Francesco Totti - Goal Celebrations

Goal Celebrations

Totti is known for celebrating his goals in exuberant manner. His most famous celebration took place on 11 April 1999 in the second Derby della Capitale of the 1998–99 season, in which he scored during the final minutes of the game and celebrated by flashing a T-shirt under his jersey, which read "Vi ho purgato ancora" ("I've purged you guys again"), in reference to events at the previous derby against Lazio on 29 November 1998 when Totti helped Roma come back from 3–1 down with an assist to Marco Delvecchio for 3–2 and finally a goal of his own for 3–3. Another derby goal against Lazio saw him take over a sideline camera and aim it at the Roma fans.

Totti's displayed numerous message t-shirts under his jersey over the years, including two for his wife "6 Unica" ("You're the One") and "6 Sempre Unica" ("You're Still the One") and a political one "Liberate Giuliana" ("Free Giuliana") in honor of Giuliana Sgrena, an Italian journalist kidnapped in 2005 by insurgents in Iraq (later freed). The most recent shirt's message was "Scusate il Ritardo" ("Sorry for the delay") which he flashed on 8 January 2012 in an apology to fans for his goal-scoring drought after scoring his first goal of the season versus Chievo.

As a tribute to his then-pregnant wife, Ilary Blasi, Totti imitated a childbirth scene by stuffing the ball under his shirt and laying on his back while his teammates extracted the ball. His current ritual of sucking his thumb after a goal began after his son was born and subsequently after the birth of his daughter. Blasi has revealed that Totti sucks his thumb also dedicating his celebration to her, and not only for their children.