The Blue and Reds’ shirt with the number 20, which bears witness to Rigano’s time at the Orriols-based club, encapsulates the story of the first hat-trick in Granota’s history in the select Primera División. The facts date back to the 2007-2008 season. It was not an easy campaign for the Levante supporters. The fronts were crowded to the point of multiplying to annihilate the conscience of the supporters of the Ciutat de València club. Everything happened swiftly, as it usually happens in situations as fortuitous as they are unexpected. Without warning, and when least expected, Rigano’s scoring fury manifested it
It was in an elite league clash against Almería on the sidelines of the Valencian coliseum in a match of the eleventh matchday. After just thirty minutes the match seemed to be over. In that space of time Rigano whipped the opposing nets. He did so with profusion, becoming the first player on the Granota side to score three goals in the top flight. The Italian striker seemed to play with the numbers after scoring in the first, fifteenth and thirty-fourth minutes. It was a goal in arithmetical progression. His repertoire was multifaceted. The right leg was the nexus of union. That trapezoidal shaped body allowed to discover a different and little exhibited facet of the striker.
In a rough and tumble exercise, the Italian attacker ratified the ties with the win at the Ciutat. It was the Blaugrana’s first home win of the season as La Liga progressed. November was waking up. It was the sixth home game. De Biasi had relieved Abel Resino of his duties as coach of the Levante side. The Italian coach’s adventure at the helm would come to an end before the end of the season. Rigano never scored another goal as a Levante player. His record stood at four goals. At that moment in time, his time at Orriols was drawing to a close, despite the fact that there were still countless months to go before the end of the season. That Christmas was devastating.
The striker made his way back to Italy after his commitment to Siena. It was not the only escape with the exercise in full swing. Part of the rest of the Italian legion, including Storari and Cirillo, followed the same path to converge in Calcio as players for Reggiana and Cagliari. Only Tommassi remained an absolute rarity. The shirt with the blue and red stripes was not lost in the limbo of oblivion. At the end of the confrontation it fell into the hands of Moses. And since then, the first team kit man has been the custodian of a piece of clothing that hides a small history.