An unforgettable champion, he united different generations: observing the vast crowd of those who wanted to say goodbye to him for the last time, one realizes that Riva was capable of making his fans, those of the 70s, but also of enter the hearts of the youngest
Cagliari main pitch, all of Italy connected for Gigi Riva’s last ‘match’. As in the era of his football, in the good times of live radio when the goals of Thunderclap they were told and not seen, there were many more than the 30 thousand in front of the Bonaria church who gave their final farewell to the most loved champion. Live on YouTube and also on Twitter, word of mouth on social media, Italians gathered from afar around that coffin with the two number 11 shirts, of Cagliari and of the national team.
Unforgettable champion united different generations: observing the vast crowd of those who wanted to say goodbye to him for the last time, one realizes that Riva was able to make his fans, those of the 70s, fall in love with him, but also to enter the hearts of the younger ones . They got to know him through their parents’ stories or old videos who recounted his sporting exploits, yet considered him one of their own.
The hashtag with Riva’s name, as if it were that of Bellingham or Mbappé, was a trending topic on youth platforms, Instagram and X for the entire duration of the funeral. Thousands of images and videos with the blue champion: the diving goal for the national team against East Germany in 1969 or the overhead kick against Vicenza; and then the selfies taken over the years with him or simply a photo with the Cagliari scarf.
“The last time I saw so many people in front of the Basilica of Bonaria was when the Pope came in 2013. This says a lot about how much Gigi Riva was loved in Sardinia”, writes a user on social media. “Meanwhile, the Kaiser and #Rombodituono are making teams for a game somewhere. Who knows if they will win this time”, echoes another fan referring to the death of Franz Beckenbauer.
All television stations gave space to the funeral with live broadcasts from the Basilica of Our Lady of Bonaria. But already in the morning the videos of the long line of people who gathered from dawn to say goodbye to the funeral home set up at the Sant’Elia stadium went around the world. It is the final farewell from its people, especially the Sardinians, who wanted to pay him all the honors. And in this sea of images, memories and anecdotes are also those of the many champions, friends and representatives of the world of football who, even from afar, did not fail to pay tribute to “Gigi”.