draw against second placed Juventus; his second, equalising goal came from a penalty, with eight minutes remaining, and the result allowed Cagliari to maintain their lead over the Turin side in Serie A. Cagliari headed into April still in first place by three points, with three matches remaining; in order to clinch the Scudetto, Cagliari needed to win their next match at home against Bari, while Juventus, who were still in second place, needed to lose away against Lazio. On 12 April, Riva opened the scoring with a diving header in an eventual 2–0 win over Bari at the Stadio Amsicora, while Juventus suffered a 2–0 defeat to Lazio in Rome, with goals from Gian Piero Ghio and Giorgio Chinaglia; as a result, Cagliari were crowned Serie A champions for the first time in their history, with two games to spare, also sealing a place in the European Cup the following season. This was the first time a club south of Rome had ever won the league title; Riva once again finished the season as top-scorer, with 21 goals. During this period, Riva's skill, prolific goalscoring, and decisive performances in leading a small, provincial club like Cagliari from Serie B to the Serie A title saw him become one of the best strikers in the world: he was the Serie A top-scorer on three occasions, in 1966–67, in 1968–69 and in 1969–70, and he placed 2nd in the 1969 Ballon d'Or, behind compatriot Gianni Rivera, and 3rd in the 1970 Ballon d'Or, behind Gerd Müller and Bobby Moore. 1970–1976: Final years with Cagliari Riva's season immediately following Cagliari's league triumph took off to a promising start: in the opening weeks of the season, he helped Cagliari to the top of the league table with a series of impressive results, including a 3–1 away win over Inter at the San Siro stadium on 29 October 1970, scoring twice, and earning his famous nickname "Rombo di Tuono" (Roar of Thunder) from journalist Gianni Brera as a result of his dominant performance. He also made his debut in the European Cup that season, helping Cagliari to the second round with two goals in a 3–0 home win against Saint-Étienne in the first leg of the first round of the competition; he later added a third goal in the tournament in the club's 2–1 home victory over Atlético Madrid in the first leg of