Francesco Totti vs. Andrea Pirlo: Breaking Down the Roma-Juventus Legends Battle

Juventus travel south on Monday, visiting the Stadio Olimpico for a top of the table clash with their closest rivals AS Roma. The Giallorossi have struggled recently, drawing eight of their last 13 league games to fall nine points behind the reigning champions, a run which has severely limited their own title hopes.

Indeed, unless the Giallorossi can take three points from this head-to-head encounter, it is difficult to imagine anything other than a fourth consecutive Scudetto for the men in black and white. That conclusion was discussed in detail here, but the Turin giants received some news this week which may hamper their progress.

Having already witnessed Andrea Pirlo limping off the field during Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Borussia Dortmund, Juve may also be without Paul Pogba for their fixture in the Italian capital. According to a report by La Stampa, the French midfielder has suffered a thigh strain and is unlikely to recover in time for the match, per Football Italia.

Similarly, Pirlo’s calf strain means he is definitely ruled out, the club’s official website noting that the 35-year-old will miss around 20 days of action. Sadly for both the Bianconeri and football fans in general, that injury will deny us the opportunity of seeing the midfielder compete on the same field as Roma legend Francesco Totti.

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The two men have undeniably been at the forefront of action on the peninsula for over a decade and are able to claim 19 club major trophies between them while also lifting the 2006 World Cup together. Both are clearly now in the twilight years of their respective careers but each continues to make significant contributions to the performances of their teams.

Netting against Manchester City in September, Totti became the oldest man to score a Champions League goal, as he helped the Giallorossi hold the English champions to a draw at the Etihad Stadium. Two months later a trademark Pirlo free-kick helped Juve to a vital win over Olympiakos, and he has since found himself as an unlikely match-winning goalscorer on two other occasions.

That included a thumping last-minute effort to win the Turin derby, and he has now recorded four goals and three assists in 2014-15. Totti has notched seven goals and five assists. According to statistics from WhoScored.com, both men average 2.2 key passes per game, a mark bettered only by Mirko Valdifiori of Empoli (2.4).

The same source shows that is merely a continuation of Pirlo’s fine passing across the length of the pitch, his average of 76.2 passes per game again trailing only Valdifiori (80.5) but he completes those attempts at a better rate, connecting with 89.1 percent. Totti trails on both counts, completing 39.8 passes per game at a rate of 76.4 percent. His advanced position means he is much less involved in the build up play.

The two legends are surprisingly close in terms of shots per game, Totti’s 1.9 efforts per game narrowly edging Pirlo’s mark of 1.3. The latter’s role at the heart of midfield means he plays a much bigger part defensively, averaging 1.9 tackles and 1.6 interceptions per game, the Roma captain recording just 0.2 and 0.6 respectively in those categories.

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Yet reducing these two men to mere statistics is to do a huge disservice to them both, their style of play and grace having entertained crowds on the peninsula for almost two decades. Robbed of the chance to see them compete on Monday, their every outing should now be cherished and enjoyed.

With 240 goals to his name, Totti now trails only Silvio Piola (274) on Serie A’s list of goalscorers, while the retirements of Alessandro Del Piero, Paolo Maldini and Javier Zanetti make him perhaps the last great captain on the peninsula. For his part, Pirlo may well be the greatest midfielder the country has ever produced and he continues to exude the effortless class that has so typified his career.

All statistics are taken from WhoScored.com unless otherwise stated.