Fabulous 40 beckons magical Francesco Totti

As hard as he tries, Roma coach Luciano Spalletti is unlikely to convince fans this week that Francesco Totti is just another player for the Serie A giants.

On Tuesday Totti turns 40 and the one-club man who is in his 25th and likely last season with the 'Giallorossi' (Yellow and Reds) is still, when he gets the chance, producing the magic.

"For me, he's been the top player in Italy for the past 25 years," said Sinisa Mihajlovic, whose Torino side upset Totti's pre-birthday party celebrations by beating Roma 3-1 in Turin on Sunday. "He's one of the best ever. It's amazing to see what he can still do with a ball."

Known as the 'Golden Boy' as a precociously-gifted teen, and revered as the 'King of Rome' throughout a storied career that saw Totti, if not his underachieving club, rise to the top, fans expect a fairytale ending this season.

And his latest milestone serves as a reminder of how Totti has evolved, adapted to and excelled in a changing game during some of the wonder years of Italy's top flight.

When Totti took the captain's armband from Brazilian defender Aldair under pioneering Czech coach Zdenek Zeman in 1998, he had answered his calling.

Two seasons later, he helped end Roma's 18-year wait for the Serie A title, in 2001. When Roma weren't winning, he was stunning rivals with an astonising array of ball skills and goals.

Totti has "purged" bitter city rivals Lazio on more than one occasion, goaded other rivals with equally provocative messages on T-shirts and, last year, hit the headlines after celebrating a brace against Lazio by running to the 'Curva Sud' and using a telephone to take a 'selfie' with thousands of fans in the background.

Two days before his 40th birthday, Totti hit his 250th league goal.

Even Roma's stoic coach Spalletti, who has battled to remind everyone that Totti is "one of many Roma players", had to doff his cap.

"I want four or five Tottis in this team," Spalletti said after he came off the bench to provide an assist for Dzeko and then score the winner from the spot over Sampdoria last week.

"If I don't play him, people get annoyed at me but I want to produce another player like him. One great player is not enough."

It was just one of many positive contributions Totti, who has scored six times in his last 11 league games, has made this campaign.

As Roma prepare for Totti's party this week, fans will be constantly reminded of Totti's achievements in the game.

Although Spalletti won't stay at the party for long, because "the rest of the squad won't be happy when I show up", the Roma coach will honour his invitation.

He said: "I can't buy him a time machine but that shows what I think of him."