Francesco Totti ended his 25-season Italian football career over the weekend, getting in his 786th match for Roma, the only club he has ever known.

By the time it was over, Totti, 40, and many of his legion of fans were in tears, shattered by the end of an era.

The New York Times suggests that Italy, and especially an increasingly dysfunctional Rome, is in a rough patch these days. Uncollected garbage, a balky transit system, homelessness and crime on the streets.

Watching one of Rome’s native sons play for the local team had become one of the few pleasant things in life that could be counted on.

The prolific forward also was someone fans could laugh with, given the dozens and dozens jokes in which Totti was held up to kindly mockery of his Roman accent and “dumb jock” image.

Totti was gracious enough to embrace the phenomenon, having two books of jokes — theoretically about him — to be published. They turned into best sellers, and all profits went to charity.

Here is a roundup of some of the Totti jokes:

Totti and Alex Del Piero come out from an exam at the CEPU (a remedial school for high school dropouts). Totti: Alex, how did it go? Del Piero: Not so well, Francesco, I handed in a blank sheet.” Totti: “You, too? Now they’re going to say I copied you.”

A girl meets Totti while he holds a cat in his arms. She says: “What a beautiful cat! Is it male or female?” Totti answers: “Aho! It is male: Don’t you see he has whiskers?”

Totti’s girlfriend asks him: “Honey do you love me, huh? Do you love me, huh? Do you love me?” He answers. “Hey, slow down. One question at a time!”

There’s a mirror which makes whoever tells lies in front of it.
Genaro Gattuso says: “I think I am the most handsome” and disappears. Vieri says:”I think I am the most intelligent” and disappears. Totti says:”I think …” and disappears.

A tragic story in the newspaper: Totti’s library has burned down. It contained two books. Totti is inconsolable. “No, no, no! I hadn’t finished coloring in the second one!”

The three hardest years for Totti? First grade.

Totti tries to finish a jigsaw puzzle. It takes him almost four months, then he turns the box over and reads: “From 2 to 3 years.” He says: “Ah, so I must be a genius!”

Totti goes on vacation. On his return Cafu asks him: “Where have you been?” Totti: “I went water skiing.” Cafu: “Did you have a good time?” Totti: “Not at all. I didn’t manage to find a lake that went downhill.”

Totti’s girlfriend sees that Francesco is getting wet on the terrace and calls out to him: “France, come inside, it’s raining.” Totti: “But it’s raining out here as well.”

Totti calls a travel agency to ask how long it takes to fly from Milan to Rome. “Just a second,” the agent responds. “Thanks a lot,” Totti says and hangs up.

Asked if he wants to go out to dinner, Totti says no, because he is reading the New Testament and wants to find out how the passion of Christ turns out.

Totti’s wife is peeved that he’s always portrayed as a dimwit. She urges him to prove them wrong. She asks: “Have you ever read Shakespeare?” He says: “Yeah, but I can’t remember who wrote it.”