At least one Roma player knew what was coming. As the Giallorossi congregated for their preseason training camp up in the hills at Riscone di Brunico in early July, many had heard the rumours about Zdenek Zeman’s brutal fitness sessions, but one had experienced them first-hand. “Fortunately I know him,” said Francesco Totti. “So I know what to expect.”
Thirteen years had passed since Zeman last coached this team—long enough for every other member of that Roma squad to either retire or move on to pastures new. But not Totti. A player who had turned down contracts from Milan and Lazio before he got the chance to sign for Roma as a teenager remained as committed to his boyhood club as he was back then.
He had welcomed Zeman back with open arms. The mutual admiration between coach and player is well-documented, dating back to their time together at the club between 1997 and 1999—a period in which Totti grew from precocious teen into a consistent difference-maker. In one famous interview long after he had left Roma, Zeman was asked to name the three best Italian players in circulation. “Totti, Totti and Totti,” he replied.
On numerous occasions, the forward would return such praise. After Zeman steered Pescara to promotion from Serie B last year, Totti informed him that: “You are football”. When the manager’s return to Roma was confirmed, he could barely contain his excitement. “I have had many managers, but the ones I have appreciated most are Zeman and [Luciano] Spalletti. Both are extremely well prepared, but [Zeman’s] football is the best thing for an attacker, there is nothing else like it.”
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