The Roar Of Thunder

“What if?” is a popular question among football fans.

What if that shot had gone in off the post instead of going out for a goal-kick?

What if Stuart Pearce and Chris Waddle had put away their pens at Italia ’90?

What if a teenage Diego Maradona had signed for Sheffield United instead of Alex Sabella?

What if Gazza hadn’t broken his leg against Forest?

What if Gascoigne had scored with that agonizingly close effort against Germany at Euro ’96?

But perhaps the saddest questions of all revolve around tragedy: what if Duncan Edwards had survived the Munich air crash ?

Similarly, what if Alan Shearer hadn’t been so injury-prone? Or Michael Owen? Or Kieron Dyer? Johnny Woodgate? Owen Hargreaves? Ledley King? And that’s just England …

And that’s just the modern age …

Perhaps the greatest crock of them all was Luigi ‘Gigi’ Riva, still considered by many to be the greatest Italian striker of all time. With a strike rate of 35 goals in 42 games for the Azzurri, he’s right up there with the likes of Ferenc Puskas, Pele and Gerd Muller in terms of international football.

At club level he wasn’t too shabby either, with 164 in 315 for unfashionable Cagliari and he even managed to lead them to their one and only Scudetto in 1969-70. Given that Inter Milan, Juventus, Torino and AC Milan were all dominant forces in post-war Italian football that’s one hell of a feat, roughly equivalent to a small seaside town like Blackpool winning the Premier League today.

To paraphrase Tyrell from Blade Runner: the light that burns twice as bright burns half as long – and you have burned so very, very brightly, Luigi.

Riva was the top scorer in Serie A three times in the late 60s, at a time when ultra-defensive catenaccio tactics all but snuffed out attacking in Italy. Famed as a nation where one nil was the ultimate scoreline, most clubs played a deep-lying sweeper behind a conventional back three or four and only looked to play on the counter. The trouble is, when both sides are looking to do that they tend to cancel each other out … all of which makes Riva’s scoring record even more impressive than it looks on paper.

But it wasn’t just about the numbers.

As a player, he was the complete athlete: standing almost six feet, he was well built with great upper-body strength and the kind of engine that allowed him to run all day long and burst past opponents with ease. But that still wasn’t it. The single most identifiable feature of Luigi Riva as a player was an absolute cannon of a left foot that allowed him to strike from distance with power and accuracy on a regular basis. It earned him the fantastic nickname of Rombo di Tuono, literally “Roar of Thunder” and never has such a moniker seemed more fitting. Technically gifted, he had a fantastic first touch and was also a free-kick specialist, but it was the sight of him running at speed with the ball at his feet, barrelling defenders out of his way as he ran directly toward goal that would put the fear of god into the opposition and make fans of both teams rise to their feet in expectation of one of his specials.

There’s something about a one-club man that places him above even the most celebrated of players who’ve enjoyed success at multiple clubs.

Even if the player never really won anything more than the gratitude, respect and adoration of his fans, they still seem to be on a higher pedestal than the rest. Think Tom Finney, Matt Le Tissier, Francesco Totti and even Alan Shearer, at least in Newcastle. None of them won anything like what they could’ve done had they made the big move to Palermo, Spurs, AC Milan or Manchester United respectively, and yet for many fans they’ll always be legends of the game simply because they never made the move.

And so it was with Riva. Juventus never got to experience the Roar for themselves despite offering an absolutely staggering £1.5m in 1973 when the player was already 29 and proving to be more than just a little injury-prone. He was that good. As it turned out, it was close to the end of the great striker’s career as he finally succumbed to a ruptured tendon just a couple of seasons later, having already had long spells out with broken legs in both 1967 and 1970.

Despite the knocks, both physically and mentally, Luigi Riva still managed to win the 1968 European Championship with Italy and came close to winning the World Cup two years later, only to stumble at the last against that Brazil side. By the end of Mexico ’70, he had scored 22 goals in 21 internationals for his country and cemented his place amongst the greats.

And yet … you still can’t help but wonder what if?

What if Italy had been a bit more adventurous?

What if he had made the switch to Juve?

What if he hadn’t been so unlucky with his fitness?

Having said all that, he’d probably make most All-Time Italian XIs and he never had to buy a drink in Sardinia. The Roar Of Thunder will live on forever as a legend …