Daniele De Rossi admits Francesco Totti’s retirement puts “more responsibility on all our shoulders” at Roma. “It’s an honour to be considered a symbol.”

This will be the first campaign in 25 years without Totti as part of the squad, though it’s the 16th for De Rossi.

“My first pre-season training camp was in 2001-02, straight after Roma won the Scudetto, so there was such enthusiasm,” De Rossi told Roma Radio.

Daniele De Rossi admits Francesco Totti’s retirement puts “more responsibility on all our shoulders” at Roma. “It’s an honour to be considered a symbol.”

This will be the first campaign in 25 years without Totti as part of the squad, though it’s the 16th for De Rossi.

“My first pre-season training camp was in 2001-02, straight after Roma won the Scudetto, so there was such enthusiasm,” De Rossi told Roma Radio.

“I’m proud to still be here and in good shape physically. I do think back and realise how ‘old’ I am in football terms. It makes you feel like rushing, as time is running out, so I tell the younger players to enjoy every minute and realise being a professional footballer is something unique.”

De Rossi was always nicknamed ‘Future Captain’ and now he finally inherits the armband from Totti.

“We are all in a way ‘widowers’ of our historic captain. I was largely the captain last season, because it was normal that Francesco didn’t play as much. Not much changes on the field, but it does change in that we’ve lost a symbol who brought people to the stadium.

“It puts more responsibility on all our shoulders, for me in particular. It had to happen sooner or later, we are not eternal, even though Francesco seemed as if he might be.

“It’s an honour to be considered a symbol of Roma now and I worked hard to become someone important for the fans. I never felt the pressure that much, but at the age of 34 I need to find a balance around my fiery passion for Roma, so the armband should help me in that respect.”

There are other changes at the Giallorossi camp this summer, with Coach (and De Rossi’s former teammate) Eusebio Di Francesco taking over.

“It is strange to have him as my Coach, but the fact I know him is only a slight advantage. I am a player like all the others, we have to respect the Coach.

“I’ve worked in the 4-3-3 system many times, probably more than with any other from Luciano Spalletti to Rudi Garcia. We’re working to assimilate his concepts, which are similar to those of Zdenek Zeman, which is great news when it comes to attacking.

“In tactical terms, I feel almost unique. While my body held up, I was a universal midfielder who could score and then rush back to defend, then I became more central and I think it’s positive to play in a variety of roles.”

Roma finished second last season, but Luciano Spalletti has gone to Inter and Napoli kept most of their stars, so what does De Rossi make of the Scudetto race?

“One can always hope. We can work on the four points that separated us from Juventus last term, but this year will be even more difficult and we’ve got to fight even harder to achieve something important for the fans.”

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