The former striker recounts: “When Giovanni Galli from Fiorentina called me, 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 the top scorer, but Donadoni didn’t call me”
In the Curva Fiesole, for a few years, a banner flew that captured the weight of the moment during the toughest times. ‘God forgives, Riga-no.’ Christian was the hero of the comeback, the striker who helped Florence return to the map of competitive soccer. He arrived in 2002; the club was in Serie C and was called Florentia Viola. Different times. “There was a mood of sporting despair in the city. A team with that history went bankrupt over a few pennies.” Riganò scored goals by the dozen right from the start. “In my first year I scored 30 goals; that’s where it all began.” Today, the former striker lives there and works as a bricklayer, the job he had before making his professional debut.
Christian is still an idol in Florence.
“Not at all, I’m just a regular guy. I’m on the construction site from morning till night. People in the city care about me, that’s true. I’m glad I gave them something. They stop me because I’ve always been a good person, not because I was a champion. And that’s what makes me happiest.”

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

“In my day, it wasn’t easy; you had to fight your way through. Many 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 lower leagues? Especially in my era. Today, you score 5 goals and you’re already worth 20 million. I played and scored in every division; the only one missing is the third. But I don’t care about records; they’re just a reminder of where I came from and what a journey it’s been. I’ve always had fun, even in the amateur leagues. And I’ve never been a big shot.”

Do you have any regrets?

“I’m not one to look back; I don’t like it. But I’d say I regret not earning a call-up to the national team. It would have been the culmination of a wonderful journey. At the end of 2006, Italy played a friendly match during the period 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. Back when I played, a striker had to hope for an epidemic to make the national team… everyone would have had to get sick. Ahead of me were Del Piero, Totti, Toni, Di Natale, Iaquinta, Inzaghi. And some even stayed home.”

Did being a genuine person cost you?

“I don’t know, but for me it’s a point of pride. I’ve never bowed down to anything or anyone. I’m someone who started from nothing, without hiding myself.
Can you believe I used to smoke in front of the coaches…”

Did they ever call you out on it?

“Once, at a training camp with Fiorentina, Prandelli saw me take a couple of puffs: ‘How many cigarettes do you smoke?’ ‘Not many.’ ‘Then smoke fewer.’ But that was the end of it. Even with the club presidents, I’ve always been frank and direct; 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 my unforgiving nature comes from. When the ball reached the final sixteen meters, there was an unnatural, magnetic pull. In Florence, just like in Taranto and Messina. And to think that in Lipari I’d started out playing defense.”

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 in to replace him. I had a blast, I scored right away, and they never took me out again. Thank goodness, I’d say.”

When you joined the Viola, 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’d scored a lot; I wanted to move up a division, but the call from Fiorentina was special. President Della Valle reached out to me and made it clear that the goal was simple: to get back to the top quickly. And that’s exactly what happened. Actually, at first I got a call from Giovanni Galli; I thought it was a joke and hung up. But they really did want me. There was a mood of sporting depression in the city. A team with such a history relegated to the fringes of soccer, bankrupt for a pittance. In my first year, I scored 30 goals, and that’s where it all started again.”

It was a wonderful journey.

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

After Florence came Messina, another happy chapter.

“I experienced some wonderful moments; I scored 19 goals in Serie A and for a while I was the league’s top scorer.”

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

“We faced Barcelona—the team of Eto’o, Messi, Xavi, and Iniesta. Leo was young, but already incredibly strong. He even scored in that match.
I brought home Henry’s jersey, a keepsake. It saddens me that I never played at the Bernabéu; it would have been a great achievement.”

What does Riganò do today?

“I’ve gone back to doing what I did as a boy: I’m a bricklayer. In life, two things come naturally to me: goals and houses. And it’s not like you reinvent yourself and become someone else once you’re past forty. 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 that. I haven’t earned enough to live off my savings. I mean, if I had ten million in the bank, I’d live a more peaceful life.”