Totti Tuesday: ‘The devil, Charlie’s Angels & SingStar’

Paying attention to the proud Primavera

Not much else is going on in Romalalaland besides His Frenchness arriving at airport Fiumicino. Which makes this week’s TT less fancy than usual but we at CdT don’t want to repeat the same news over and over. You know the drill, you can all (hopefully) read the internet pages. The names thrown around are still the usual suspects: Benatia and Nainggolan. Both are close, both deals will probably include Roman leverage.

Don’t get me wrong, I think those players will be good additions but is it really necessary to treat our Primavera jewels like this? I know they will get more playing time at smaller teams but c’mon, it's like trading pokémon cards at your local comic book store. True, I can see few of them making an impact at Roma next season, it’s for their own good and progression to be loaned out. But a surprise package is always lurking around the corner. ‘Hos (just turned 19, just saying) and Florenzi did quite a good job last season, mainly thanks to Zeman. My advice would be: don’t judge the kids too early, let Rudi analyze most of them and then send them out on loan if they don’t fit the bill. Which is difficult if they want the likes of Benatia and Nainggolan present when preseason training begins. Roma can’t afford to lose much time on the mercato so alas, hasty decision making is needed.

I can’t help it, just like Sabatini I got a soft spot for younger boys players. Far from flawless but so eager to learn and pay for their mistakes. If one of them finally succeeds, it means so much more than a high-profile name coming in for lots of trumpet sounds and hard cash, only to leave after one or two years for a bigger league or petrodollars of the UAE. However, patience is needed, one of AS Roma and its tifosi’s famously weak points.
For years now, cheap loan deals and co-owning young players are the way to go so in Italy so they won’t change that mentality. But all I’m asking is to give the kids (and peace for that matter) a chance. Nothing wrong with that. We’re blessed with all these exciting prospects and if the boys see examples like Florenzi or Romagnoli train and play for the first team, they will work twice as hard to reach their goal: to feature alongside Totti in Serie A one day. That’s why bringing back Caprari, Verre and co (even for a while) is a step in the right direction. You got to show them love baby.

Bitchslap of the week

Pablo Daniel Osvaldo. For rejecting Southampton’s very generous offer. Hypocrite. You’re not a real fan of The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin if you reject a possible trip to England and its league, nota bene the country of origin of Mick Jagger, Robert Plant and co. 20m could have given Roma a lot of ‘satisfaction’. However, I’m quickly losing ‘sympathy for this devil’ Osvaldo. I guess you can’t always get what you want.

Notes

• Young Croatian defender Jedvaj joins/doesn’t join/might join Roma. Arsenal is in the fray as well. Sabatini working his magic here.It would be kinda fun to see a 3-5-2 with Svedkauskas, Marcos, Romagnoli and Jedvaj in defence no? Then we can ask Spongebob for midfield and the Powerpuff Girls for attack. And play this as our official pregame anthem. Do you already see the Olimpico dancing to that #à%! ? Priceless.

• Right, le buste. Which kinda sounds like breasts in Italian but it’s not. It means envelopes or wallets. You can find all the results and confirmed deals in here. No real surprises. Bertolacci and Stoian deserve more time at their respective clubs while Roma still have a say in their contracts. Destro is fully ours while Caprari, Verre and Piscitella return to their nest only to be quickly released again by their mother bird on a sunny Sunday in Spring. Let’s hope they don’t fly too high and too far away.

• The winner of last week’s quiz isssssss………………. ked1927! He was the first one who got both players’ names right, with the obliged correct spelling: Simone Perrotta and Ricardo Faty. One is an all time favorite of the fans and absolute beast of a midfielder, both passionate and loveable, vision and brains, tireless and energetic. The other one is old, Italian and won the World Cup in 2006 (I kid, I kid).
I’m terribly sorry for Hanif who got the right answer before ked1927 but misspelled Perrotta’s name. I have to be harsh on these occasions but don’t worry, I’ll come up with another quiz sooner than you think.

So ked1927 wins and can choose between three prizes:
1 a small piece in my next Totti Tuesday (if so, I’ll provide my email address later on)
2 a signed picture of me, Doni and Taddei showering nude at Trigoria’s bathroom doing the Charlie’s Angels stance
3 a dvd of Simone Loria’s greatest hits in Giallorosso (the full 10-second-version including bloopers!)

What’s it gonna be ked1927? Please respond ASAP below in the comments to claim your prize, grazie and congrats once more.

Vying with the virgin

Now that we’ve handled all official business, what does the imminent future hold for CdT? First and foremost a strengthening of the editorial team after Chris’ emotional letter some days ago. As much as we love to write for you and worship Roma as the holy virgin Mary, the next iPhone or Playstation, there is another life besides Roma. A more personal life: work, relationships, college, parents, friends, secret SingStar underground meetings… To find the perfect symbiosis of those two, CdT can certainly use new blood, a new writer. Unconditional love for all things Taddei and Borriello is a must. Bonne chance à tous, Rudi would say. Until next week!

“I’ve been in contact with Roma for two years and I’m proud to be here. Totti and De Rossi are elements who will be important on and off the pitch. I have a great desire to meet De Rossi, as I do the rest of the squad. De Rossi can play in a lot of roles, just give me the time to get to know him. You need talented players and fortunately Roma have them.” - Rudi Garcia, 2013