Gigi Riva

1962–1964: early years, debut with Legnano, and promotion with Cagliari

Riva started playing amateur football for the Laveno Mombello youth side in Lombardy, scoring 30 goals in 1961 and 33 the following season. He began his professional career in 1962, at the age of 18, when he joined Serie C side Legnano-Ivrea, scoring 6 goals in 22 appearances in his debut season. The youngster's promising performances attracted the attention of Cagliari president Enrico Rocca, and he was acquired by the Serie B side the following year for a notable sum of 37 million Lire, at the age of 19; Riva remained with the Sardinian team for the rest of his career. In his first season with the club, he scored 8 goals in 26 appearances and helped Cagliari to a second-place finish in the league behind Varese, which enabled the team to achieve promotion to the top-flight for the first time in their 40-year history.

1964–1970: Serie A debut with Cagliari and road to the Serie A title

The following season, Riva made his Serie A debut for Cagliari on 13 September 1964, in a 2–1 loss against Roma, and also helped the club avoid relegation, leading the team to a comfortable sixth-place finish in the table, scoring an encouraging 9 goals in 32 appearances at the age of 20. Between 1965 and 1968, Cagliari secured mid-table finishes, placing eleventh, sixth, and ninth. Despite the team's mixed form, Riva's individual profile grew as he claimed his first capocannoniere title as league top…

Early years and Euro 1968 champion

Following some impressive performances for the Italian youth side, Riva made his senior international debut with Italy at the age of 20, on 27 June 1965, in a 2–1 friendly defeat against Hungary, coming on for the injured Ezio Pascutti in the eighth minute. He was the first Cagliari player to be capped at senior international level. His international career was off to a difficult start, with his performance in his second appearance for Italy, a 0–0 friendly draw against France in Paris on 19 March 1966, criticised by noted journalist Gianni Brera, who initially described Riva as a "one-footed" and "incomplete player". He was subsequently controversially excluded from the 22-man 1966 FIFA World Cup squad, although he was still brought to England by manager Edmondo Fabbri, along with Mario Bertini, as an additional reserve, to gain experience with the national side; Italy were eliminated in the first round of the tournament. After breaking both his left tibia and fibula in his third international appearance, a 1–1 friendly home draw against Portugal on 27 March 1967, Riva returned to the national team as a starter seven months later, and finally scored his first goal for Italy in his fourth international appearance, a 5–0 home win over Cyprus on 1 November 1967, in a UEFA Euro 1968 qualifying match, later completing a hat-trick in the same game. Riva was a member of the Italian side that won the 1968 European Championships on home…

Regarded as one of Italy's greatest players, and one of the best strikers of his generation, Riva was a prolific forward known for his clinical finishing and physical presence. He was initially deployed as a winger on the left flank early in his career, although he would often cut into the centre of the pitch in order to strike on goal; as a result, he was later played in a more offensive and central role, as a main striker. A naturally left footed player, he had a very powerful and accurate shot from both inside and outside the area, which led Gianni Brera to nickname him "Rombo di Tuono" (Roar of Thunder); although he was predominantly left-footed, he was also capable of scoring with his right foot on occasion.

Due to his height, physique, elevation, and his heading accuracy, Riva excelled in the air, and he also had a penchant for scoring acrobatic goals from bicycle kicks, courtesy of his athleticism and volleying ability. He also possessed technical ability, creativity, and dribbling skills, as well as a notable elegance on the ball. In addition to his goalscoring prowess and technique, he was also a hard-working and fast player, who excelled during sprints and at making attacking runs. He was also an accurate free-kick and penalty kick taker. Despite his ability, his career was often marked by injuries, which later affected his mobility, continuity, and fitness, and eventually forced him to retire prematurely.

Riva was born into a poor family in Leggiuno, a small town in the northern Italian province of Varese, Lombardy, near the Swiss border, on 7 November 1944. His mother, Edis, was a housewife, while his father, Ugo, worked several jobs, firstly as a hairdresser, then as a tailor, and subsequently in a factory, where he died in a work-related accident on 10 February 1953, when Luigi was nine. Edis began working as a maid, while Luigi was sent to a strict religious boarding school, where he remained for three years, before finding a job in a lift-factory and beginning to play football; his mother died soon afterwards.