Clap of Thunder

Italian forward Luigi Riva shoots on goal past Haitian defender Arsene Auguste 15 June 1974 in Munich during their World Cup first round soccer match. Italy beat Haiti 3-1. AFP PHOTO/DPA

Left-footed Italian striker "Gigi" Riva was truly special.

What really set him apart from his contempories the world over was his staggering strike rate of 35 goals from just 42 international matches.

Riva's poster back then adorned the walls of millions of Italian boys' bedrooms as he also topped the Italian league's scoring charts in 1967, 1969 and 1970.

Also on the domestic level, while at his beloved Sardinian outfit Cagliari he led them to their one and only Italian championship victory in 1970, thus ensuring himself immortality to the island side's many fans.

He scored 156 goals in 286 matches for Calgiari over the 13 seasons he graced their side, and despite constant overtures from giants such as Juventus, he never left his first club, a real rarity..

On the international stage his star quality shone with equl brilliance.

Riva was in the "Azzurri" side for their successful European Championship campaign of 1968 and was on fine goalscoring form for Italy's 1970 World Cup campaign in Mexico where they ran all the way to the final.

Having scored three goals against Wales in the eliminators, and just as many against East Germany, Riva and an Italian squad (whose catenaccio formation was deemed overly-defensive) finally proved ineffective against the invincible 4-2-4 formation of Brazil that overwhelmed them 4-1 in the final.

Exceptional efficiency

But it was a great adventure and Riva grabbed two goals in Italy's 4-1 win over hosts Mexico, and scored another in the 4-3 semi-final win over West Germany.

Italian forward Luigi Riva jumps over Haitian defender Arsene Auguste as he heads the ball during the World Cup first round match between Italy and Haiti 15 June 1974 in Munich. Italy won 3-1. AFP PHOTO

He could also have improved his Italian international record goal tally significantly had he not broken his leg twice in 1970 and 1974.

Despite these setbacks he was still pivotal in Italy's qualification for the 1974 World Cup and hit four against Luxembourg in a one-sided qualifier.

His 1974 campaign in West Germany was disappointing though and Riva was unable to prevent Italy crashing out in the first round, beaten by eventual third place finishers Poland.

A discreet player who was known to avoid the limelight, Riva the player was so explosive he picked up the nickname "rombo di tuono" (clap of thunder) for that unforgetable and thunderous shot that carved his name into the Italian conciousness and the football history books.