Claudio Ranieri is Cagliari, just like Gigi Riva

He greets as Lord with a capital “S” a unique people, who will carry him in their hearts together with the other unique King, “giggirriva” precisely, the one who a year before his death convinced him, with a long phone call, to return on the island to sign another miracle. Ranieri initially didn’t want to know, he didn’t want to risk ruining the magical memory of a double consecutive promotion from C to A (1988-90) and the daring salvation in the top division the following season. But Riva’s hoarse and seductive voice and the call of a square that has always represented home for him, got the better of reason and cold calculations. «To hell – thought the man who won a legendary championship in 2016 with the freshman Leicester in England – there is a mission to complete». In January 2023 he inherited a team in Serie B in full crisis, closer to relegation than promotion, immediately leading them to an unexpected and unforeseen climb to Serie A with a goal (by captain Pavoletti) in the last second of the last match – Bari play-off. Then, this year, the last masterpiece: he starts badly, very badly indeed, but he, despite the stormy sea, keeps the bar straight and his men, all of them, remain at his side, like faithful soldiers . “For him we would all throw ourselves into the fire,” Pavoletti himself said one day. Then one day, when he loses badly at home against Lazio and the abyss opens, here is the twist and genius: resignation in the locker room, in front of the astonished players and the silent managers. His player-disciples then get up, one by one, and beg him with all their strength to stay. «Mister, without you we will never be able to save ourselves». He agrees to stay but makes them responsible, he says that he wants more from them, that the fact that Ranieri is on the bench is not always and necessarily a guarantee of success. It is there that the group becomes even more compact and is convinced of its potential: Cagliari, already considered doomed by many, with an objectively modest structure, grinds out points and gets back into the running, certainly not through good play but thanks to a character that embodies the spirit of his coach and the will to never give up.