Rivera dreams of past glory

By William Gaillard

Captain marvel
Rivera, who captained Milan to two European Champion Clubs' Cup triumphs in 1963 and 1969, was an extraordinary talent and a formidable man. Born in 1943 in Alessandria, a town between Turin and Milan, he has always represented the other side of Italian football - the side most critical of Italy's football establishment.

Defensive style
Rivera played his youth football with Alessandria, at that time a Serie A club, making his first-team debut at 16 before moving to Milan the year after. Back then Italian football was ruled by catenaccio. Its theoretician was FC Internazionale Milano coach Helenio Herrera who bred a defensive style of football based on man-to-man defence coupled with a libero behind the line of defence.

Powerful figures
"Milan also played with a libero, but our style was much more open than Inter's," said Rivera. "We were more refined, more offensive-minded. Our victory at Wembley in 1963 caught Italy by surprise. Milan were not part of the mafia-like structure that ruled Italian football at that time. Inter were very much favoured by the powers that be, the journalists in particular. Juventus [FC] were in a class of their own, under the powerful stewardship of the Agnelli family. Milan were more or less forgotten by the people who ruled Italian football."

Great vision
Anyone who saw Rivera play between 1959 and 1979 would remember him as a symbol of football elegance. He had the qualities, such as technical excellence and vision, that make the difference between a good player and an exceptional one. Aldo Maldera, his team-mate at Milan, once said that Rivera told him: "When I have the ball, even if I am not looking at you, just run straight forward and you'll find the ball right in front of you." Most of the time, says Maldera, the ball was there.

Italian hero
If his European Cup triumphs were his finest hours at club level, it was at the 1970 FIFA World Cup semi-final against West Germany which established him as the fulcrum of the Italian national side. He scored Italy's fourth goal in extra time in a 4-3 victory. Astonishingly though, Italian coach Ferruccio Valcareggi failed to pick him for the final against Brazil for the final.

Curious omission
Rivera came on six minutes before the end with Italy trailing Brazil 3-1. One explanation for his omission was the fact he did not play well with Sandro Mazzola but he remains convinced that his exclusion from the final was a political decision Italian football's ruling clique.

Media power
"It was a total technical nonsense," he said. "We had played together, well, many times before. Valcareggi, who was a nice bloke, invented it to survive under the influence of the journalistic mafia that did not want me in the team. It had been decided I would not play in the final because I did not 'recognise' the ruling mafia. I was considered a free spirit and therefore dangerous." Over 40 years on, it is great to see il Bambino d'Oro is still seeing – and saying – things his way.

This an abridged version of an article which appears in the latest issue of Champions magazine, the official magazine of the UEFA Champions League. Click here to subscribe.