Roma captain Francesco Totti said that his side gave up in the excruciating defeat to Catania.
The Giallorossi were handed a 4-1 beating at the hands of relegation-threatened Catania on Sunday afternoon which subsequently handed Juventus their third consecutive Serie A title.
Speaking to Sky Sport and Mediaset after the game, Totti said that his side gave up, while also heaping praise on champions Juventus.
“When you compete with a side that travels at such a speed, it’s hard to keep up,” he began. “We’ve tried this season, but today we gave up.
“However, this season is a good indication for the future”.
When asked about the chances of him returning to Italian National team, Totti said that he is doing his best with Roma, but feels his chances are slim.
“I’m doing my best with Roma,” he said. “The decision will come this month, and the coach [Cesare Prandelli] may decide to phone me.
“Reading [Cesare] Prandelli’s statements, I think there is little chance”.
Totti then took the time to praise Gianluigi Buffon, as well as taking the time to shed his thoughts on the game against the Bianconeri next Sunday.
“I try to score as many goals as possible against him [Buffon],” he began. “However, that isn’t easy because he is the best goalkeeper in Europe.
“The game against Juventus is always an important game, but we want to put on a good show for our fans.
“We will try to put on a ‘great’ performance to show that our season is alive.
“No matter who they field on Friday [sic, Sunday] it is going to be tough”.
“We want to show that they [Juventus] are not superior to us”.
Totti then took the time to explain that the players were at fault for the defeat to Catania.
“The words of the coach are important,” he said. “However, the players are the ones who set foot on the pitch, and today we played badly.”
The Giallorossi captain also voiced his concern over the clashes that happened before the Coppa Italia final between Napoli and Fiorentina.
“Rome is a city which welcomes everyone,” he added. “These situations happened in the past, and I sure hope they don’t happen again”.
Finally, Totti was then asked about the future in which he said that he hopes that the players will be able to take Roma to unprecedented heights, while also saying that next season will be one of his last chances to win the UEFA Champions League.
“We will do our best to put Roma at the top of Serie A and the Champions League,” he said. “Next season will be one of the last chances to win it.
“We will try to win it, but it will be very hard.”
