Roma still close to Pune star’s heart

CHENNAI: When Francesco Totti hung up his boots last summer, the whole of Rome wept. From senior players to fans, everyone knew that the void left by the legend was going to be impossible to fill. After an emotional speech and farewell lap at the Stadio Olimpico, tunnel videos of Totti taking time to greet and talk to every man behind the scenes at Roma went viral. Despite being the most decorated player for ‘I Giallorossi’, the veteran was as humble as he was when he broke into their senior team as a 16-year-old.

Sharing a dressing room with someone like Totti is not something that everyone can lay claim to. But Jonatan Lucca who plays for FC Pune City in the ISL was lucky enough to get that opportunity a few years back. And the midfielder’s description of the 41-year-old sums up what kind of a person he used to be.

“When you go into a team with so many star players as a youngster, you feel intimidated. Totti doesn’t talk much. But he came up to me and made sure that I was comfortable. He even told me that he was a fan of the Brazilian style of play. He was a big player with a big heart. He is funny too. But he used to be strict with me when required. In training, if I did something wrong, he would come up to me and say ‘I am not happy’. But his intentions were good. He just wanted me to perform,” Lucca told Express.

Lucca moved to Roma from Brazilian side Internacional as a 17-year-old. And it is not easy for a young South American to adjust to the physicality of the Serie A.

While he never started for Roma in the league, he did manage to bag some substitute appearances in the domestic cup tournaments. “I was young and just starting to adjust to the conditions. I never expected to start games too. But things could have gone slightly better. I trained hard every day. But everything is not as easy as you think in football,” he said.

While he is relishing and enjoying the responsibility of playing for Pune day in and day out, the 23-year-old’s heart still beats for Roma. The 2013 Coppa Italia finals against arch-rivals Lazio played a huge role in that. Though Roma lost the final 1-0, the 70,000 in attendance at Stadio Olimpico were just too good.

“The fact that we were playing Lazio in the final was special. The fans and the players knew what the match meant. We were unfortunate to not win. But the fans who came to support us blew my mind away. That’s when I realised how big a club Roma is and winning is not everything. I love Pune and India. But given a chance, I would love to go back. It was magical.”

vimalsankar@newindianexpress.com