In the setting of the West Autonomous Maritime Command of Cagliari , this afternoon, the Ussi Sardegna 2024 Awards took place. The event was hosted, supported by the speeches of the Ussi Sardegna president Paolo Mastino , by the Ussi vice president Giuseppe Deiana and the journalist Valentina Caruso , who invited the many guests who received the recognition on stage. Among those awarded for their sporting merits in the current year were a representation of the Under 14 of CUS Cagliari hockey , the Amsicora women's hockey , Pierpaolo Muggioni beach volleyball , the Hermaea Olbia Volley , the rally driver Mattia Ricciu , the Olympic athletes Stefano Oppo of rowing and Sergio Massidda of weightlifting, the MSP sports federation , the members of the Santa Barbara Mining Trail , the sailors Federico Pilloni , Maddalena Spanu and Edoardo Del Rio , the Luna Rossa team , the former rossoblù Robert Acquafresca ( Davide Astori award ) and Gigi Piras ( Gigi Riva award ), the paralympic athlete Giovanni Achenza ( Intesa Sanpaolo award ), the journalists Eleonora Cottarelli of SkySport ( Mario Mossa Pirisino national press award ), Carlo Alberto Melis ( Gianfranco Fara award ) and Fabio Meloni , the editorial staff of Centotrentuno.com , the regional basketball president for Dinamo Sassari Tore Serra , the ASD Monastir 1983 club, the president of the Tennis Federation Angelo Binaghi and the Cagliari Calcio footballer Nicolas Viola .
"We started when we were 16 years old, my heart is truly broken for this award. It is with immense honor that I receive it and the important thing is that Davide can be remembered", said Robert Acquafresca at the presentation of the Davide Astori award . Angelo Binaghi also commented on the recognition received: "It is a very happy moment. I arrived in tennis 24 years ago when there was nothing left, also because otherwise they would not have allowed a Sardinian to become president of a national federation. I will give the award, of course, to Sinner and Paolini but let's not forget that I was a decent athlete too".
The comment from Nicola Riva , son of the great Gigi Riva , could not be missed when the award was presented to the former rossoblù Gigi Piras : «I am very happy to present the award to Gigi. In addition to having been a companion and friend of dad, we grew up with him. I know that for Gigi dad was important and I am happy to give him the first edition of this award».
A few words were also spent by the current number 10 of Cagliari Calcio , Nicolas Viola , who was rewarded as a representative of a land and a people in the national and international football scene: «Since I've been here, I've understood so many things about the Sardinian people but I still have so many more to discover. I'm grateful for what you've given me and my family. The importance of Riva for us who wear the Cagliari shirt? Describing it with words is really difficult, people speak: you just have to see people's eyes and what they convey to you to understand how much Gigi meant to their lives. He's still alive in all of us, I'm happy to experience this huge emotion, which I'll carry with me forever».
At the end of the event, the attacking midfielder added: «Winning a Sardinian award without being Sardinian? It's not difficult to tie yourself to Cagliari, so I'm very proud of the award. I thank Ussi Sardegna and everyone for the kind words because they also contributed to my personal growth. I've grown a lot here and I'm truly grateful for all of this». The chat then moved on to the team and the championship path: «We are a team with a very specific identity. We know where we need to grow and we are aware of the path to take, which is the most important thing. On our part, there is a great desire to get involved in front of our fans and we are working hard to obtain those results that are slowly arriving».
Sunday's defeat against Fiorentina does not seem to have demoralized Mister Nicola's boys who, according to Viola , are more than aware of their means: "There is very high room for improvement, we're going to play with everyone, even the big teams. We showed it with Milan and Juventus , as with Roma . In my opinion, the team can grow a lot and we are truly proud of the path we are taking. We work every day to have a championship of an important level". On Saturday, Gasperini's Goddess arrives at Unipol Domus : " Atalanta is a team that deserves the position it has today. We also know that Cagliari has put all the big teams in difficulty, so we will try in every way to give our contribution with humility, which must never be lacking, but also with the courage of a lively team that wants to win at all costs".
