Roma boss Spalletti blasts Totti after comeback win
ROME: Roma coach Luciano Spalletti launched a surprising attack on his captain Francesco Totti after Roma's come-from-behind 2-1 victory at Atalanta that kept them in the title hunt.
Roma had to bounce back from an early setback when Adriano Pinto gave the hosts a 17th-minute lead on Sunday.
And although it was Totti's fierce free kick that drew the visitors level - before Alessandro Mancini's winner on the stroke of halftime - the team talisman still came under fire from his boss.
"Totti scored a goal and helped us out. He can do more and he can make more of a difference," said Spalletti.
"If a player scores two goals but could have scored five, then with two goals he's not done enough.
"If a player scores a goal but then goes missing for 70 minutes and leaves the team a man down, then the others are forced to work harder. You need to show effort and commitment as well as quality."
Roma were made to work hard for their victory and withstood some late pressure before holding on for the three points.
But that still left them in second spot, seven points behind Inter Milan, who won a lot more easily at Siena than the final 3-2 scoreline suggested.
Spalletti all but conceeded the title is Inter's to lose rather than theirs to win.
"It won't be easy to catch them. They need to do something normal and we'll need to win everything," he said.
Agencies
(China Daily 01/15/2008 page22)
