In the week of the 45th anniversary of the tragic death of a Toro legend, Gareth Owens (@LosSensitivos) pays tribute.

There are unusual footballers, and there’s Gigi Meroni: mythical winger, painter, enigma and poultry-botherer.

With his ‘revolutionary’ mop of hair and beards, the Granata Butterfly was revered by the Torino faithful for his speed, skills, a legendary goal against Inter, and Devil-may-care off-field antics: you have to love a man who fails to convince a chicken to don a bathing costume in the middle of deeply-conservative Como.

His life cut tragically short in a road accident with an accompanying tale as unconventional as Gigi himself, calcio will probably, and sadly, never see his like again.

Gentlemen, raise your glasses…

Read the rest of the series here.