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While the summer continues to march on, leaving us with dozens of rumors to sift through, we have some actual news to discuss today; some sad news, the retirement of Simone Perrotta. After nearly 20 seasons, with stops at Reggina, Juventus, Bari, Chievo and Roma, Perrotta has decided to leave the world of calcio.
I don't think I'll continue playing at all, in fact, as I'd prefer to end my career as an ex-Roma player rather than the ex of another club. I wanted to finish my playing days with this jersey and I feel it's the right thing to do.
While Perrotta spent nine seasons at Roma, scoring 49 total goals, dishing out 26 assists, and amassing over 23,000 minutes on the pitch, the highlight of his career is undoubtedly winning the 2006 World Cup. Perrotta, a somewhat overlooked player through much of his career, both for club and country, started all seven matches that magical June.
Aside from the World Cup title, Perrotta was a Serie A runner up four times, a Coppa Italia runner up four times, and a Coppa Italia champion on two occasions. Perrotta also boasts an Italian Super Coppa and Under-21 European championship on his resume.
I'm sure we'll have much more to say about Simone's subtle significance for Roma's success over the past decade. But as one of the more important and beloved players in recent club history, join me in saluting Simone Perrotta.