Doumbia is the newest striker to arrive in Rome but, like all the other pretenders before him, is unlikely to unseat the evergreen monarch Totti.
Few footballers leave their imprint on a club. Even fewer become iconic. And then there are those who achieve demigod status — the Paolo Maldinis, the Steven Gerrards, the Javier Zanettis et al.
Belonging to this group of elite players is one who is often referred to as Il Re di Roma (The King of Rome). His name is Francesco Totti.
Totti joined Roma in 1989 at the age of 13 and became a member of the senior squad in 1992. He has regularly featured in over 20 league appearances for the first-team since the 1994-95 season. For 20 years, Totti has moved up the ranks of Roman heroes to become a man of distinguished power in the capital.
“It might read Totti but it’s pronounced Roma: Francesco is not only the captain of AS Roma, but the symbol of the Club,” says the official Roma website on his profile page.
Over his long and glorious career, he has seen the club go through many highs and lows. Yet, he stayed on, remaining loyal and committed. With time, the legend has grown older. Now, the veteran is 38 years old, and one must wonder how much life is left in those legs, even if there is plenty left in that heart.
In the last few years, Roma have employed some good, if not great strikers. Over the last decade. The likes of Vincenzo Montella, Mirko Vucinic, Marco Borriello, Pablo Osvaldo and more recently Mattia Destro have all played as centre-forwards for i Giallorossi.
That these were not world-class players might have been the reason why Totti has remained important, not just as a footballer, but as a central attacker at the club.
Or, this could be a deliberate policy by the management to not interfere with Totti’s undisputed position in the squad and on the football pitch. Totti’s sustained significance this season resulted in reduced game time for Destro, causing the 23-year-old striker to leave for AC Milan in the winter. Roma moved to replace him with Seydou Doumbia, a 27-year-old Ivorian forward.
Doumbia is an excellent counter-attacking threat, as witnessed against Manchester City in the Champions League this season. He is fast, likes to dribble and is good at finishing chances. His skill-set makes him a lethal weapon for a team built to cause havoc on the break.
With Juan Iturbe and Gervinho on the flanks and Doumbia through the centre, this attack could be truly terrifying. That said, Doumbia has not experienced football at the highest level. And even if he has, those fleeting moments barely provide for a sound foundation to embrace the arduous tests that await him in Rome. Only an optimist might expect him to cause a ripple at Roma.
“I am of course delighted to join a club of Roma’s standing and to play in such a high-level championship,” said the former CSKA Moscow forward when talking to Footmercato.net.
“Developing alongside players like Totti, Miralem Pjanic, Gervinho, Daniele De Rossi and having a coach who plays a resolutely offensive game will surely allow me to reach the next level.”
His comments are very revealing. At 27, he still talks about “learning” and “reaching the next level,” when he should be — ideally at least — entering his prime as a striker.
This signing hardly a poses a threat to the omnipotence of Totti at the club. It also, metaphorically, exposes the myopic attitude of the management.
Modern football is physically demanding (even more than ever before) and Totti appears to be running on reserves. The management must realise the weightiness of passing the baton and planning for life after Francesco Totti. Doumbia, albeit a fairly gifted footballer, is ill-equipped to take the team to the next level, even if the team takes him to the next level.
Given Totti’s age and the quality of players in other positions, the coach will feel challenged to shift the veteran anywhere else other than as the centrepiece of the team on the pitch.
Follow Rajath Kumar on twitter @rajathkumar
