Francesco Totti, who won the 2006 World Cup with Italy and is adored in his home city where he played his entire career with Roma, on Tuesday said that he had turned down roles with the rebuilding Azzurri and with his old club to become an adviser to Maxima, a new Roman basketball team. Maxima are one of two clubs in Rome vying to take part in the planned NBA Europe project.
Rome is one of the 12 cities being targeted by the NBA for the European league’s launch in 2027. “He isn’t just a figurehead ambassador or celebrity; he’s a genuine part of our project,” said Paul Matiasic, a California lawyer who bought the sporting licence of the Brescia club and used it to set up a new team in Rome.
“I’m not joking when I say he’s our captain, because he understands Rome better than any of us,” said Matiasic. Totti said that he had held talks with the new president of the Italian football federation, Giovanni Malago, who had appointed Roberto Mancini as national coach, over a position there.
Italian media also reported that Totti had held meetings with Ryan Friedkin, the son of Roma owner Dan Friedkin, for a role at his former club. “I’ve had opportunities in the world of football, but I’ve never really been convinced. I also met the president Malago, we had a good chat, but Paul was more convincing and more direct too,” said Totti at his official presentation.
“It’s a bit strange to find myself here. I come from a different world, but when I met Paul -– whom I didn’t know -– it took him just 10 minutes to convince me,” said Totti, who played 785 games over 25 seasons for Roma, scoring 307 goals and leading them to