Toni hails dream move; Totti open to Italy return

TRIGORIA, Italy: Italian World Cup wining striker Luca Toni hailed his six-month loan move from German giants Bayern Munich to Serie A side AS Roma on Saturday saying it was the only club he wanted to move to.

The 32-year-old said it wasn't because he wanted to get enough first team action - he moved after falling out with Bayern's autocratic coach Louis van Gaal - to get into contention for the national squad for the World Cup finals.

"I am not just here so I can get into the World Cup squad," Toni (left pictured) said.

"My ambition is to score as many goals as possible and to play well for the red and yellow. Then we will see what happens in June, the national side is simply an afterthought."

Toni, who moved from Fiorentina to Bayern in 2007 and was the Bundesliga's top scorer in his first season, with 24 goals in 31 league games on the way to Bayern winning the German title, was not afraid to be compared to former Roma hero Gabriel Batistuta.

"They often made the comparison between the two of us when I was at Fiorentina but I went on to beat Gabriel's goalscoring record there," said Toni.

"At Roma he won the title. We will see what happens with the red and yellow."

Toni went to great lengths to insist it had only been Roma he wanted to move to.

"In the past month there have been plenty of teams who wanted to sign me but I only wanted to move to Roma," he said.

"We worked hard to reach an agreement and I am happy to be here."

AS Roma striker Francesco Totti (right, pictured) has said he will come out of international retirement and play for Italy at the World Cup if he is fit and called up.

The 33-year-old quit the Azzurri after their 2006 World Cup triumph but has finally announced he would be willing to return to the fold having only hinted at the prospect in recent months.

"I will decide in April. If Marcello Lippi calls me up, if I am fit and if the group wants me, I will go," Totti said on Saturday.

Coach Lippi has long hailed Totti but has never said he will be guaranteed a place back in the squad. Constant injury problems over recent seasons could re-emerge while some players could resent his inclusion given he did not assist the Azzurri in qualification for June's tournament in South Africa.

Totti has broken a string of scoring records having spent his entire career at Roma, who are joint fourth in Serie A thanks to his nine goals this term.

The 33-year-old, who has played with Roma since 1993, resisting all big-money attempts to lure him away, said he felt he could play for a further five years during which he wanted to win another Italian league title with the club.

Toni, a new teammate of Totti having signed on loan from Bayern Munich, is also a candidate for a return to the Italy squad but first wants to concentrate on Roma.

AFP/Reuters

(China Daily 01/04/2010 page22)