Two days after scoring his 250th Serie A goal, Francesco Totti has turned 40, marking what we can only hope is the halfway point of his career. Naturally, a great many tributes have rolled in to mark the occasion, so let’s take a look at some of the best.
Category: Italy
Joe Hart shows off his Italian during Torino press conference
WATCH: Joe Hart ready to embrace culture at @TorinoFC_1906 after loan move from @ManCity: https://t.co/D9gMDaabqZ https://t.co/aeEecLczhm
— Sky Sports News HQ (@SkySportsNewsHQ) September 16, 2016
You can’t effectively shout at your teammates in the tunnel if you don’t speak their language, so Joe Hart, on loan from Man City at Torino, is working on his Italian. He demonstrated this during a press conference by reading a prepared statement and received a round of applause for his effort.
Francesco Totti scores late winner, makes young fan cry tears of joy
A little more than two weeks away from his 40th birthday, Francesco Totti hasn’t been given many chances to make an impact for Roma, but after coming off the bench at halftime against Sampdoria, he led his side to a comeback victory capped off by his stoppage time penalty (see the goal here). It was a moment that had fans weeping with joy, showing just how much they love this man.
Torino list Joe Hart as “John Hart” on team sheet for his debut
It wasn’t the best Serie A debut for Joe Hart, as his club, Torino, lost 2-1 to Atalanta. Hart failed to control a corner kick, in the 56th minute, gifting Atalanta with an equalizer just two minutes after Torino opened the scoring. Then, in the 82nd minute, Atalanta scored a winner from the penalty spot.
The shaky start to his season-long loan abroad can be blamed on a “John Hart” though, as that’s the name Torino listed on their team sheet.
Crazypants Palermo owner floats the idea of being a “father figure” to Mario Balotelli
Liverpool have offered Mario Balotelli to just about every club in Europe, and the responses have been one hard pass after another. But one of the few cold calls they haven’t made is to Palermo. And it turns out they’re actually interested.
Cristian Tello showed up to his Fiorentina medical wearing an “I heart beer” shirt
Tello a Firenze. Incontro con Sousa e Dg Corvino, in attesa delle visite mediche e formalità del contratto. pic.twitter.com/P0JHjkAiWO
— ACF Fiorentina (@acffiorentina) August 15, 2016
Cristian Tello has returned to Fiorentina on loan from Barcelona for the second time and his shirt choice for his arrival was…interesting. “I
beer” might not be the best message for a professional athlete to convey upon arriving at a club and going in for an important medical examination, but Tell doesn’t seem to care about that. Maybe he’s trying to sabotage this whole thing and get himself sent back to Barcelona. Who knows. But what we do know is that he is fond of beer. That much is clear.After doing nothing and achieving everything at Barcelona, Thomas Vermaelen joins Roma on loan
In two seasons with Barcelona, frequently injured defender Thomas Vermaelen made 21 appearances and won seven trophies. Two La Liga titles, two Copa del Rey trophies, a Champions League title, a UEFA Super Cup, and even a Club World Cup. That’s one trophy for every three appearances. Even the people who hand out youth league participation medals would find that obscene and excessive.
In two seasons of doing nothing and getting paid handsomely for it, Vermaelen has accomplished more than most footballers can do in a full career of playing match after match. And so, with nothing left to achieve at Barcelona, he has decided to move on to Roma on a season-long loan in pursuit of a new challenge.
Continuing his ungodly trophy haul with Roma while keeping his playing time to the absolute minimum for someone to still be considered a professional footballer will definitely be a challenge, too. But, in his infinite genius, Vermaelen is only going to Roma on loan, so if the task proves too difficult, he can simply reclaim his seat on Barcelona’s bench and get back to letting the trophies fall into his lap for the remainder of his five-year deal.
We really should be inviting Vermaelen into schools around the world to give children career advice. Of course, if we did, he’d probably just be too injured to attend and send someone else to give the talk in his place, then split the money and accolades with them.
It has long been thought that injuries can only ruin a professional athlete’s career, but Vermaelen is proving that they can also benefit it. Had he actually played for Barcelona, he could have underperformed and gotten himself sold off to some third-rate club in a city that can’t compare to the beauty of Rome. Instead, he gets to linger on at Barca and also have a glorious change of scenery for a season.
There are footballing geniuses like Pele and Maradona, Messi and Ronaldo, then there are geniuses of football. And in that class Vermaelen stands alone. Well, sits alone.
Gigi Buffon gave out free hugs outside Italy’s hotel
The day after Italy’s agonizing shootout loss to Germany in the Euro 2016 quarterfinals, it was time to go home. As the team boarded the bus outside their hotel, the gathered fans remained ardent with their support. So to show his gratitude, goalkeeper and captain Gigi Buffon stopped just before boarding, went over to them and gave out a few world-class hugs.
Italy lock down the title for most menacing formal wear of Euro 2016
No one has seemed too confident that Italy can reach the final in Euro 2016, as they did in 2012, but that was before anyone saw the team in their new suits. Now everyone is going to predict whatever Italy want them to predict.
Carlo Ancelotti really does have a part in Star Trek Beyond
Back in October, there were rumors that Carlo Ancelotti was set for a cameo role in the next Star Trek film, which was filming in Vancouver — where Ancelotti took up residence after getting sacked by Real Madrid at the end of the 2014/15 season. Though his IMDB page has yet to be updated to reflect this, we now have confirmation from the man himself.