Totti case is killing team, says Sabatini

Published: 02 Sep 2011 - 18:00:16

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Totti case is killing team, says Sabatini

Roma are the victims of a polemic surrounding club captain Francesco Totti that is killing the team, according to the club's sporting director Walter Sabatini.

Roma were knocked out of the Europa League in the preliminary stages last month against Slovan Bratislava, during which new Spanish coach Luis Enrique was jeered for substituting the highly popular Totti.

The 34-year-old is more than just a legend for Roma fans, to the point that their love for him seems to run deeper than that for the club.

The big debate surrounding the team in recent years is whether or not the ageing Totti still deserves to be picked, but the fans do not tolerate him being left on the bench.

And Enrique's position has already been called into question by Rome-based media before the Serie A season has even kicked off.

"In modern football, no player can be untouchable," said Sabatini. "This situation is killing the team, everyone is being affected by this problem.

"Totti has to accept being dropped in another way. He has to manage it well and put whatever form of vanity to one side, knowing that way he's helping the team a lot.

"Francesco has to understand the situation. It may be the case that he's more useful to Roma playing 20 games a season instead of 30.

"He needs to keep smiling so that he can help the new players. The coach needs serenity in his team selections."

Totti was left on the bench during the first leg against Bratislava in Slovakia and the next day turned up for training with a T-shirt emblazoned with the word 'Enough' on his chest.

Enrique picked him from the start in the return leg in Rome but hauled him off, a move which visibly irritated the former Italy striker.

Enrique later told the press that he would not be influenced in his team decisions and new American owner Thomas DiBenedetto has backed his coach.

But since then there has been talk of a rift between Totti and both Enrique and his incoming assistant Franco Baldini, who has yet to join up with Roma as he is still under contract with England until the end of the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign next month.

"I think we have to solve this three-way Baldini-Totti-Luis Enrique problem, because I don't like it," added Sabatini.

"We're in a stalemate and when an aeroplane stalls, it falls. I can feel how dangerous this situation has become and we have to solve it.

"We hope to emerge from this situation quickly, otherwise there won't be a team and there won't be any football."

However, one solution that has been ruled out is selling Totti.

"I could't even imagine that," said Sabatini.

Totti is widely rumoured in Italy to have been the reason ex-coach Claudio Ranieri left the team last season.

Ranieri often left Totti on the bench, preferring Marco Borriello as his loan central striker.

But Totti is believed to wield a lot of power behind the scenes and used it to force Ranieri out, to be replaced by then youth team coach and former Totti team-mate Vincenzo Montella.

He promptly restored Totti to the starting line-up, with Borriello warming the bench for the rest of the season.