The former center forward recounts: “When Giovanni Galli called me from Fiorentina, I thought it was a joke and hung up. The national team remains a regret. I was hoping for it in Messina when I was top scorer, but Donadoni didn’t call me.”

For a few years, a banner waved in the Fiesole stand recounted the importance of that difficult moment. ‘God forgives, Riga-no’. Christian was the hero of the comeback, the striker who helped Florence return to the footballing map. He arrived in 2002, when the club was in Serie C and called Florentia Viola. Those were different times. “There was a climate of sporting depression in the city. A team with such a history had gone bankrupt for peanuts.” Riganò scored goals galore right from the start. “I scored 30 goals in my first year, and that’s where it all started.” Today, the former striker lives there and works as a bricklayer, the job he did before his professional debut.

Christian, you are still an idol in Florence.

“No way, I’m a normal person. I go to the construction site from morning to night. People in the city love me, that’s true. I’m happy to have given them something. They stop me because I’ve always behaved well, not because I was a champion. And that’s what makes me happiest.”

His story is one of comebacks and climbs. He scored in all categories before reaching the top.

“In my day, it wasn’t easy; you had to fight your way up. Many people tell me I arrived late… I reply that I’m lucky to have made it. Do you know how many talented players get lost in the minor leagues? Especially in my day. Today, you score five goals and you’re already worth 20 million. I played and scored in all categories; I’m only missing the third. But I don’t care about records, they just serve to remind me where I came from and what my journey has been like. I’ve always enjoyed myself, even in the amateur leagues. And I’ve never been full of myself.“ Do you have any regrets? ”I’m not one to look back, I don’t like it. But I would say that I regret not having been called up to the national team. It would have been the conclusion of a wonderful journey. At the end of 2006, Italy played a friendly match when I was the top scorer in Serie A with Messina. I hoped for it, but coach Donadoni didn’t call me up. Oh well. When I was playing, a striker had to hope for an epidemic to get into the national team… everyone would have had to get sick. Ahead of me were Del Piero, Totti, Toni, Di Natale, Iaquinta, and Inzaghi. And some of them even stayed at home.“ Did being a genuine person pay off? ”I don’t know, but for me it’s a source of pride. I’ve never bowed down to anything or anyone. I started from nothing, without hiding. Just think, I used to smoke in front of the coaches…“

Did they ever tell you off?

”Once, during a training camp with Fiorentina, Prandelli saw me taking two puffs: ‘How many cigarettes do you smoke?’. ‘Not many’. ‘Then smoke less’. But that was it. I’ve always been frank and direct with club presidents too, I’ve never had problems with anyone.”

At Fiorentina, the fans displayed a banner reading ‘God forgives, Riga-no’.

“The penalty area has always been my habitat. I took no prisoners. That’s where the fact that I don’t forgive comes from. When the ball reached the last sixteen meters, there was an unnatural, chemical attraction. In Florence, as in Taranto and Messina. And to think that I started out playing defense in Lipari.“

Then what happened?

”I was twenty years old and we were struggling in attack: some players had left, others were away for work. The starting center forward got injured and I went on to replace him. I had a lot of fun, I scored right away and they never took me off. Thank goodness, I’d say.”

When you arrived at Fiorentina, the team was called Florentia Viola and played in Serie C. Those were different times.

“I was coming off a season in Taranto where I had scored a lot, I wanted to move up a division, but the call from Fiorentina was special. President Della Valle sought me out and made it clear that the goal was to get back to the top quickly. And that’s what happened. Actually, at first I got a call from Giovanni Galli, I thought it was a joke and hung up. Instead, they really wanted me. There was a climate of sporting depression in the city. A team with a similar history relegated to the fringes of football, bankrupt for a few pennies. In my first year, I scored 30 goals, and from there, everything took off.“

It was a wonderful journey.

”Two wonderful seasons, the Florentines adopted me. I still live here, and every now and then, phrases in the Tuscan dialect slip out. And I come from Lipari, imagine that.“

After Florence came Messina, another happy interlude.

”I experienced wonderful emotions, I scored 19 goals in Serie A, and for a period, I was the league’s top scorer.”

Those goals took him to La Liga. In 2007, Levante signed him.

“We challenged Barcelona with Eto’o, Messi, Xavi, and Iniesta. Leo was young but already very strong. He even scored in that game. I took home Henry’s jersey, a relic. It saddens me that I never played at the Bernabeu; it would have been very satisfying.“

What is Riganò doing today?

”I’m back to doing what I did as a boy, which is bricklaying. In life, I’m good at two things: scoring goals and building houses. It’s not like you can reinvent yourself and become someone else when you’re over 40. I’d go crazy if I had to sit still, I just can’t do it. But I also do it to make a living, I won’t deny it. I haven’t earned enough to live off my savings. In short, if I had ten million in the bank, I’d live a more peaceful life.”