Vertical, il romanzo di Gigi Riva

For many, Gigi Riva was the last of the great heroes in the history of Italian football. In his era, between the 1960s and 1970s, television had yet to erase the epic dimension of sport, and the stories told by those who witnessed it mattered more than the images themselves. In his relatively short career, Riva became a legendary figure, celebrated by teammates and rivals, fans and non-fans, journalists and writers alike. Gianni Brera dubbed him «Rombo di Tuono», «Thunderclap», but it was Gianni Mura who found the most fitting definition: «Hombre Vertical», a man of unwavering integrity who would never compromise for easy gains, flatter the powerful, or take the convenient way out. To this day, Gigi Riva’s name evokes strength and honesty, talent and integrity. An entire island, Sardinia, embraced him as a symbol of its identity – even though he was not Sardinian himself, but born in Leggiuno, near Lake Maggiore. Why? To fully understand the journey of a man who experienced poverty, grief, anger, joy, misfortune, glory, pride, and serenity without ever compromising his integrity, we must patiently and wonderingly unravel the many threads of his extraordinary life: from the losses of his childhood to the league title he won with Cagliari (the first ever claimed by a team from southern Italy) from his legendary exploits at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico to his exemplary years as team manager of the Italian national team. Through it all, he never ceased to be vertical.