Mark
May 29 2002, 07:35 AM
Francesco Totti has today denied reports that he will not be fit for Italy's opening World Cup game against Ecuador on Monday.
Totti: Will be fighting fit on Monday
(AP)
The playmaker has been suffering with a thigh injury and has not played a competitive game for two months. But he did play 45 minutes of the Italians final warm-up game against Kashima Antlers on Sunday and is sure he will be 100 per cent by the time their campaign kicks off.
'I am in an almost perfect condition now, probably all I am missing is some games under my belt. But I will be at the maximum (against Ecuador),' Totti told reporters after training. 'After two months out of action it is not easy but step by step I am getting there.'
Italy coach Giovanni Trapattoni has hinted that if Totti is not fully fit he may ask him to play as a striker alongside Christian Vieri, rather than in his usual, more demanding, role as the link-man between midfield and attack,.
The Roma skipper insists he will be ready to play wherever Trapattoni wants to deploy him. 'We haven't talked about it but whether I play as a support striker to Vieri or as a playmaker there is no problem,' said Totti.
Such a change would be easier for Trapattoni to make given that AC Milan striker Filippo Inzaghi is expected to miss the opening game due to a knee injury. Totti admitted that Inzaghi would be missed but expressed confidence in the ability of Italy's other strikers to make an impact against Ecuador.
'Pippo (Inzaghi) is a very important player for us, but we have four other strikers and whoever plays will do well I am sure of that,' said Totti.
The 25-year-old has laughed off the suggestion that he was the 'leader' of Trapattoni's team. 'The leader? No. But I am happy to be fully integrated into this group. I have a fundamental role in the team and I hope that I can carry that out,.
'The captain is (the leader), due to his experience, the way he behaves, the way he helps us in difficult moments. We want to play with the same consistency as at Euro 2000 but with a different result at the end.
'We are more united now and we have spent a lot of time together and know each other well. Personally I think winning the Italian title with Roma (in 2001) has helped me to develop.
'The experience of performing in international competition has also made me stronger inside. Until two years ago I hadn't really shown what I was capable of. Back in 1990 I had the chance to see the World Cup at close quarters and began to dream that one day I could star in one myself.
'My hope is that I can go all the way here but I know that it won't be easy.'
Meanwhile, the Italy players are refusing to sing their national anthem before World Cup matches, midfielder Gennaro Gattuso has said.
There have been calls from Italian politicians for the team to join in with the anthem which they have not done in the past, but Gattuso said the campaign to put pressure on the players had backfired.
'We sing the anthem every day, even two or three times a day when we are in the team bus. But we have decided not to sing on the field, it is a question of pride,' the AC Milan midfielder said.
Gattuso rejected claims that the players do not know the words to the anthem. 'The approach to this issue was mistaken, we all know the words, and we showed on a television show that we know it.
'Look at the pictures of the bench for the friendly on Sunday with Kashima, we more or less all sang the words but on the field, however, pride prevails after all this pressure and publicity. It is time to put all this publicity behind us now, this ought to be the moment to show us a bit more affection to the team,.'
Italians generally have a mixed view of the song and many do not know the words to the anthem whose chorus goes: 'We are ready to die. Italy has called - yes!'
Totti: Will be fighting fit on Monday
(AP)
The playmaker has been suffering with a thigh injury and has not played a competitive game for two months. But he did play 45 minutes of the Italians final warm-up game against Kashima Antlers on Sunday and is sure he will be 100 per cent by the time their campaign kicks off.
'I am in an almost perfect condition now, probably all I am missing is some games under my belt. But I will be at the maximum (against Ecuador),' Totti told reporters after training. 'After two months out of action it is not easy but step by step I am getting there.'
Italy coach Giovanni Trapattoni has hinted that if Totti is not fully fit he may ask him to play as a striker alongside Christian Vieri, rather than in his usual, more demanding, role as the link-man between midfield and attack,.
The Roma skipper insists he will be ready to play wherever Trapattoni wants to deploy him. 'We haven't talked about it but whether I play as a support striker to Vieri or as a playmaker there is no problem,' said Totti.
Such a change would be easier for Trapattoni to make given that AC Milan striker Filippo Inzaghi is expected to miss the opening game due to a knee injury. Totti admitted that Inzaghi would be missed but expressed confidence in the ability of Italy's other strikers to make an impact against Ecuador.
'Pippo (Inzaghi) is a very important player for us, but we have four other strikers and whoever plays will do well I am sure of that,' said Totti.
The 25-year-old has laughed off the suggestion that he was the 'leader' of Trapattoni's team. 'The leader? No. But I am happy to be fully integrated into this group. I have a fundamental role in the team and I hope that I can carry that out,.
'The captain is (the leader), due to his experience, the way he behaves, the way he helps us in difficult moments. We want to play with the same consistency as at Euro 2000 but with a different result at the end.
'We are more united now and we have spent a lot of time together and know each other well. Personally I think winning the Italian title with Roma (in 2001) has helped me to develop.
'The experience of performing in international competition has also made me stronger inside. Until two years ago I hadn't really shown what I was capable of. Back in 1990 I had the chance to see the World Cup at close quarters and began to dream that one day I could star in one myself.
'My hope is that I can go all the way here but I know that it won't be easy.'
Meanwhile, the Italy players are refusing to sing their national anthem before World Cup matches, midfielder Gennaro Gattuso has said.
There have been calls from Italian politicians for the team to join in with the anthem which they have not done in the past, but Gattuso said the campaign to put pressure on the players had backfired.
'We sing the anthem every day, even two or three times a day when we are in the team bus. But we have decided not to sing on the field, it is a question of pride,' the AC Milan midfielder said.
Gattuso rejected claims that the players do not know the words to the anthem. 'The approach to this issue was mistaken, we all know the words, and we showed on a television show that we know it.
'Look at the pictures of the bench for the friendly on Sunday with Kashima, we more or less all sang the words but on the field, however, pride prevails after all this pressure and publicity. It is time to put all this publicity behind us now, this ought to be the moment to show us a bit more affection to the team,.'
Italians generally have a mixed view of the song and many do not know the words to the anthem whose chorus goes: 'We are ready to die. Italy has called - yes!'