Francesco Totti

That little boy from Porta Metronia, slender but quick, shy but self-confident, today is a nothing short of a champion. He's no longer known only in his home town of Rome, but now by football lovers all around the world. This is the story of Francesco Totti, of his first attempts at kicking a ball around on the fields of Rome, playing on teams such as Fortitudo, Smit Trastevere, Lodigiani, and then finally on the youth preparation team for his beloved Roma. On both sides of the Tiber River, news of the talent of this young player spread rapidly. Soon teams of fans were following him around to watch his matches every Sunday. Lazio fought it out with Roma to sign him when the moment finally came for him to decide his future, but his loyalty to Roma's yellow-red jersey was strong enough to resist any temptation.

On March 28, 1993 he had is first debut in the A-Series in the match against Brescia (Roma vs. Brescia 2-0): since that first game he has now played in 300 A-Series matches, and is ranked number six in terms of number of matches played by a footballer with Roma. With the goal that he made against Parma on December 19, 2004 he made his 107th goal, surpassing Pruzzo's record, and making him the all time number one bomber for Roma.

With Totti Roma won the Italian Championship at the end of the stellar 2000/2001 season, in which he played as the absolute protagonist. That same year they won another trophy, the Italian Super Cup. His first match with the Italian National team was on October 10, 1998, in the match between Italy and Switzerland (with a final score of 2-0). In all, Totti has played 44 matches with the National team, and has made a total of 9 goals. He played in the European Championships in Belgium and Holland (2000), leading Italy and making his historic high-flying penalty kick in the semi-finals against Holland. He also played in the World Cup in Korea and Japan (2002) and in the European Championships in Portugal (2004).

As of March 23, 2003, Francesco Totti is also a "Goodwill Ambassador" for UNICEF since March 23, 2003, on behalf of Italy in defending the rights of children whose rights have been violated around the world. This is a recognition of his sensitivity and represents a responsibility which has brought him to participate in several worthy initiatives. For example, the profits earned from the sales of his book, "Le Barzellette di Totti" ("Totti's Jokes") were divided equally between a relief project for abandoned children in Kinshasa, in the Republic of Congo, and the telephone social assistance and help lines promoted by the City of Rome.