Roma fans have paid some famous tributes to some of their most beloved players and coaches in recent years, so here’s a look back at those emotional days.
Claudio Ranieri
Embed from Getty ImagesLet’s start off with the one which we all witnessed on Sunday. Claudio Ranieri officially managed his final home game in his managerial career for the club that’s closest to his heart and our hearts, AS Roma. Whenever she called he answered that call and that exactly the case yet again when he was asked to take the reins back in November. Since then he’s taken us to the brink of returning to dine at the finest of tables in Europe, the Champions League, and he deservedly got one of the greatest farewells that we have seen for any manager in football.
The Giallarossi faithful didn’t disappoint and gave Ranieri a send off befitting of Emperors of the past in the eternal city. Before a ball had even been kicked the Curva Sud expressed their immense gratitude to Ranieri by revealing a huge tifo solely dedicated to Claudio Ranieri as the Roma anthem bellowed out of the Olimpico. Another tifo displayed throughout the game described the locally born Claudio Ranieri as ‘A Great Leader….A True Romanista’.
Ranieri gave an emotional speech after the game directly to the crowd and received various gifts from the club before walking off the Stadio Olimpico field for the final time as a manager. It was only fitting that the Roma players and staff gave Ranieri a guard of honour as he exited with his grandkids by his side. Scenes that are likely never to be replicated again for a manager who has given everything and more for the club. Grazie Mister!
Francesco Totti
Embed from Getty ImagesA day every Romanista will never forget. I still get emotional even thinking about this one despite it occurring now nearly 8 whole years ago. That’s just how much of an impact Francesco Totti had on both myself as a football fan but also as a human being. I think it’s a feeling that’s shared amongst many of the Giallarossi too and it’s exactly why we saw one of the most emotional farewells that the footballing world has ever witnessed.
Tears flowed out of what seemed like every single fans eyes as Totti took a lap of honour around the Stadio Olimpico after the game. Players, coaches, staff and fans were all visibly struggling to comprehend a future of AS Roma without Francesco Totti. Banners and signs showed messages such as ‘I will be wherever you are…forever my captain’ along with ‘don’t cry because something ends, smile because it happened.’
Embed from Getty ImagesTotti fought back tears as he gave a farewell speech to the Roma fans which lasted over 12 minutes long and eventually concluded with a simple ‘I Love You’ which was directed towards the fans. They reciprocated that love singing the Grazie Roma anthem as Totti finally brought down the curtain on his professional football playing career.
Daniele De Rossi
Embed from Getty ImagesDe Rossi filled a huge void that was left behind at Roma after the retirement of Francesco Totti and back in 2019 the Stadio Olimpico was once again in mourning as Il Capitano said goodbye in his 616th and final game for AS Roma.
Everything started the night before his final appearance when he released a personal farewell message to the Romanista which was lengthy and full of eternal gratitude to both the club and the fans. Those fans turned out in their numbers the next day as tifos adorned all corners of the Stadio Olimpico with one spanning the entirety of the Curva Sud that read ‘You represented us on the pitch for 18 years. From today your curve will always represent us. We are all DDR!’
De Rossi bowed out in his final game to roars from the Stadio Olimpico as he was substituted for the final time as not only a Roma player but a club legend that will forever be written into the history books at Roma. He returned after the game to say one last farewell to the fans in attendance as a banner was proudly raised in the middle of the Stadio Olimpico field. Roma players and staff applauded in unison with the Giallorossi that knew the inevitable was about to happen. Tears flowed out of grown men and women in the crowd as De Rossi hugged the current crop of Roma players at the time, one by one. The atmosphere was more appreciative than that of pure heart ache and mourning that was seen just a few years prior for Francesco Totti.
Embed from Getty ImagesDe Rossi embraced Claudio Ranieri and then Bruno Conti before finally embracing with Totti who had been his captain and idol for so many years. The Stadio Olimpico took it up a notch as two legends embraced on the sideline before Totti handed De Rossi a number 16 glass trophy to mark the occasion. A lap of honour proceeded before De Rossi eventually got down to his knees and bowed in front of the Curva Sud. A moment that will never be forgotten at the Stadio Olimipico. Grazie Daniele.
SEE ALSO: Bruno Conti’s Roma farewell story
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