Luigi Meroni

Luigi Meroni belongs to that rare football category where the player and the symbol are almost impossible to separate. On the pitch he was a right winger of imagination, balance and eccentric rhythm, capable of slowing a defender down with body movement before escaping with a sudden touch. At Torino, he became much more than a wide attacker: he was personality, creativity and rebellion in a football culture that still loved obedience almost as much as tactics. His technique was delicate, his dribbling unpredictable, his left foot dangerous when he cut inside from the right. The tragedy of his death at 24 turned him into myth, but the talent underneath was real enough to justify the fascination. Meroni was not a completed masterpiece. He was a brilliant sketch interrupted while the colours were still alive.