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Totti and the Rome Derby: it was a short step from last year’s selfie to this season’s unmoved face
Fans and journalists’ calls to play Totti in his last Rome derby remained unheard as the Giallorossi boss himself had already announced ahead of the Olimpico faceoff. The former Zenit tactician deployed the pacey El Shaarawy, Salah and Perotti from the first minute, whilst Edin Dzeko came off the bench to score his second goal against Lazio this season.
Totti watched his teammates scoring four goals against his hatred rivals, looking embittered and disappointed as he would have never expect to end his playing career without playing one last time against the Biancocelesti.
“I am the first one to feel disappointed for not having played Francesco”, Spalletti told journalists after the game.
“I am the first AS Roma fan who chose not to play Totti in a derby, but I need to consider that there are other players in the team who are as strong as him and I need to consider their form too.”
Totti scored a brace in last year’s derby, allowing AS Roma to recover from two goals down and draw a game which seemed lost. That time he celebrated the equalizer with a selfie that was seen everywhere around the world. Sorely, it was a short step from last year’s selfie to this season’s unmoved face.
Francesca Schito, translated by Lorenzo Bettoni @lorebetto
