Out of this world: How Alessandro Florenzi outshone Barcelona's supernatural trio

Alessandro Florenzi knew exactly what to do after sticking the ball in the net against Cagliari last September.

He had promised his grandmother Aurora, attending her first-ever Roma game at 82 years old, that he would come and say hi if he scored, and that is exactly what he did – vaulting the advertising hoardings that surround the pitch and climbing up into the stands to give her a hug.

It was one of the most endearing footballing moments of 2014. And now he has provided what is certain to be one of the most enduring ones of 2015.

Thirty-one minutes into Roma’s Champions League opener against Barcelona, Florenzi scored a goal that even he could scarcely believe.

Surging across halfway, he spotted Barcelona’s keeper, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, standing a few yards out of his goal. Tight to the sideline and with an opponent rushing over to close him down, Florenzi was hardly in an ideal spot to shoot but decided to have a go anyway.

The ball arced up off his boot at the perfect trajectory, sailing some 60 yards through the air and dipping just in time to hit the far post and bounce in.

There would be no elaborate celebration this time. Florenzi was too shocked to go looking for a team-mate to hug, much less a family member. Instead he stood and stared with wide eyes, cupping his mouth in bewilderment. The rest of the Stadio Olimpico was in a state of pandemonium.

Few in Italy had given Roma much hope against Barcelona. The Giallorossi were off to an encouraging start to this campaign, having beaten the champions Juventus, but they still did not belong in the same category as Lionel Messi and company – so otherworldly in their talents that the national press have taken to referring to them as ‘Martians’.

The one Roma player who might once have received similar billing was no longer in his prime. Francesco Totti’s likeness will be printed onto bus tickets in the Eternal City this month to celebrate his 39th birthday, but the sight of him on a football pitch is gradually becoming more rare. He has played only once so far this season, and was an unused substitute against Barcelona.

Instead, the onus was supposed to be on Daniele De Rossi to stem the Catalan tide. A player long known in this city as "Er Capitan Futuro" (The Future Captain) had begun this season in a deep-lying role, at times even slotting into the centre of defense. He was first deployed in that position by Luis Enrique, back when the Barcelona manager was in charge of Roma.

Both men continue to hold one another in high esteem. De Rossi described Enrique in 2012 as "the best manager I have ever worked with," high praise from a player who had previously been coached by Fabio Capello and Luciano Spalletti.

Whatever lessons Enrique imparted, though, were not enough to keep Barcelona from claiming an early lead on Wednesday. De Rossi was trailing behind the action, gesturing for a free-kick that he felt his team should have had, when Luis Suarez planted a close-range header past Wojciech Szczesny.

It was left to Florenzi to drag Roma level. Just like De Rossi, he was born in Rome and grew up in the Giallorossi’s youth system. But unlike his team-mate, Florenzi does not have fond memories of Enrique. In fact, he thought for a time that the manager would force him out of the club.

Shortly after taking charge in 2011, Enrique told the then 20-year-old Florenzi that there was no space for him in the first-team. The player was packed off on loan to Crotone in Serie B. "I told myself, ‘I will never go back,’" recalled Florenzi in an interview with the newspaper Corriere della Sera earlier this year. "Enrique never took me into consideration, that summer I prepared all by myself."

But Enrique would be gone before the end of the season, resigning at the end of a disastrous campaign in which Roma failed to qualify for Europe for the first time in 15 years.

Florenzi duly returned.

Perhaps there was a measure of revenge in the goal he scored on Wednesday. Maybe a message for his current manager, too. Florenzi grew up playing as a forward, and has appeared there for Roma in the past, but lately finds himself confined to right-back under Rudi Garcia.

He has rarely grumbled about this position switch, pointing out that, "if I had only played as an attacker I would have played less often," but when the opportunity to get up the pitch presents itself, he is rarely shy about taking it. Already this season he had scored a brilliant equaliser in his team’s 1-1 draw away to Verona.

His goal against Barcelona was even better, both for the sheer beauty of it and what it represents. It earned Roma an important point in what is likely to be a difficult group. It was the shot that brought the Martians back down to earth.