Daniele De Rossi: I want Francesco Totti to stay at Roma

Posted Saturday, September 03, 2011 by YAHOO Sport

Daniele De Rossi has stated that he hopes Francesco Totti and coach Luis Enrique settle their differences and the veteran attacker stays with Roma.

The Spanish trainer has brought in a host of new players to the Stadio Olimpico, and the ageing forward has not been an automatic choice in the Serie A side's starting XI for European fixtures so far this term.

Despite this, the central midfielder believes both men can play an important role in the capital city outfit's future.

"Totti is a treasure for Roma, [he] is the greatest player of all time after [Roberto] Baggio, but Luis Enrique is a good thing also, [and] is a young coach who is offensive and loyal. Enough with the factions around Roma," the 28-year-old told Corriere dello Sport.

The midfield battler's own future has been up in the air, with the press speculating that De Rossi may well leave the club, but he has revealed that he wants to stay put.

"They want to keep me, I want to stay, but we need to negotiate," he continued.

De Rossi played in Italy's 1-0 victory over the Faroe Islands on Friday night, and is glad to have gained three Euro 2012 qualifying points.

"It was a tricky game, and in fact we suffered more here than against Spain; these are the paradoxes of football, but it can happen."

"It [is] a narrow pitch and they defended with 11 [men]. We had 90 percent ball possession, but they have threatened to equalize. Personally, I was afraid of collapsing in the final minutes, but it went well," he concluded.

Italy is all but assured a place in the tournament in Ukraine and Poland next year, and sit top of Group C with 19 points.