Italy were WRONG not to select Francesco Totti in 2010
41Italy were world champions heading into South Africa. They were drawn Paraguay, Slovakia and New Zealand in a relatively easy World Cup group stage.
Francesco Totti’s final Italy game was in the 2006 World Cup final against France. He had his best goalscoring season for Roma, who had finished second only to the great Treble-winning Jose Mourinho Inter Milan season.
His manager in 2006, Marcello Lippi had returned to the squad having resigned on the top of the mountain. Totti looked set to return for the tournament under Lippi. But he didn’t.
After two draws and a loss to Slovakia, Italy were out of the tournament at the group stage. Italy have yet to play another World Cup knockout stage game since their win in the final in 2006.
Would Italy have qualified for the knockout stage if Totti was in the squad?
Would Italy have gone all the way?
Would Totti have continued his international career beyond 2010?
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Narrated, Written and Edited by Jake Doyle (@jakedoyle93)
All Images Courtesy of Getty Images.
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