An uproar has erupted in soccer
circles after Brazilian midfielder Gerson Santos da Silva, newly
arrived in Italy, was seen in a Twitter photo wearing the No. 10
jersey of AS Roma captain Francesco Totti.
Gerson, 18, can't play for Roma until next year but posed
for the photo wearing the jersey sent to him by Roma's director
of football Walter Sabatini, who tried Thursday to diffuse the
situation.
Sabatini said he simply wanted Gerson to feel comfortable
coming to Rome.
"I did it to encourage him," Sabatini said in a radio
interview.
"I told him that one day Roma fans would face great pain,
because they would no longer have their idol (Totti), and the
best ever in Italian football".
Totti shrugged off the incident.
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