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Journalism of Courage
Picture Viv Richards in his pomp. The swagger, the oozing machismo, the slightly hunched walk, the arms splayed out just a bit as though those massive forearms wanted to keep their distance from the torso. The appearance of being there, but really a world apart.
That, in a different generation and different sport, is Francesco Totti. Watch him at practice for the full effect. He joins in the 8-a-side match, but he’s not really there. His teammates are screaming and joking, even the venerable Alessandro Del Piero joins in the banter, but Totti doesn’t. When the ball is being kicked around, the players are running, Totti stands still. For all of 20 minutes. He knows the ball will come to him; when it does, he’s ready. A 90-degree swivel, his right leg goes up, the foot connects and the ball travels, with laser-like accuracy, to the foot of a teammate 30 yards away. All in the blink of an eye.
Pass made, Totti resumes his posture; if you could chew gum on a football pitch, he’d do that too.
On Tuesday, all of Italy — and all of Germany too, for different reasons — will be looking to see what Totti can do.
The man himself has been slow to catch fire in this tournament — the after-effects of an ankle injury that kept him out of the game for four months —but the fuse has been lit, the full flame is but a through-ball away.
For Totti, Germany represents the ultimate chance to undo the damage of two years ago, when he spat at a Danish opponent in Euro 2004 and was given a three-match ban. That also scuppered Italy’s chances of success and, given that it followed the defeat to Korea in the last World Cup, the knives were out for Totti.
A proud man, and a proud Roman who has resisted the lures of bigger clubs in Italy and abroad, Totti is the consummate offensive player. He can create chances, he can convert them, he can seek out teammates beyond his line of vision, he can sniff opportunities where others see a wall of defenders.
Playing in a roving capacity just behind the strikers Toni and Gilardino, he has the freedom of the park, as it were. Like Richards in his pomp.
All he has to do is go out and do his thing. Don’t dare blink, because you might miss it.
