Phenomenal four ride into sunset
Francesco Totti's passion, John Terry's leadership, Phillip Lahm's relentlessness and Xabi Alonso's vision -- the traits which defined their storied careers -- will never grace the beautiful game again after this week's round of matches.
These icons have been unified by struggle, and unyielding excellence.
Now 40, Il Re di Roma (The King of Rome) -- the Giallorossi's leading goalscorer and appearance-maker -- found success midway through his career, captaining the side to their third Scudetto in history in the 2000-01 season. However, success eluded him at the club level since -- he never again won the league.
However, Totti stuck by his club through thick and thin -- despite Real Madrid and other giants coming in for him -- and if you want to know why, here is an excerpt of what he wrote about Rome and why he chose to stay there in The Players' Tribune: "People ask me, why spend your whole life in Rome? Rome is my family, my friends, the people that I love. Rome is the sea, the mountains, the monuments. Rome, of course, is the Romans. Rome is the yellow and red. Rome, to me, is the world."
36-year-old Terry faced difficulties as well. He was languishing in a Chelsea side that were stuck in limbo, constantly challenging but never quite succeeding. He would win his first title in his first season as captain in 2004-05, and go on to win four more since, leading the club from mediocrity into greatness with his leadership.
His career may well have been remembered for a slip in the Champions League final penalty shootout against Manchester United in 2008, but that memory was replaced by him latching onto Didier Drogba as they danced the night away in Munich, where they upstaged Bayern Munich to win Europe's elite competition in 2012.
Interestingly, one of the people he upstaged was Lahm, the 33-year-old who stuck with Bayern through the trying FC Hollywood times and eventually found sustained success. One of the most versatile players in recent times, he has eight Bundesliga titles and added a Champions League the very next year after that final.
However, the most decorated and perhaps, most underrated player on the list is Xabi Alonso. Not a one-club-man like the rest of them, Alonso wowed England, Spain and, most recently, Germany with his range of passing.
The 35-year-old is the only player among these four to have won the Champions League twice. He played a pivotal role for Liverpool in the Miracle of Istanbul in 2005, and almost as significant a role in Real Madrid's La Decima in 2013-14. He is also the only one with success in the Euros, winning two of those as well.
Aside from Terry, the rest are also owners of a FIFA World Cup winners' medal -- won consecutively by the bunch. Totti claimed the prize in 2006, Alonso in 2010 and Lahm in 2014.
All of them have made statements about their retirements, praising their clubs, teammates, managers, et al. They have not made their intentions afterwards clear, except for Totti -- who will be taking a management role at his boyhood club. But wherever they are and whatever they do, the shadow of these men will live on in the tunnels they once walked down.2514258745896