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Roma's Francesco Totti breaks Gunnar Nordahl’s all-time record of 210 league goals with a single Italian club
'Er Pupone' struck twice in the first eight minutes against Cesena to overtake the legendary Swede at the top of the list of one-club marksmen in the Italian top flight
Jan 22, 2012 9:00:00 AM
SPECIAL
By Kris Voakes | Italian Football Editor
Roma captain Francesco Totti scored two early goals in Saturday evening's clash with Cesena at the Stadio Olimpico to surpass former AC Milan striker Gunnar Nordahl and take the crown of the highest scorer with a single club in the history of the Italian league.
Totti's goals, which came in the first and eighth minutes of Roma's 5-1 win, were his 210th and 211th for the club. Nordahl's record, which he set with Milan before moving to the Giallorossi, had stood for over half a century until Totti's second goal on Saturday.
The club captain, who made his first team debut for the Giallorossi in 1993, may have taken 229 games longer than the late Swede to reach the 210-goal mark, but that shouldn't take away from his magnificent achievement.
The former Italy international has overcome serious ankle and knee injuries to still be playing at the age of 35, and he has three-and-a-half years remaining on his deal with the club, meaning there could still be many goals to come from the star No.10.
'Il Capitano' made his first appearance for the club on March 28, 1993 in the final few minutes of the 2-0 win at Brescia, and scored the first of his 211 goals just a few weeks before his 18th birthday in the 1-1 draw with Foggia at the Olimpico on the opening day of the 1994-95 season.
Since then he has racked up double figures in 12 Serie A campaigns, including the last nine in succession, and his 26 strikes in the 2006-07 season saw him awarded the European Golden Shoe for the greatest goalscorer on the continent.
That achievement came in his first season without international football since he'd made his Italy debut in October 1998, following his decision to make himself temporarily unavailable to Azzurri coach Roberto Donadoni. In the summer of 2007 he announced that he would make his international sabbatical permanent in order to devote more of his energy to Roma, and the reward has been a further 60 goals in four-and-a-half years.
This season there have been many rumours about Totti's future given his lack of games under new coach Luis Enrique, but his recent double against Chievo and his goals on Saturday have renewed the faith of the many Francesco Totti disciples among the Roma faithful.
His recent comments suggesting he would leave the Giallorossi if he felt it would benefit the club have seemingly been forgotten for the time being.
A transfer is surely the only thing that could now stop him stretching his lead over the rest even further, and 56 years on from Nordahl's 210th goal for Milan, this is a record which is likely to give Totti legendary status for many, many years to come.
By Kris Voakes | Italian Football Editor
Roma captain Francesco Totti scored two early goals in Saturday evening's clash with Cesena at the Stadio Olimpico to surpass former AC Milan striker Gunnar Nordahl and take the crown of the highest scorer with a single club in the history of the Italian league.
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Totti's goals, which came in the first and eighth minutes of Roma's 5-1 win, were his 210th and 211th for the club. Nordahl's record, which he set with Milan before moving to the Giallorossi, had stood for over half a century until Totti's second goal on Saturday.
| SERIE A's TOP ONE-CLUB MARKSMEN |
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 |
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| Club Francesco Totti (Roma) Gunnar Nordahl (Milan) Giuseppe Meazza (Inter) Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus) Giampiero Boniperti (Juventus) |
Games 486 257 303 468 443 |
Goals 211 210 197 185 178 |
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The former Italy international has overcome serious ankle and knee injuries to still be playing at the age of 35, and he has three-and-a-half years remaining on his deal with the club, meaning there could still be many goals to come from the star No.10.
'Il Capitano' made his first appearance for the club on March 28, 1993 in the final few minutes of the 2-0 win at Brescia, and scored the first of his 211 goals just a few weeks before his 18th birthday in the 1-1 draw with Foggia at the Olimpico on the opening day of the 1994-95 season.
Since then he has racked up double figures in 12 Serie A campaigns, including the last nine in succession, and his 26 strikes in the 2006-07 season saw him awarded the European Golden Shoe for the greatest goalscorer on the continent.
That achievement came in his first season without international football since he'd made his Italy debut in October 1998, following his decision to make himself temporarily unavailable to Azzurri coach Roberto Donadoni. In the summer of 2007 he announced that he would make his international sabbatical permanent in order to devote more of his energy to Roma, and the reward has been a further 60 goals in four-and-a-half years.
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FRANCESCO TOTTI | ALL-TIME ROMA STATS
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This season there have been many rumours about Totti's future given his lack of games under new coach Luis Enrique, but his recent double against Chievo and his goals on Saturday have renewed the faith of the many Francesco Totti disciples among the Roma faithful.
His recent comments suggesting he would leave the Giallorossi if he felt it would benefit the club have seemingly been forgotten for the time being.
A transfer is surely the only thing that could now stop him stretching his lead over the rest even further, and 56 years on from Nordahl's 210th goal for Milan, this is a record which is likely to give Totti legendary status for many, many years to come.
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| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets! |
|
| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
| Sign up with Paddy Power - Bet £10, Get £20! |
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