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Birth Date:
9/27/1976
Birth Place:
Roma, Italy
Nationality:
Italy
Height:
180
Weight:
82
Position:
Forward
Francesco Totti was born 27 September 1976 in the San Giovanni section of Rome. He currently plays for AS Roma in Serie A and the Italian national team. Totti is a creator as well as a scorer of goals - not least from free kicks.
Francesco Totti can operate from a variety of attacking positions but it is in the free role behind the strikers that his skill and technique shines.
Totti's parents are Enzo and Fiorella Totti. Totti played football throughout his childhood. Francesco first joined the junior team for AS Roma in 1989.
As a talented teenager, Totti scored in Italy's 4-1 defeat by Spain in the final of the UEFA European Under-18 Championship in July 1995. In the final of the Under-21 competition in 1996, Totti opened the scoring in a 1-1 draw against the Spanish before triumphing on penalties.
Totti made his senior Azzurri debut in the Euro 2000 qualifying victory against Switzerland on 10 October 1998. Francesco played in the finals tournament and scored against Romania and Belgium and played in the finals, losing to France. Although he was on the losing side, Francesco Totti was named Man of the Match in the final.
Also in this tournament, the world saw one of the best penalty kicks ever taken. In the semi-final against Holland, the game went to a shootout. With Italy scoring their first two, and Holland missing their first two, Totti stepped up to take Italy's third kick. With a stadium full of Holland supporters silent, Totti stepped up and cheekily chipped the ball into the right-hand side of the net, while a helpless Van der Sar dove to the left.
More disappointment followed at the 2002 World Cup, with Totti failing to make a significant impact and then being sent off as Italy lost to the South Korea in the second round, when he received his second yellow card for penalty area diving by the refree Byron Moreno.
At Euro 2004, Totti garnered negative media attention when he spat at Christian Poulsen, a midfielder for Denmark who had marked him for the whole match. Totti was subsequently banned until the semi-finals, but did not play in the tournament again, as Italy failed to qualify for the next round.
Totti is a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, He allowed two books to be published containing jokes made at his expense to raise money for the children's charity. Totti was also named by Pel? as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004.
Francesco Totti is famous for his chip shots, called in Italian "cucchiao". He has scored many fantastic goals using this technique.
Often referred to as a 'dumb Roman', Totti released a book of jokes about himself, with the proceeds going to charity. The book was a hit and a bestseller for many months.
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