As he watched Parma’s Gianluigi Buffon glumly pick the ball out of his net 19 minutes into a Serie A title decider in Rome, Francesco Totti knew the Scudetto was close. That was 16 years ago.
The boy raised near the Eternal City’s Aurelian Walls won only one Italian championship in his 24-year career, but it was not an early achievement he failed to repeat.
Instead the crowning glory had arrived eight years after his debut as a teenage substitute at Brescia.
Some say Totti had already peaked when Roma won the league in 2001. A year earlier he went to Euro 2000 with Italy in tremendous form but lost in the final to France.
He made up for that disappointment by firing the Roma engine to domestic dominance with his endless goals and unbridled creative spark.
He was not yet 25 and had already worn the Roma armband for three years, inheriting the captaincy from Aldair shortly before scoring the first of his 11 goals in Rome derbies with Lazio.
Totti, in his trademark free role as a No 10, helped Argentine striker Gabriel Batistuta and emerging talent Antonio Cassano flirt with another title over the next two seasons.
Real Madrid wanted him to become their latest “Galactico” in the summer of 2003 — a move Totti regrets only because he never got the chance to play alongside Brazilian striker Ronaldo.
The one-club man status was preserved, though, and the Roman further delighted his adoring fans by treating them more often to the sight of his famous “cucchiaio” chipped finish as the decade wore on.
An ankle injury and his conversion to a lone striker by new manager Luciano Spalletti meant Totti’s influence was altered forever, if not reduced, and in 2006/07 he scored a career-high 32 goals.
But the top of the arc had been reached. Shortly after marking his 500th overall appearance for Roma in March 2009, he tore his anterior cruciate ligament.
Never a quitter he recovered from that setback to overtake Amedeo Amadei as Roma’s all-time highest goalscorer before the capital club headed into a wilderness period under Claudio Ranieri.
Roma’s takeover by an American consortium steadied the ship but Totti’s role was increasingly one of a man who led by example rather than with match-winning performances.
Vincenzo Montella and Luis Enrique came and went, neither manager able to remove Totti from the starting XI.
Under Rudi Garcia, Totti signed a contract to keep him with the club past his 39th birthday. It was not a conciliatory deal — he still had a major part to play despite the rejuvenation of the squad.
In January 2015 he celebrated his leveller in his 40th derby appearance with a selfie in front of the Roma fans.
That was his last real moment in the sun and as time ticked down on the Stadio Olimpico dynasty he found himself confined to the bench more frequently.
Before Sunday’s curtain call against Genoa, Totti confessed he was ready for a new challenge.
Wherever he chooses to go, he will never leave the fabric of Roma.
* Press Association
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Anxiety and work stress major factors
Anxiety, work stress and social isolation are all factors in the recogised rise in mental health problems.
A study UAE Ministry of Health researchers published in the summer also cited struggles with weight and illnesses as major contributors.
Its authors analysed a dozen separate UAE studies between 2007 and 2017. Prevalence was often higher in university students, women and in people on low incomes.
One showed 28 per cent of female students at a Dubai university reported symptoms linked to depression. Another in Al Ain found 22.2 per cent of students had depressive symptoms - five times the global average.
It said the country has made strides to address mental health problems but said: “Our review highlights the overall prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression, which may long have been overlooked."
Prof Samir Al Adawi, of the department of behavioural medicine at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, who was not involved in the study but is a recognised expert in the Gulf, said how mental health is discussed varies significantly between cultures and nationalities.
“The problem we have in the Gulf is the cross-cultural differences and how people articulate emotional distress," said Prof Al Adawi.
“Someone will say that I have physical complaints rather than emotional complaints. This is the major problem with any discussion around depression."
Daniel Bardsley
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
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What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
