Daniele De Rossi turned 34 this week. This news may come as a surprise to some, the veteran midfielder often grouped in with long-time teammate Francesco Totti, who retired from football at the end of last season at the age of 40.
With the latter’s painful exit from the club, De Rossi has now become the longest serving player in the Giallorossi colours, and many of his teammates took to social media to wish him well. It was Brazilian centre-back Juan Jesus – formerly of Inter – that came up with the most telling post, writing his good wishes on Instagram.
“Wow, my friend, I never imagined that you were this kind of person,” he wrote. “How many times have I played against you and always said this De Rossi is a b*****d! As always, life teaches you to never judge if you do not know someone. And now I can say that I met a great person, with an immense heart. And as a football player I do not need to say anything, we all know how much you are valued by the team.”
The hero and villain image of the Roma veteran is perhaps best illustrated by his performance in Italy’s World Cup winning year in 2006. After scoring on his full Azzurri debut back in September 2004, his leadership qualities were then recognised by Coach Marcello Lippi, the tactician handing him the captain’s armband during a friendly with Iceland in March 2005.
De Rossi would be named in the World Cup squad just a year later, the 22-year-old one of only two players under the age of 23 in the entire team. Lippi had included the Roman to to provide some much-needed energy to the midfield, and he did just that in the first match against Ghana. His booking for a crunching tackle on Michael Essien was a sign of things to come, and he was to be famously sent off in the next game against the USA for a horrendous elbow on Brian McBride.
For that incident he received a four-match ban, only returning for the final with France. He would replace team-mate Francesco Totti in the 61st minute, scoring a penalty for his side as Italy went on to via a shoot-out. Whilst the memory of that victory faded, his reputation as a tough-tackling hard man lived on, an image he has lamented ever since.
“I am ashamed of the elbow incident,” De Rossi told La Repubblica back in 2014. “However, I'm not a killer, nor a thug, nor envious if someone is better than me. I don't often react, but when it happens, it's bad. I'm also sure it will never happen again.”
Revealing that fellow midfielder Andrea Pirlo invited him over for a meal with his family whilst he was at his lowest following the incident he concluded that “Elbows and punches are not my trademark.” Indeed, whilst yellow cards will always be part of the midfielder’s game, it has been two full seasons since he received a red card in Serie A.
At club level, Roma are heading in a new direction with new sporting director Monchi and young and innovative boss Eusebio Di Francesco having been brought in this summer. This move has inevitably brought about changes – including the sale of 23-year-old midfielder Leandro Paredes to Zenit St. Petersburg – but De Rossi has remained. With speculation rife that he could join Inter or even the MLS at the end of last season, the veteran opted to renew with Roma, extending his ever-present stay in the capital until 2019.
After Roma fans had to come to terms with the loss of their idol Francesco Totti at the end of last season, it is only now – on his 34th birthday – that Daniele De Rossi will have to step up and become the sole flag-bearer for the team. Perhaps his improved disciplinary record over the past two years shows that he is ready and mature enough to do just that.
