Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
CAGLIARI, Sardinia — Gigi Riva, the all-time leading goalscorer for Italy men's national team who was known as the "Rombo di Tuono" (Rumble of Thunder), has died. He was 79. The Italian soccer federation confirmed Riva died on Monday as tributes started flooding in for the player, who earned his nickname because of the potency of his shot with 35 goals in 42 appearances for Italy. As a player he helped the Azzurri win the European Championship in 1968 and finish runners-up at the World Cup two years later. He was also team manager of the national side from 1990-2013 and was instrumental in Italy winning its fourth World Cup in 2006.
