Advertisement
Luigi 'Gigi' Riva pictured during his playing days. Alamy Stock Photo

Italian football legend Gigi Riva dies

He is the country’s all-time top goalscorer and famous in the Mediterranean nation for firing Cagliari to their only league title in 1970.

ITALIAN FOOTBALL was mourning one of its most important ever players on Monday after iconic striker Luigi “Gigi” Riva died aged 79.

Nicknamed “Roar of Thunder”, Riva is Italy’s all-time top goalscorer and is famous in the Mediterranean nation for firing Cagliari to their only league title in 1970.

Cagliari said “Forever GIGI RIVA” in a short post on X, formerly Twitter, which was accompanied by a picture of their hero in the prime of his career.

“Italian football is in mourning because a genuine national monument has left us today,” said Italian Football Federation (FIGC) president Gabriele Gravina.

Riva’s death is of such significance that a minute’s silence was held before the start of the second half of the Italian Super Cup final, played on Monday in Riyadh.

“Ciao Gigi” was displayed on the screens at Al-Awwal Park in the Saudi Arabian capital, alongside a picture of the deceased Riva.

“He will always be remembered for his play with ‘his’ Cagliari and the national team,” said Serie A in a short statement.

Matches across Italy from Monday until the end of the coming weekend will hold a pre-match “minute’s reflection” in honour of Riva, added the FIGC.

Riva had been in hospital in the Sardinian capital Cagliari, where he stayed after the end of his playing career, reportedly after suffering a heart attack over the weekend.

Riva scored 35 times in just 42 appearances for his country, with whom he won the 1968 European Championship and reached the World Cup final two years later.

Italy were swept aside in that final in Mexico by Pele’s Brazil, considered one of the best teams in the history of football, but he scored a key goal in the dramatic 4-3 defeat of West Germany in the last four.

Riva’s Italy career was hampered by two serious injuries, including a broken leg in 1970 which also ended Cagliari’s bid for a second straight league title.

“It’s a huge loss for me, we had been friends for a very long time, since 1967. We did military service together,” former Italy goalkeeper Dino Zoff told the AGI news agency.

Riva played almost his entire club career with Cagliari, a club more familiar with relegation than glory, despite being persistently courted by powerhouse Juventus.

He signed for Cagliari in 1963 and retired in 1976 after topping the Serie A charts three times and netting more than 200 times for the island club.

– © AFP 2024

Author
View comments
Close
Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy here before taking part.
Leave a Comment
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Eamonn Duggan
    Favourite Eamonn Duggan
    Report
    Sep 9th 2018, 10:16 AM

    Superb piece.
    I was at the Dundalk game in Cobh, he was outstanding.

    113
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Kevin Moynihan
    Favourite Kevin Moynihan
    Report
    Sep 9th 2018, 10:27 AM

    Long road for Shane, but his honestly is inspiring.
    Best of luck to Cobh Ramblers in the final in Derry.
    You can do it

    91
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Tricksy
    Favourite Tricksy
    Report
    Sep 9th 2018, 11:45 AM

    Their is a stability now in his life , a home town job , a girlfriend and baby , he can enjoy his football . Nobody can change the past , but they can certainly shape the future . Good luck and play as long as you can .

    57
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Padraig
    Favourite Padraig
    Report
    Sep 9th 2018, 11:28 AM

    Good honest interview.Would be great if Ramblers can do it next week.

    50
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Barry Kelleher
    Favourite Barry Kelleher
    Report
    Sep 9th 2018, 11:26 AM

    Best of luck kid

    40
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Roughan Mac Namara
    Favourite Roughan Mac Namara
    Report
    Sep 9th 2018, 3:04 PM

    Great article and very honest from Shane. Great to see young men talking openly about their struggles. It helps others as well as themselves. I’ll be cheering for Cobh in the final.

    33
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute James Clancy
    Favourite James Clancy
    Report
    Sep 9th 2018, 10:09 PM

    Another interesting League of Ireland story on the42.ie. Good luck Shane. #SuperRams

    13
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Toby Thedogk
    Favourite Toby Thedogk
    Report
    Sep 9th 2018, 7:51 PM

    Glad things are on the up! It’s great how Paddy Power and their likes are always on hand to help to the vulnerable – leeches!

    13
Submit a report
Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
Thank you for the feedback
Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.

Leave a commentcancel