Luigi Riva, Italian football legend, dies aged 79

Luigi Riva, legend of Italian football, died on Monday January 22, at the age of 79, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) told AFP. The ex-striker, known by the nickname “Gigi”, fell ill on Sunday at his home and has since been hospitalized in Cagliari, the city where he spent almost his entire playing career between 1963 and 1977.

“It is a true national monument which has left us, Gigi Riva embodied the myth of the free man and the extraordinary football player”, indicated in a press release the president of the FIGC, Gabriele Gravina. The one who was nicknamed the “Rombo di Tuono” (thunderclap) due to his exceptional striking power, marked the history of Italian football.

Top scorer in Italian history

With 35 goals in 42 caps, he is the top scorer in the history of the Nazionale and won the 1968 European title with it. But it was during the 1970 World Cup that he scored the most beautiful pages of his career and world football.

He was in fact, alongside Gianni Rivera, one of the key players in the semi-final won 4-3 by Italy against Germany. A meeting considered one of the greatest matches in the history of the competition. Riva scored one of the five goals scored during the crazy extra time which sent Italy to the final where they lost to Pelé’s Brazil (4-1).