Roberto Donadoni and Michel Platini can say whatever they want: Francesco Totti is playing some of the best soccer of his life, so if he wants to wait until next season to return to the Italian national team, Donadoni will just have to wait — and you better believe the Italy coach will be begging UEFA president Platini to take back is calls to ban Totti from international competition once the Roma captain is ready to play for his country again.
The Observer’s Amy Lawrence says Totti is in the form of his life, and that will pose significant problems for Manchester United once the Premiership pretenders open their Champions League quarterfinal against Roma at the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday. Totti, Serie A’s top scorer, is playing so well, in fact, that there are calls across Italy that the World Cup winner should be the unanimous choice for this year’s Ballon D’Or.
Totti is one of the greatest players to underperform at both the international and European level. One could argue that this is partly down to the loyal playmaker’s decision not to leave his beloved Roma for a bigger club, but nevertheless, the striker wants to shirk that stigma more than anything else. Blessed with a wonderful supporting cast, including the electric Mancini and fellow Italy international Simone Perrotta, Roma this year look like legitimate dark horses capable of pulling off the kind of coup Juan Roman Riquelme and Villarreal achieved in reaching the Champions League semifinals last year.