"For us kids of the '60s, Riva was the Totti, the Del Piero of today." Then a clarification: "But Gigi was something else." The accent is Tuscan, unfiltered, straight to the point. And then there's her, twenty-five years of fire and passion, recently, for the red and blue colors. "I follow my dad, now I almost can't help it. And so we spend some time together, which doesn't hurt."
Red and blue hearts – Gianfranco (father) and Chiara (daughter) live their lives in Florence, but when there's a Cagliari match – at the Domus, mind you – they board the plane and disembark happily at Elmas Airport, always in time for the pre-match "ape" (aperitifs) and then to experience the thrill of the match in the Curva Sud. The result is secondary; passion has no price or limit. Adopted by a people, the red and blue ones, who care nothing about accents, origins, or age. They cheer, they hang out, go Cagliari, and then everyone goes home.
Bewitched by Domus – "As a child, there was only Gigi Riva," emphasizes Gianfranco Noferi, 62, an Enel executive, who, in a city—Florence—where football is a religion, never had any doubts: Cagliari and that's it, Fiorentina can wait. "I came to Cagliari with my father during the Scudetto season for tourism," says Gianfranco, "I wanted to see Amsicora, I was already bewitched." Today, Chiara shares with him the delightful folly of embarking on a trip—they've already made several, this year and the one against Empoli last season—from Florence to Cagliari to dive into the stands: "At first, I just wanted to make videos; in a certain sense, it's my profession. I like sharing my life on social media," he says. "During the first away trips this year, my brother went, then dad asked me, and I couldn't believe I could spend more time with him."
Contagious enthusiasm – The ritual has a fixed sequence: flight, hotel on Via Sardegna, friends, stadium, then the return home. "I was lucky enough, a few years ago, to be transferred to Cagliari. I spent a year traveling far and wide whenever possible," says father Noferi, "I didn't even come home for the weekends. Today I have so many friends thanks to Cagliari, the stadium, and my passion." Every visit to the city, the pilgrimage to the Amsicora, thinking back "to those tall trees the fans used to climb, I always seem to see them again." Instagram gives Chiara the opportunity to make videos of father and daughter wearing scarves and the official jerseys go viral: "Yes, the videos were so popular that even Cagliari reposted us on the club's official page and invited us inside the Domus. It was a great feeling," says the young influencer, who documented the trip from Poetto last September. "We're avid readers of the Unione Sarda," says Gianfranco. "We discuss scores and reports with our friends in Cagliari." The pre-match aperitif is a must; the Sud has adopted them, and now they're part of the scene: "We won't be here in Florence tonight," he reveals. "We have other unpostponable commitments, but our 'Forza Cagliari' chant will still work remotely."