Tonino Orrù, president of Cagliari's double promotion from Serie C to A, has died

Cagliari and Cagliari owe him the football rebirth.

Tonino Orrù died yesterday at the age of 84. Suffering for some time from the after-effects of a bad illness, Orrù was the president of Cagliari who from 1987 to 1990 rose from Serie C to Serie A.

It was he who brought Claudio Ranieri to the rossoblù team and a splendid group that accomplished the feat of relaunching the club.

Entrepreneur in the construction sector, he was the first of five brothers to pilot, before Cagliari, the flourishing family business created by his father Efisio in the Sant'Avendrace district. His passion for football led him to found Atletico, a club that brought many kids in the neighborhood closer to football.

Then in 1986 the decision to take over the club's shares from the consortium of city entrepreneurs and traders set up by Gigi Riva to save the club from imminent bankruptcy and, after relegation to Serie C, to continue the adventure alone together with the brothers , Ninnino and Efisio in particular, to the accountant Lucio Cordeddu and to the diesse Carmine Longo, who, after a year in C with the technicians Robotti and Tiddia, suggested the engagement of Ranieri. Between 1987 and 1990 Cagliari thus returned to Serie A, launching players such as Pulga, Ielpo, Firicano, Cornacchia, Cappioli and others into great football.

In 1992 the change of ownership and the arrival of Cellino, who brought Cagliari to Europe with the backbone of the team built by the Orrùs.

The funeral will take place tomorrow, Monday 24 April, at 4 pm, in the church of Sant'Ignazio in Cagliari.