Gigi Riva: thunder roar

 Gigi Riva: thunder roar

Gigi Riva's death left a bitter taste in my mouth. I did not have the pleasure of seeing him in action for reasons of age. But as a great football fan, especially of the past, I know what a great footballer he was and what he represented for the generation of that time. My father, although a fan of the great Inter, had words of admiration for him. Dad, in my opinion you are Gigi Riva's double,' I used to tell him. Of course, he was not an exact copy, but in my opinion the facial features were very similar. He would reply with an embarrassed but underneath smug smile. In recent years, legendary players like Best, Beckenbauer, Maradona, Pelé and now Gigi Riva have passed away. The years pass for everyone, it is true, everyone's life has a beginning and an end. But it is what happens along the way that makes the difference. And these gentlemen have not only made a difference, they have become first legendary and then immortal. The years in which they assert themselves are certainly more genuine and in some ways more romantic. Gigi Riva was Cagliari's standard-bearer, the leader of the Sardinian people, renouncing the big bucks that northern teams were ready to shell out to have him in their ranks. He represented a sort of social redemption for the whole of Sardinia, demonstrating that anything is possible, even winning a Scudetto with a provincial team that had never won anything until then. In return he received affection and glory. A man of few words, he always put words before deeds. Thunder roar,a nickname coined by Gianni Brera, was the perfect symbiosis of man and myth. Goodbye Gigi. And thank you

the photo is taken from Wikipedia