Sardinia stops, it's the day of farewell to Gigi Riva.

The funeral chapel at the Unipol Domus is open until 1pm, where thousands went yesterday to pay homage to Rombo di Tuono and where a queue of people had already been created since 6.30 this morning waiting for the gates to open at 7am . A queue that gets longer by the minute, composed and silent.

At 4pm, however, the funeral will take place in the Basilica of Our Lady of Bonaria in Cagliari , celebrated by the Archbishop of Cagliari and general secretary of the CEI, Monsignor Giuseppe Baturi. After the mass the body will be buried in the Monumental Cemetery.

An oceanic crowd is expected to say goodbye to the champion who more than anyone has been able to represent the redemption of an entire Region. For this reason , two large screens are being set up in front of the Basilica, one in the churchyard and the other in Piazza dei Centomila . Here too, in fact, a large crowd is expected to participate in the funeral of the Myth.

The world of sport will obviously also be there to pay tribute to him. Present were the minister Andrea Abodi, the president of the CONI Giovanni Malagò and the president of the FIGC Gabriele Gravina . There will be the national coach Luciano Spalletti and many Italian world champions from 2006, such as the current head of the Italian delegation Gianluigi Buffon and the then Italian captain Fabio Cannavaro .

A representative of the municipal administration of Leggiuno (Varese) also reached Cagliari, the town where Riva was born and raised and where citizen mourning is observed today . The mayor and deputy mayor, Giovanni Parmigiani and Pier Davide Fantoni , were received this morning by Paolo Truzzu, then they reached the Domus to pay homage to the champion's body and in the afternoon they will be present at the funeral.

After the minute of silence observed during the Super Cup final, all of Italian sport will remember the champion during the events scheduled for next weekend.