Roma Great De Rossi Signs For Boca Juniors

By Max Wise

Former AS Roma midfielder Daniele de Rossi has joined Argentina giants Boca Juniors on a short-term deal.

De Rossi brought his 18-year association with AS Roma to a close at the end of last season and rejected a boardroom role at the club, signaling his intentions of continuing his playing career elsewhere.

De Rossi made 616 appearances for AS Roma after making his debut in 2001, scoring 63 goals and winning two Copa Italia trophies for the side.

The 36-year old opted for Boca Juniors despite having offers from clubs in America’s Major League Soccer as well as the Italian Serie A.

Boca’s sporting director, Nicolas Burdisso, who played alongside De Rossi at Roma between 2009 and 2014, is likely to have played a major role in brokering the deal.

“To have a world champion say he wants to finish his career here fills me with pride,” Boca Juniors president Daniel Angelici told TyC Sports last week.

“It is good for Argentine football to have a player like this.”

Only Francesco Totti, who made 786 appearances for Roma, has played more times for the Serie A club than Daniel de Rossi.

At the age of 22, De Rossi was the youngest member of Italy’s World Cup winning squad at Germany in 2006.

De Rossi made 18 Serie A appearances for Roma last season, scoring one goal and providing two assists.

De Rossi will be playing alongside former Manchester United, Manchester City and Juventus forward, Carlos Tevez, at Boca.