Bambino d’Oro - Golden Boy

Every Serie A club has what is known in Italy as a Un Bandiera - a player who
symbolises that club. At Milan that player is Gianni Rivera. A graceful and
elegant inside forward, Rivera became known as the Golden Boy. He wore the No
10 shirt from 1961 to 1979 and the 501 appearances he made for the Rossoneri
remain a club record.

Rivera helped Milan win three Serie A titles, two European Cups, two Italian
Cups and the Cup-Winners’ Cup. In every poll to determine Italy’s greatest
player, Rivera heads the list ahead of names such as Silvio Piola, Luigi Riva
and Paolo Rossi. The son of a railwayman, Rivera joined local club
Alessandria and made his Serie A debut at the tender age of 16. Even at that
age Rivera looked special and some of Italy’s most respected journalists
started to rave about the graceful youngster.

Giorgio Bocca eloquently wrote: "His neck is like that of a swan. His eyes
and tuft belong to a rare and precious bird. When he is in full flow, he
reminds me of a heron." Gianni Mottana commented: "He doesn’t touch the
ball. He brushes it. He even seems to float over the ground when he runs."

In 1960, a year after his debut, he was sold to Milan for ￡65,000. Giuseppe
Viani, one of Milan’s managers and the man who travelled to Alessandria to
sign the player, was so enamoured with Rivera that he christened him ‘
Bambino d’Oro’ - Golden Boy. The name would stick for the rest of Rivera’s
days.

With his vision and superb passing ability, Rivera was the creative heart of
Nereo Rocco’s team and at the beginning he formed a brilliant understanding
with Brazilian striker Jose Altafini. In the 1963 European Cup final at
Wembley Altafini scored Milan’s goals in their 2-1 win over Benfica, but it
was Rivera who made both. Benfica made the mistake of giving the Italian
genius too much space and Rivera ended up orchestrating the midfield.

By the age of 19, Rivera had won both Lo Scudetto and the European Cup. Not
only that, Rocco had built his entire team around this exciting footballer
blessed with film star looks. Rivera’s heyday was arguably the late 60s. In
1968 he won both Lo Scudetto and the Cup-Winners’ Cup. In 1969 he inspired
Milan to win their second European Cup, hammering Ajax in Madrid. Rivera set
up two of Milan’s four goals that night. The Dutch team boasted an exciting
forward called Johan Cruyff but in 1969 Rivera was the master, proved when he
won the European Footballer of the Year award - the first Italian player to
do so.

Yet Rivera very nearly joined Juventus. The Bianconeri spotted him playing in
a youth tournament in Turin. Claiming Rivera may have lacked the physique
appropriate for top-class football, Juve offered Alessandria around ￡2,500
for the player - an amount that annoyed Alessandria Coach Franco Pedroni.
"When they offered us that figure I was very angry," he recalled.

"I valued Rivera much, much higher. I spoke to my brother-in-law and he
contacted Milan, telling Viani that here, at Alessandria, we had a
phenomenon. "He came and was sceptical at first, but then he said ‘Don’t
tell anyone but I’m going to recommend him. He’s a great champion’. And
that’s how Rivera became a Milan player and not a Juventus one."

During the 70s Rivera continued to inspire a less talented Milan side. They
did win a bad-tempered and controversial Cup-Winners’ Cup final against
Leeds in 1973 and they reached the final of the same tournament the following
year. Milan were favourites to retain the trophy since their opponents were
rank outsiders from East Germany, FC Magdeburg. But Rivera had a poor game
and Milan lost 1-0.

However, in 1979 Rivera ended his Milan career on a high note, winning Lo
Scudetto for a third time. The Rossoneri were surprise winners in a decade
dominated by Giovanni Trapattoni’s Juventus and they won the 1978-79
championship with a match to spare.
When he retired from football, to concentrate on a career in politics, Milan
were never the same. The club fell into immediate decline, culminating in two
relegations to Serie B.
Indeed, the tifosi had to wait for nearly 10 years before they had another
great side to cheer.

Rivera’s Azzurri blues

It remains one of the most tragic episodes in the history of the national
team - Gianni Rivera failing to repeat his Milan form for Italy. The Milan
genius was a member of the Italian sides eliminated in the first round of
both the 1966 and 1974 World Cups. Considering his length of service for the
Rossoneri, the 60 appearances he made for the Azzurri is quite a low figure.
The reason he failed to win more caps was because of Sandro Mazzola, the No
10 at Inter.

Mazzola seized his chance during the 1968 European Championships in Italy.
The Azzurri faced Yugoslavia in the final. Rivera played in the first match
which ended 1-1, but was injured for the replay. Mazzola came in, played well
and Italy won 2-0.
Since that night in Rome, Rivera’s role in the national team was never
secure. Feruccio Valcareggi was a fan of Mazzola’s, but a player of Rivera’
s immense talent could not be ignored. So for the 1970 World Cup, Valcareggi
dreamed up the ‘staffetta’ - the relay. Mazzola would play one half, Rivera
the other.

It sounded fair in theory, but in practice it never really worked. In the
first three games in Mexico - and despite Italy scoring just one goal -
Rivera hardly played. Clearly upset, he threatened to return home and it took
a heart-to-heart with Rocco to change his mind.

Just as well, too. Rivera, as a second-half substitute, inspired victories
against Mexico in the quarter-final and West Germany in the semi-final. It
was Rivera’s winning extra-time goal in a sensational 4-3 win over the
German side that booked Italy’s place in the final.
But against Brazil there was more disappointment. Mazzola was Italy’s best
player and Rivera, humiliatingly, came on for Roberto Boninsegna with only
six minutes to spare with Italy already 3-1 down.

Rivera’s last appearance for his country was during the 1974 World Cup.
Their first round elimination prompted a mammoth purge. Ironically both
Rivera and Mazzola, rivals for so many years, were axed at the same time.

GIANNI RIVERA
Born: Alessandria, 18/8/43
Clubs: Alessandria 1958-60 (26 apps, 6 goals) Milan 1960-79 (501 apps, 122
goals)
Serie A debut: Alessandria-Inter, 2/6/59 (1-1)
Last Serie A match: Lazio-Milan, 13/5/79 (1-1)
Honours: 3 Serie A titles (1962, 68, 79); 4 Coppa Italia (1957, 72, 73, 77);
2 European Cups (1963, 69); 1 Intercontinental Cup (1969); 2 Cup Winners' Cup
(1968, 73); European Championship (1968); European Footballer of the Year
(1969)
International caps 60
International goals 14
Debut Belgium 1-3 Italy, 13/5/62
Last cap Italy 1-1 Argentina, 19/6/74



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