The Gigi Riva Week, a week-long celebration of the legendary Gigi Riva’s 80th birthday, is currently underway in Cagliari. Many guests participated in “Sa Festa,” an event held at the Teatro Lirico on Riva’s birthday, including Claudio Ranieri, another historic figure for the Rossoblu colors. Despite recent rumors of a potential last-minute return to Roma, the now-former coach has not changed his mind about retirement.
Ranieri spoke warmly of his love for Cagliari: “The son (Nicola) wrote to me and called me often in the last period. I was undecided because I had spent one of the best periods of my career in Sardinia. At the time, I was a young coach, or rather I hoped to become one, but I didn’t know. Here we are all coaches now, ready to give indications on what to do. I still remember some of my friends advising me against going to Cagliari, saying I would burn out. I came here and there was the great feat, from Serie C to Serie A. It was three wonderful years, I left because I felt too pampered, spoiled. Football is about kicks in the backside, closed doors, and not just pampering.”
Reflecting on his career, Ranieri added, “Even when I won the championship in England with Leicester, I thought about Cagliari. Inside me, there was always Cagliari, especially because in difficult moments I thought about that period, it was my happy island, my Linus blanket, my continuous stimulus. In the end, I was reasoning selfishly, because I wanted to return but I was afraid of losing those three wonderful years in my mind. And then one day I read a snippet from Gigi in the newspapers where he said that I was one of them and that in case of return I would be welcomed with open arms. I came back and I don’t regret it.”
Ranieri also shared memories of Gigi Riva: “I played against Gigi in 1974 when I was at Roma, on the last day of the championship. To this day, I’m thankful I had to mark Gori and not him. During my years in Cagliari, I often met him because he was honorary president. When I returned, however, I never saw him. Out of respect, I asked Nicola (the son), even for a dinner. Instead, surprisingly one day he called me, when in Serie B we were in a situation similar to now, with the referees a little bit like that. On the phone, he told me that referees make mistakes, not to do anything, not to give up. He called me again at the last playoff game, as we were entering the locker room in Bari. He told me that there wouldn’t be just the fans present in Bari with us, but an entire Island.”
Finally, Ranieri confirmed his retirement: “In the end, I think I’ve closed a circle with Cagliari, if I think that I made my Serie A debut with Scopigno (the Scudetto-winning coach) on the bench and I ended my career right here in Sardinia.”
