Totti the midfield maestro who has Italy in his hands

It says something for the confidence flowing through the Italian camp that when Filippo Inzaghi was told he would be partnering Christian Vieri in today's encounter with Croatia he spent the training session practising goal celebrations.

It is not hard to see why there is so much anticipation surrounding Giovanni Trapattoni's team. The Netherlands did not even make it to the Far East. Portugal and France (the two others to have reached the last four of Euro 2000) are perhaps fatally wounded while Argentina may not even stagger past the group stages.

In addition, many Italians believe that, in Francesco Totti, they have a man with the potential to become the player of the tournament.

"I don't exaggerate when I say the team is in his hands. The mood of the squad emanates from him," said Trapattoni. "Like Zinedine Zidane, Totti is a player who can change a team or a match. Great players such as Gianni Rivera, Michel Platini or Valentino Mazzolo exploded at 25 just as Totti is doing. When we qualified for the World Cup against Hungary, he did the things I have only seen Rivera do – and he was the best I played with in my career."

When Italy opened their World Cup account with a 2-0 victory over Ecuador in Sapporo, Totti dazzled, supplying both goals for Vieri, although in Ibaraki today he will be given a role behind the front two, one which he favours.

Until Euro 2000, he was a hero only in the part of Rome which flew the claret and gold colours of Roma. Totti, whom his mother, Fiorella, claimed first dribbled a ball on a beach as a 10-month old baby, grew up supporting Roma, dreaming of wearing the No 10 shirt sported by their captain, Giuseppe Gianni.

These days he is the epitome of an inner city boy made good, what all poor Romans would like to be. His girlfriend, Ilary Blasi, is a television celebrity, he watches Ferrari win championships and he enjoys classical music. Traditionalists would approve of the fact that he is still very close to his mother, who will be following him around the Far East.

His goal in the Stadio Olimpico against Parma last year, which guaranteed Roma their first Scudetto since 1983, was seen as a personal dream realised, although he still forced the club president, Franco Sensi, to pay him a salary of £7m in a new five-year contract signed after some vicious negotiations which dragged on for eight months. An injury which cost him the final two months of this season was one reason why Fabio Capello's side did not retain their championship.

When asked who he would like to see in the World Cup final, Totti typically chose three Roma players; Vincent Candela of France, Walter Samuel of Argentina and Brazil's Cafu. He also expects to be in Yokohama himself on 30 June.

"After losing in the final of Euro 2000, I want to prove myself with a win," he announced. "We should not fear anyone because Italy can go all the way. I am not yet at full power but I am physically and mentally well and that is the most important thing for a player."

Totti's appeal extends far beyond his native city. When the Agnelli family, owners of Fiat and Juventus, wanted a footballer to advertise their products they dumped their own player, Juve's Alessandro del Piero, in favour of Totti.

Dino Zoff, his coach at the European Championship, considered Totti made a "qualitative leap" during the tournament. "He wears the No 10 shirt (as did Roberto Baggio) which has a symbolic significance," said the man who lifted the 1982 World Cup. "The No 10 must be a player of great fantasy and talent, who his team-mates look to when they want to attack.

"Totti must shine in this World Cup if he wants to be considered one of the greats. Totti scores a lot of goals, like Rivera, but he still needs a great World Cup. Rivera won two European Cups, many Italian titles with Milan and has a runners-up medal in the 1970 World Cup. He has a way to go."

Rivera himself is brutally sanguine about comparisons. "Let's be clear, " he said. "Totti is no Zinedine Zidane."