I posted this one as a reply in "the beautiful game" but I think he deserves his own thread, here. http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/articles/rivagg.html Rombo di Tuono Changes were inevitable and Cagliari’s left-footed striker found himself carrying the hopes of his country. ‘Gigi’ responded, spearheading an Italian attack that lifted the 1968 European Championship trophy and reached the World Cup final in Mexico two years later. Known as ‘Rombo di Tuono’ - Sound of Thunder - because of his powerful, all-action style, Riva is Italy’s all-time record marksman with 35 goals in 42 matches. It could - and should - have been more but Riva twice broke his leg in the early 1970s which hampered his career. But Riva is really remembered for scoring the 21 goals during the 1969-70 season that virtually won Cagliari their first and - so far - only Scudetto. Born in Leggiuno, near Varese, Riva - along with Silvio Piola – is considered to be the finest forward Italy has ever produced. Strong, fast and brave, he boasted a left-foot that produced an Exocet shot. It was so powerful that it broke the arm of a child spectator when one of his efforts flew into the crowd. He began his career as a left-winger and was plucked from Serie C side Legnano by the legendary Coach Fulvio Bernardini, then at Cagliari. He converted Riva to centre forward but it was his successor, the late Manlio Scopigno, who reaped the rewards. Riva was Serie A capocannoniere on three occasions - in 1967, 69 and 70 - as the unfashionable islanders were turned from also-rans to one of Italy’s top sides. (...) Not for the first time Riva was being linked with a move to one of the big clubs - Juventus reputedly offered Cagliari a whopping £3m for his services - but he stayed at the Sant’Elia STAR RATING 9/10 The Azzurri’s all-time top scorer and the key to Italy’s European Championship victory in 1968. Almost single handedly won Cagliari their first and only Scudetto with his pace, power and presence in front of goal. Movies. http://digilander.libero.it/mecodig/golriva.avi http://www.clarence.com/multimedia/video/gol/videogol(4)/video/riva.avi