Death of an idol

I was sorry. The dispatch is always concise, superficial: “Gigi Riva has died.” Who was…? The Italian left wing, “more left-footed than Stalin,” would say Valerio, a veteran who sits at the last table in Vicente’s bar, always full of know-it-all soccer fans. Yes, Riva just exercised his right to support, the cross bombs were all with “sinister”. Valerio, Roman, arrived in Buenos Aires months ago, like many, he has Lazio typhus, but like every Italian, he is in love with Gigi Riva. Well, per ché…? why so much worship…? In numbers, nothing bombastic: 213 goals between the clubs and the national team. But with one addition: Riva is the top scorer in the history of the Italian team: 35 goals in 42 games, an average of neither Cristiano Ronaldo nor Messi: 0.83 per game. In other words, he went in and put it on. “His goals were more certainty than hope,” wrote Stefano Barigelli, director of La Gazzzetta dello Sport, in a beautiful tribute to the esteemed Gigi.

And that in the golden days of Calcio, when the national team consisted of big names, such as Albertosi, Facchetti, Burgnich, Mazzola, Gianni Rivera. “I feel infinite sadness, it’s a great loss, it was impossible not to be his friend, an exceptional person,” said the remembered Dino Zoff, an associate in so many football battles. “We even served military service together,” he said.

The whole of Italy mourned him on the front pages of newspapers. Not only sports, but also general. Corriere della Sera, La Repubblica, Il Messagero, Il Giornale, Il Resto del Carlino. Everyone postponed politics or economics and offered their covers to Rombo di Tuono (Thunderbolt), as the famous journalist and writer Gianni Brera christened him with that funny nickname of sports writers. “Addio Riva, the eternal myth of Italian Calcio”, “Addio, Rombo”, “Rombo in the sky”, “Unico”, “Angelo Azzurro”, “Rombo d’Italia”, all the titles were flowers thrown on his grave. In the stadiums, all the clubs and fans said goodbye to him with respect and sadness, even though he was not their player.

Why so loved…? Gigi Riva is a story. Orphaned as a child by his father and mother, he played one season in Legnano, near his hometown, and immediately signed with Cagliari, who managed to qualify for the First League for the first time. At the age of 18 he crossed the Tyrrhenian Sea and never lived on the continent again, only to play or visit. “An island is only an island if you look at it from the sea; Gigi Riva never wanted to complete the return trip,” wrote colleague Paolo Marcacci. Riva fell in love with Sardinia, Cagliari and Gianna Tofanari, a ravishing blonde whom he would never marry, but with whom he would have two children.

Juventus and Inter harassed him year after year with proposals that always added a zero, but Gigi always said no. Gianni Agnelli, the richest man in Europe, owner of Fiat, Ferrari, Juventus, was obsessed with watching him play in black and white. No one could tear Riva away from the island. He swore eternal love to Cagliari. “Until death do us part”. And it was like that. In the only Scudetto won by the island club, in 1970, Riva was the star and top scorer of the championship. It was as if Platense was the champion, but the figure of that Platense was also the golden ace of the Italian national team, the winning ticket in international tournaments. Tall, thin, handsome, very low profile and unrepentant smoker, with a love that scandalized Italy because Gianna broke up to be with Gigi.

“His sporting achievements, his very serious character, the dignity of his behavior in all circumstances have earned him the affection of millions of Italians, even among those who do not follow football,” explained Sergio Mattarella, the president of the Republic, who was another but fired crack , but above all a person. “He scored with his left, he spoke silently,” Gazzetta wrote. After his retirement, Riva was appointed a member of the sports management of the national team, but in fact he served as a symbol, more than anything he was always with the players who idolized him. “I told him every day: you are the myth of the myths. An exceptional man, who passed on many values ​​to us”, admitted Fabio Cannavaro through tears. Riva, who could not win the 1970 World Final against Brazil, returned in 2006 in the role of leader, friend and adviser. He won only two titles in shorts: the Eurocup in 1968 with Italy and the Serie A championship in 1970 with Cagliari. They were enough to be his favorite. But that 1970 Scudetto had sociopolitical undertones: “It represented the island’s real entry into Italy,” said Gianni Brera. That is why he is the lost son of Sardinia, even though he was born in Lombardy.

“Hello, dad, Riva died and I’m thinking of you. You told me: who among us was the strongest? Gigi Riva. More than Rivera, I think because of his face, because of something that could not be measured on the field, and before Baggio, who had not yet arrived, then we learned to say: Riva and Baggio.” This is how Marco Bucciantini begins his editorial in Gazzetta dello Sport, which dedicated the best of its edition to the famous deceased. “He embodied the spirit of post-war Italy: strength, seriousness, desire for freedom. And his goals were a link between the old and the young,” he adds.

We ask ourselves again: why so beloved…? Golden left foot, yes, and goals. “If the defense closes well, we can win, Gigi will score a goal,” enthused the fans. If the ball was around, he would know how to do it. Gigi was responsible for the first goal in the final at the European Championship ’68, and the third against Germany in the so-called “Match of the Century” at the World Cup in Mexico ’70. And so many others. But much more than that, moderation, courage, behavior. He intended to fulfill the obligation. Against England, Brazil, France or whoever. Perhaps no one symbolized Italianness like Riva. It was a pride to have him. In times of peace, wars are represented by football, it is the flag of who we are.

What are idols…? They are those characters who embody our dreams, who usually make us happy. The triumph we long for as people is in the legs and in the heads of those sports heroes, dressed in a short-sleeved T-shirt, he embodies our efforts. When we hear the national anthem and the camera pans over the faces of the players in the columns, we ask Mbappé, Harry Kane, Messi, Luis Díaz, Luis Suárez, our captains to do it, to dress up as Superman and bring us happiness.

We were shocked by Riva’s departure, like Beckenbauer, Müller or George Best, we followed his career, appreciated his virtues. It happens like when an actor or actress they saw regularly dies. Man follows the path, follows it with admiration and respect. The death of an idol also tells us that time is passing.

Cagliari retired the jersey number 11 in 2005, now they will name their stadium after Riva. Okay, no less. (D)