Totti To Leave La Squadra Nazionale

NEW YORK--(Italy Watch)--Francesco Totti, the captain of AS Roma and the Italian National team, "gli azzurri", announced to the press yesterday that he will no longer play with the Italian National team. Totti has decided to dedicate the remainer of his football career to AS Roma, his home team and birth city. Speaking to the press, Totti said: "The word 'finished' is an ugly word, but I've decided to close my chapter with the National team for physical, not technical reasons... ...I'm sorry, but my health is the most important thing." Citing knees and back problems, Totti, 31, admitted that playing with two teams was simply too much. He did not, however, leave the stage without sowing the seeds of polemics, expressing his belief that the press (especially those of the North) was overly harsh on him this past year because he is a Roman, a Southerner.

("I have purged you again")