Rome2009.06.09

I have just been in Rome for the first time in quite a while, for my old Rome teammate Vincent Candela's last match before his retirement.
When I thought about it, I realised it had been three years since I had been to Rome. I do go to Italy every now and then, including Milan, but other than a transit at the airport last summer, I hadn't had the opportunity to visit Rome. And that made me all the happier to be able to come to Rome this time, even if it was primarily for a match.

I lived in five different towns in Italy, but if I had to name the one I like best, I think I would choose Rome. Of course Perugia, where I first lived in Italy, has a special place in my heart, and is a town I love, but Rome is Rome.
It's a city with history, but at the same time new businesses keep opening up.
You'd think it would be a big city, but in actual fact the centre is quite a small area, and everybody knows everybody. When people think of Italy, they may think of Milan as being the centre, but in fact Rome always has more new shops opening and more places to go out to too I think. But it was in that same Rome that I endured a lot of hardship when I first transferred there. What was so hard you might ask? In one word: Paparazzi. Every day several Paparazzi would follow me between the training ground, my home and wherever I was going. My life throughout my stay there had absolutely no privacy. On top of that, there is also the crazy passion of the football fans in Rome - it was hard work to find a restaurant where I could have a relaxing meal. Not just restaurants, but even going for a wander around or going out for a drink was full-on. However, once I got used to that and figured out where to go - where I belonged - Rome was an extremely enjoyable town.

I have lots of friends in Italy, but the person I would call my best friend in Italy is from Rome, and lives there now. He came to pick me up at the airport when I arrived this time. His family has a furniture business, and even after leaving Rome I have bought all the furniture for my homes from them. And since I'm interested in interior design, he often used to take me to the Salone, a furniture market that's on in Milan every April. Oh, and naturally he was a passionate fan of Rome's football team too by the way (although he says he doesn't watch it that much now that I have retired...).

There are a few restaurants I went to regularly in Rome, and this time I went back to one that I used to go to particularly often called “Gallura”, which has great seafood and is run by a Sardinian. If you get a craving for seafood when in Rome, this is where you go!! Here they always serve me 6 or 7 different entrees, so that by the time I have followed that with pasta, there is no way I could eat a main dish, to be honest. But those entrees are so good that I just can't go past them, and always fill up on them. The owner has a great wine knowledge too, and teaches me about another beautiful wine every time I come. Once, years ago they served me a cheese that had some kind of insect or grub in it. Of course I couldn't bring myself to eat it, but cheese-lovers apparently can't get enough of it! What was so nice going back to this restaurant was that all the staff, from the valet driver to the waiters, were the same people who had worked there when I lived in Rome, and they all remembered me. The owner even remembered that I don't eat much in the way of vegetables, and everything he served me was vegetable-free. It is such a great feeling to have ‘your’ restaurant in various places around the world. In terms of remembering me, the fans in Rome are really warm. Even today people come up to me and say “Your goal against Juventus that time...” “Thank you, thank you!”. Admittedly it was an important match, but to me, in a way it was just another single goal. But for the Rome fans, it seems it has was the goal of a lifetime.

Anyway as for the match, firstly, I was happier than anything to be able to see my old teammates after so long. Unfortunately not everyone could be there, but more than half of the members did make it. Even Tommasi, who plays for China's Tianjin Teda, came back despite it being mid-season! He, Di Francesco and I always used to have running races during our pre-season training camps. Tommasi used to run as fast as some kind of monster...!

Totti and Aldair, Del Vecchio and Montella were there too, as well as players like De Rossi and Bovo who were still young and playing in the B team in those days.

As for the French side, I played in the 10th anniversary match with some of them last year, and there were a lot of players that I run into at other places too, whose faces were familiar. There were players there this time who came over for the Take Action match last year, and guys like Lamouchi, Desailly and Djorkaeff who I have been pretty good mates with for a while now... but it really is fun to get together as a group, reunion-style like this. Even at lunch time, we got talking and before we knew it we had been sitting around the table for quite a long time.


The stadium we played in, Olimpico, had hosted Champions League finals recently, and perhaps because of this had been renovated and was looking really fantastic. In my day, everything from the way to the locker rooms to their interior was different. But the people, for example the trainers, hadn't changed, and I was really happy to see them still there.

But what I was more thrilled about than anything was when I went into the locker room, and saw my uniform hanging there with the number 8 on it. That moment, memories came flooding back; in fact it was more like I had time-slipped... I didn't expect them to have prepared a uniform for me with my old jersey number on it, so I was really touched by that - it was a really pleasant surprise.

To tell the truth, there was a month when I couldn't stop coughing, and I wasn't able to even run, let alone do football training. I did actually tell Candela that due to these symptoms I wouldn't be able to play in the match, but he said to please come to Rome anyway, so I did. After all, I thought, an opportunity to get together with my old teammates doesn't come along that often, and although I wouldn't be able to play, if it was going to be meaningful for me just to have made the trip from Japan, why not! However, when I arrived at the stadium, everyone from Candela to the manager Bruno Conti told me they were short of players, and that I had to play. Not exactly what our agreement was! But in fact my symptoms, which hadn't been improving at all in the lead-up to my trip, had basically vanished as soon as I arrived in Rome. So I agreed to play on the condition that, be it after 5 minutes or 10 minutes, if I decided I couldn't play any more they would take me off the pitch. Just as well I had brought my spikes...

Each player is introduced as they enter the pitch. As I go on they introduce me as “Shogun”, just as they used to. I never imagined I'd be able to stand on the pitch of Olimpico like this again, let alone on a pitch that had only just been used for the Champions League! There's definitely something special about a football pitch... Anyway, the game begins. The match was unfortunately along the lines of what I had expected, a slow game with a monotonous rhythm. In charity matches like this, it is an extreme challenge to bring out an exciting, dynamic game. This is the point I have been most focused on with the matches I held last year and this year. Even the French team, who put on a brilliant performance for the 10th anniversary game last year, were unable to perform as well this time. Is this age taking its effect?... My fund team will have to watch out too...

After the match Candela addressed the crowd of Rome fans, and the event finished. As a player, I don't think Candela was the fastest runner or the most technically skillful, but in terms of the kind of play where force can gain the advantage, I think he was in the top class of all the players I have seen in my time. He was a really interesting side-back to watch. Even in his private life he did nothing by half measures - I remember him buying a Harley Davidson and going out on it, and when he drank he really drank. He was always cheerful, always the centre of attention, and brought everyone in the group together...That's how I'll remember Candela.

I'd like to thank Candela for providing the opportunity for so many members of the champion team of 2001 to reunite; for the opportunity to visit Rome again and take my time to enjoy it; and for the opportunity to go to Castel Sant Angelo (where we had a post-match party). Thanks from my heart. Your hard work is appreciated...

From Hide in Rome