Juventus captain Gianluigi Buffon has sent a public message to Francesco Totti, on the twentieth anniversary of the latter’s debut for Roma, and it makes a nice change of pace from the 140 characters based communication between footballers that we might be a little more accustomed to these days.

The full text has been translated by Football Italia:

“Dear Francesco, you have made  Italian football history.

 “Twenty years in Serie A, what an achievement… I still have the image of your first goal in my mind, it was a Roma-Foggia tie.

“We’re friends, you know how much I care about you. We started together with the Under-15 side, we had some splendid years together in the national team and we continue to meet as opponents in Serie A.

“You often score against me (10 times to be precise, that’s how many goals you have netted) like a champion who has forgotten our friendship…

“Then, at the final whistle, there are smiles between us again, like when I saved a penalty that I feared you would chip – it saddened me that was you.

“We are from a fortunate generation. It’s true that every season after the age of 30 is worth seven, but you seem to go back in time instead of ageing.

“You’ve written the history of Italian football, with the present and the future – you are a player who can not be doubted.

“And, for me, you’ll always be an Azzurro.

“An embrace from your friend, Gigi.”

Buffon and Totti are both central characters in the generation of Italian footballers that won the 2006 World Cup and finished second at Euro 2000. Totti was named in the team of the tournament in both Euro 2000 and World Cup 2006, with a man of the match performance in the Euro 2000 final standing out amongst the highlights of his international career.

As recently as last month the two were still meeting on opposite sides, with Totti this time coming out on top

Totti has spent his entire career with Roma, his hometown club, winning the Scudetto in 2001, along with six runner up medals and a record five Italian Footballer of the Year awards. He holds the Roma record for goals (281) and appearances (668), and his Serie A tally of 226 goals makes him the second highest scorer in the competition’s history, which is still some way short of, former Juventus striker, Silvio Piola’s incredible record of 274 league goals.

Despite this record his total trophies for Roma amount to just five – two Italian Cups, two Italian Super Cups and the aforementioned league title. It is almost certain that when he finishes his career (an act which Totti has recently said he has no interest in at the moment) the debate will continue about what he could have achieved had he left Roma. Pitted against that will be the admiration for a great player who prized loyalty to his boyhood club above the opportunity of inflated salaries and winners medals at clubs such as Real Madrid and Chelsea (both of whom showed significant interest in signing the playmaker at various times.

A mural of Totti, alongside the Scudetto shield, painted on a house in Rome

The number ten has been nominated for the Ballon D’Or six times, but never won football's finest individual prize, and recently told Gazzeta dello Sport he looks back on the 2001 award (for the best footballer in 2000) as the closest he came to being named the world’s greatest player. “I could have won the Golden Ball in 2000. Had Italy won the European Championship then I would have got it, as I also won the Scudetto that year.”

Totti retired from international football in 2007 but his return to the national side has often been a topic of conversation in Italy, with many hoping he will add to his 58 international caps. As recently as last week Italy coach Cesarer Prandelli said he would consider Totti for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, as long as the player can stay in shape.

The Roma captain however has not committed himself to the casue yet, “A World Cup is the maximum, especially in Brazil where football is everything. But if things went badly then everyone would know who to blame.

“The critics would say that Italy had taken an old guy who ruined the squad.”