He left with the speed of lightning, with the speed with which he annihilated his opponents.
Italian football says goodbye to Gigi Riva, the most authoritative eponymous hero in his pantheon: they called him Thunderclap, he put honor above all else.
And to really tell it we would need the poetry of his friend De Andre 'and the inventiveness of his singer Gianni Brera.
Because if there was a footballer in Italy who, despite being a legend, managed to remain a man, it was Giggirriva, as his Sardinian 'fellows' called him.
Who have venerated him since he arrived on the island in 1963: he was supposed to stay for a couple of seasons at most, to use it as a springboard, and instead he never left again, until the last day of his life today.
"Because here - he explained to those who asked him the reason for making an unconventional choice - I, who practically had no family, found many".
Photo story Farewell to Gigi Riva, the legend of Italian football
Riva remained in Sardinia, despite the fact that the big teams had chased him and the then Juventus president Boniperti had made it almost an illness: he chased him with extraordinary offers, he continued to say no and to score for the rossoblù.
He became a symbol of the free and proud man, to the point that even the fugitive Mesina, disguised as a friar, as he told ANSA, went to see him at the old Amsicora stadium, subjugated by Riva's play and personality.
But beyond his very proud being a Sardinian born on the shores of Lake Maggiore, Riva soon embodied an idol for all of Italy.
For his explosive way of scoring (never a cunning goal, always great goals with his head or with his legendary left foot).
And for that generosity that led him to give so much to everyone, as well as a couple of devastating leg fractures to the Italian cause.
He won little, in relation to how much he was worth: and in any case a scudetto with Cagliari, the historic one from 1970, how much is it worth of those won by the continent's squads?
In fact, with the tolerated racism of those years, the fans of these clubs welcomed the rossoblu players calling them 'sheepmen, bandits': because, unexpected guests, they were finally taking part in a banquet to which they had never been invited.
For further information Agenzia ANSA Farewell to Gigi Riva, hero of a football full of goals and honor The Cagliari scudetto, the no to the big teams: he was the strongest (ANSA)
The main merit of that revolutionary and winning team, and his teammates at the time always acknowledged it, belonged to Riva.
His palmares also include the European championship won with the national team in the final in Rome in 1968 (with one of his goals suspected of being offside, but there were no slow motions then and no one ever held it against him), three goalscorers' rankings won , the still unbeaten record of 35 goals in 42 matches in the blue shirt.
Not to mention a second and third place at the Ballon d'Or, when that ranking did not reflect the sponsors' wishes.
This wasn't his football, he who, once he took off his boots, no longer wanted to play even a match between friends, let alone between old glories...
For further information
Agenzia ANSA From Mattarella to Zoff, a bow to Gigi Riva The memory of Giancarlo De Sisti: "It was fortunate to play with him, he was a Greek god" (ANSA)
Probably that adjective weighed on him, he certainly didn't like getting old.
And he preferred the sound of his silence, another of his characteristics 'betrayed' only when as team manager of the national team he had to defend the Azzurri players.
He did it in a big way during half-time of the 2006 World Cup final, extinguishing the excesses of the French coach Domenech: a secret revealed only years later by captain Cannavaro, but clear in the respect that all the players had for him.
Now many will pay homage to him as if he were their team manager, all those, many millions, who loved him for a lifetime.
Because he represented the football of the flags, those who only knew the colors of one team.
Video Gigi Riva dies, his message for the centenary of Cagliari
Because his adventure gave the profound yearning of the novel and great cinema (and in fact Pasolini and Zeffirelli wanted him as an actor) and not the syncopated rhythm of the tweets of today's footballers.
And above all because in a mangy pitch, in a space in front of a school or even on the street, deluded by the lightness of the "Super Santos" and "Super Tele" balls, we all dreamed for a moment of being disruptive like him
For further information Agenzia ANSA Riva: hospitalisation, checks and then the shock in Cagliari - News - Ansa.it Hospitalized on Sunday due to illness, then everything came to a head (ANSA)
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