On This Day: Totti's derby selfie goes viral

It’s been six years since Francesco Totti took *THAT* selfie in front of the Curva Sud. We take a closer look at that remarkable moment...

At every turn of his storied career, Francesco Totti was ahead of his time.

Fellow World Cup-winning Roman - and long-time Derby della Capitale rival - Alessandro Nesta knew as much even before they reached their teenage years.

“Totti was always Totti, even as an eight-year-old,” Nesta later recalled of their childhood battles in the capital.

“Everybody knew how gifted he was, everyone was full of expectations and knew of this unbelievable child.”

At 16, when he made his senior debut, the wider world began to learn of his talent.

By the time he was 22 he was club captain – and within a few more years he was a bonafide star for both club and country.

He was also, fittingly for someone born in the Italian capital, a renaissance man - able to reinvent himself when necessary to not only keep up with football’s evolution, but to refashion the game in his own image.

After all, this is a player that emerged on the left-side of Roma’s attack as a teenager, flourished as a 10 when captaining Fabio Capello’s star-studded team to the Scudetto in 2001, was deployed as a classic No. 9 by Luciano Spalletti and, under both Spalletti and Rudi Garcia, gave the world the false nine before it even knew what to call it.

It was in that final aforementioned role that Totti was impressing as the then 38-year-old Roma skipper led his side out at the Stadio Olimpico in his 40th Derby della Capitale, breaking the record for the fixture’s most appearances.

One goal away from also moving out in front as the record Serie A scorer on either side of the derby divide, the stage was set for Totti heroics.

Time and again the man for the big occasion, a lover of pomp and ceremony - Totti was never going to disappoint and even he himself was expectant going into the game, knowing he must mark his seemingly inevitable star turn in fitting fashion.

"I thought about it during the week," Totti eventually told Sky Sport Italia reporters post-match, as his selfie celebration reverberated around the world.

He had thought of “a thousand different ideas” before landing on the selfie, captured in cahoots with goalkeeping coach Guido Nanni under a rapturous Curva Sud.

“I gave my phone to Guido,” said Totti of the scheme he had only shared with his good friend. “I asked him to take it with him when he went out to the pitch.”

Nanni himself said in 2017: "It’s not possible to describe what I felt in those seconds. When I see the photos again I think of that madness and I still get goosebumps.”

There are many reasons why that moment evokes such emotion and, as if the occasion wasn’t grand enough for the rivalry’s history and the broken records, the moment demanded even greater revelry thanks to the context of Totti’s second half brace in that game alone.

Lazio had taken a 2-0 lead inside 30 minutes thanks to a Felipe Anderson-inspired first half blitz, meaning Roma had it all to do after the break.

Typically, this galvanised Totti, who tapped home three minutes into the second period to half the deficit.

A goal in such circumstances would clearly not warrant a selfie – but it set the stage for one that would be.

And Totti poured said magic onto the Olimpico pitch with his acrobatic back-post volley that levelled the scores, sparking delirium inside the stadium and instantly etching his name on the derby once more.

Later, as word of Totti’s exploits travelled the internet, the club published the photo he took to social media too.

The master of the re-brand, a footballing trendsetter and a symbol of the city, Totti’s instincts that made him such an iconic figure on the pitch served him just as well off it - as he grabbed the pre-planted phone from Nanni, pulled out his finest duck pout and captured a moment and image under the Curva Sud that will outlive us all.

Even as they became a cultural phenomenon among teenagers, it was a 38-year-old legend who became the first major footballer to incorporate it into an on-pitch celebration.

“I am not used to doing selfies because I like to keep my private life for myself,” Totti told reporters afterwards.

“But this was a unique and unrepeatable occasion because my goals surpassed important players in the history of the derby.

“This is a moment that everyone will remember.”

He’s not wrong.

His selfie is a moment that not just represents a standout moment in his career and that of the derby, but one that perfectly captures a snapshot of modern society too.

It spawned tattoos, immediately became a usable celebration in Pro Evolution Soccer, was replicated the world over by other players – and even Photoshopped into landmark moments throughout history.

The 'caper' even brought a smile to old rival Nesta’s face, while one expert stated that the unintentional product placement of Totti’s iPhone was worth €5 million, were Apple to pay for such exposure.

More importantly, it kept for posterity a moment of pure, unadulterated footballing ecstasy and joy; one of delirious passion, mischief and ingenuity that only a true genius like Totti would be the first to imagine and execute.