

Ryan Sidle

Ryan is a journalist for SPORTbible with over eight years of experience. Passionate about all sports, he mainly covers football and F1 - Daniel Ricciardo once spent an entire interview referring to him as 'Ryan Gosling,' still his proudest moment.

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