Of course the most ice-cold moment in the history of Serie A was a hand gesture. This is Italy, after all.
And of course, it was delivered by Francesco Totti, the King of Rome, perfectly sh*thousing Italy’s most successful – and consequently most hated – club, Juventus.
Totti loved facing the Old Lady. Over the course of his legendary career, he made 39 appearances against them, scoring 10 goals and assisting a further seven.
They included some belters, too, with none quite as memorable as the long-range rocket in 2013 that caused commentator Carlo Zampa to belt out ‘Il Capitano!’, activating previously undiscovered octaves in human vocal cords.
Gianluigi Buffon knew all too well the ferocity Totti was capable of unleashing. The goalkeeper had stood between the sticks for Parma on the final day of the 2000-01 campaign, in which Roma needed a win to pip Juventus to the Scudetto.
Guided by Totti since he was 22 years old – Serie A’s youngster-ever captain – his club needed his leadership that day at the Olimpico. Roma had topped the table for almost the entirety of the campaign and even built up a nine-point lead come April, but they almost contrived to blow it, allowing Juve to close the gap by dropping points in seven of their last 11 outings.
Just as the pressure reached boiling point, Totti stepped up to diffuse everything, pouncing to open the scoring after 19 minutes. It was the most important goal of his career and the most painful dagger he’d ever plunge into Juventus’ heart.
A REMINDER:
Roma beat Parma 3-1 in 2001 on the final day of the season to win Serie A.
Francesco Totti set them on their way with this powerful strike ⚽️ 👑 pic.twitter.com/GdPcDNcuHa
— Football Remind (@FootballRemind) May 4, 2021
Vincenzo Montella doubled their lead shortly before half-time and Gabriel Batistuta’s 78th-minute goal all but sealed it – Roma won the Italian title for only the third time in their entire history.
It was the only Scudetto he’d ever win, going on to finish a runner-up with Roma a further eight times over the course of his remarkable 24-year career. Nine if you include their bumping up the table in the Calciopoli-inflicted 2005-06 season.
And frequently, over the years, Juventus denied them greater glory.
“We came to Turin to play our game, but you saw what happened and that affected the match,” Totti said pointedly after a particularly controversial 3-2 defeat in 2014.
“For years the same old incidents…
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