Daniele De Rossi, Roma’s “Il Futuro Capitano” was touted as the future of the Azzurri midfield, the new Gennaro Gattuso and the long term successor to Francesco Totti as the King of Rome, and has spent the last five years with the expectation of being one of the Gallarossi’s few talismen, Italy’s best players.
But De Rossi’s career has not been without it’s ugly moments, and like fellow Roman Totti, his career has been stained by the mark of controversy. Time and time again the Roman has let his side down with a rash tackle, or what was the case against Bari on Sunday, an act of unexplainable violence, acts that have come to represent the dark side to De Rossi’s character – and have continually dirtied the reputation of one of Roma’s and La Nazionale’s most talented figures.
The elbow he drove into the face of Simeone Bentivoglio on Sunday was not the first time he has used his body as a weapon against an opponent in frustration.
Italy’s famous World Cup triumph in 2006 will not only be remembered for Fabio Grosso’s famous goal against Germany in Dortmund, but the foul that De Rossi committed against the USA’s Brian McBride, hitting the American with his elbow, an image that has an eerie similarity to the footballing crime he committed at the weekend.
Nor was it the first time he has elbowed anyone this season – Roma’s collapse against Shaktar Donetsk in the Champions League earlier this year was marred by De Rossi – the harm he caused to Dario Srna in his sides defeat provided the world with another reason to attach the term “thug” to the once coveted midfielder.
It’s a huge shame for De Rossi – who can lay the claim of being one of the only players who were in the 2006 World cup winning squad that haven’t yet hit 30, and still has a large part of his career left – at 28 he should be approaching his peak, not wasting his talent in the stands.
This of all seasons, should have been the stage for De Rossi to announce himself as a true Roman hero. The Giallorossi have teetering between crisis and mediocrity all campaign, with boardroom uncertainty combined with player unrest and managerial change – the opportunity for De Rossi to take up the reigns and lead Roma to the promised land of Champions League football was his for the taking.
However, it has been Francesco Totti, the champion of Il Lupi who has been the inspiration behind the capital clubs recent victories, not his younger counterpart. And at 33, you have to wonder how long Totti can keep it up for, and when the time comes for Il Capitano to pass the torch on, can De Rossi be trusted to ensure the consistency his side need from their leader to ensure success? Recent performances suggest not, as De Rossi has not looked the inspirational box to box ball-winner we have become used to seeing, his poor form coming hand in hand with his tendency to lose his cool.
De Rossi has received 8 red cards this season, and his latest suspension means his last act on a football field this season will be that terrible foul – hardly something Daniele will want to be remembered by, and if he wants to live up to his reputation as a true gem of the Azzurri – then he needs to change his attitude, or he runs the risk of ruining his chance of being known as one of the modern greats of Italian football and will bear the burden of being the player that could have been, but never was.
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