In Italian football, when it comes to loyalty, you may think of Maldini; when it comes to strategizing, you may think of Pirlo; if you talk about toughness, you may think of Gattuso; if you talk about the iron-blooded "wolf king", you may think of Totti. But there is such a person, a loyal, strategic, tough and fierce "wolf king", he is Daniele De Rossi.
De Rossi plays at the back of his boss on the pitch, has a long-range shooting ability, and is known in football for his fierce defense and accurate steals. In the 2018 World Cup, De Rossi asked the Italian coach to replace the offensive player to strengthen the attack, rather than replacing his own stable defense, which is still impressive.
De Rossi was born in Rome, Italy, in 1983. His father was a member of the Roma team and became a coach after retiring. Under the influence of his father, De Rossi has been a big fan of "Red Wolves" since childhood.
Before joining Roma youth, De Rossi played as a striker. But over time, his position on the pitch gradually moved back to become a midfielder.
In the 2000–01 season, Roma won the Pro League under Totti. Although De Rossi was in the first team squad, the 18-year-old was unable to get a chance to play. Totti is a hero and leader for roma, and De Rossi on the bench looks at the big brother on the field and is determined to shed his blood for Roma.
In October 2001, De Rossi made his career debut against Anderet. In the 2002–03 season, he made his Serie A debut and scored his debut against Turin in May. That season, he helped Roma win the Coppa Italia.
In the 2003–04 season, De Rossi was given more rotational appearances, playing 27 times in all competitions, helping Roma to a serie A runner-up. In the summer of 2004, De Rossi won the European Youth Championship with the Italian u21 team. In addition, he won the bronze medal for the Italian Olympic team in the Men's Olympic Football Competition in Athens.
After that, De Rossi not only won the call-up of the Italian senior team, completed the national team debut, but also greatly increased his appearance time in Rome. He scored four goals in 38 appearances and helped the team finish runner-up in the Coppa Italia.
In the 2004–05 season, de Rossi played for Roma for the first time as captain in the Europa League against Fort Mi. In a league game in March 2006, De Rossi offered that a goal he scored with his hand should be invalidated, and honestly he gained more love.
Although De Rossi dared to speak out about his handball fouls, as a defensive player, he would not back down in the slightest on the court, and his defensive actions had always been fierce and strong. This characteristic of his was not only fully reflected in the 2006 World Cup, but also a bit excessive...
De Rossi, who accompanied Italy to the World Cup, hit the opposing striker with his elbow in the second game of the group stage against the United States, causing the latter to bleed in an instant. De Rossi was penalized for a red card and was suspended by FIFA for four additional matches after the match – meaning that de Rossi's world cup trip was over unless Italy reached the final.
De Rossi paid the price for his youth, but his big brothers in the national team were very powerful, and the "Blue Army" reached the final. In the final against France, De Rossi came on as a substitute for club teammate Totti and scored a third penalty in the penalty shootout, eventually reaching the top of the world with Italy and lifting the Hercules Cup.
His outstanding performances at the club earned De Rossi the 2006 Serie A Best Young Player. In 2009, De Rossi became a team vice-captain, second only to Totti. In the "three major sufferings of capitalism" that was widely circulated at that time, the vice-president of the Roma team was selected together with the British crown prince and Buffon's substitutes. Although he is only the second captain, for the captain Totti, De Rossi once said, "When I play with Totti, I help him do the dirty work."
As he grew older, De Rossi became more and more important to Roma and his position in the team continued to improve, but he was never able to win the Serie A crown. In the 2009-10 season, Inter Milan's treble created a dynasty, while Roma's Coppa Italia and league doubles were still unable to fill the gap in De Rossi's honor book in Serie A.
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, who is far away in England, has always been very interested in De Rossi and sees him as Keane's most suitable successor. He has publicly expressed his love for De Rossi many times, and every year he wants to bring the Italian iron waist to Old Trafford.
Perhaps joining the "Red Devils" makes It a better chance of winning the collective glory, but as his idol Gerald said: "Winning the championship is important, but what is more important is who wins the championship." For De Rossi, Roma's significance to itself cannot be measured by trophies.
At Euro 2012, then Italian national team coach Prandelli placed De Rossi in the position of central defender to deal with the shortage of central defenders. In the first game of the group stage in Spain, centre-back De Rossi once again showed his all-round characteristics, and his excellent performance in the defensive line helped Italy draw 1-1.
However, in the final, although De Rossi started the game, Italy, which was forced to fight with ten players due to injury in the second half, eventually lost. However, De Rossi, who made all appearances in the tournament, was selected for the best team at the European Championship.
In 2017, with Totti's retirement, De Rossi "became a wife for many years" and finally became the captain of Roma. In the 2018 Champions League quarter-finals, the first leg was lost 1-4 and he scored a oolong goal, De Rossi led Roma to launch a Jedi counterattack in the second leg.
De Rossi scored a penalty to close the aggregate, and Roma beat Barca 3-0 at home to turn the tables 4-4 on aggregate with an away goal advantage. The Red Wolves, under the leadership of De Rossi, once again gave the world a taste of the bloodiness and never give up of the Roma team.
Although the 36-year-old De Rossi still wants to continue to play for Roma, the club's American owner does not want the veteran to stay in the team. Even if De Rossi offers to sign an unsafe "attendance" contract extension, it will not change the decision of the top management.
So that summer, perhaps to follow his childhood idol Maradona, or to his old teammate Bourdisso, who was the director. Unwilling to play against Roma on the field, De Rossi traveled to South America to join Argentine giants Boca Juniors.
At the Candy Box Stadium, the fierce enthusiasm of the fans made De Rossi feel as if he had not left Rome, but this was not De Rossi's "home" after all, and his home was still in that red land after all.
After retiring in January 2020, De Rossi also expressed hope to return to Roma as head coach one day. I hope that this tough guy with "Roman red" blood in his blood can bring new passion and chapters to the story of the city of Rome in the future.