Milan, May 4 (LaPresse) – "On May 4, 1949, the Torino plane, the Grande Torino, ended its flight on the hill of Superga while returning from a friendly match in Lisbon against Benfica. 31 people lost their lives, including players, directors, staff, journalists and crew members. Italy mourns its champions: a country being rebuilt after the war had found in those players, capable of winning five league titles and one Coppa Italia, a cornerstone to start again from, on which to build the foundations of the newborn Republic. The granata of president Novo won, the first Italian team to do so, both the league title and the Coppa Italia in the 1942-43 season. The leader of that team was Valentino Mazzola, the captain, who had just arrived from Venezia with Ezio Loik. In the post-war years, from 1945 to 1949, Torino won four consecutive league titles. The technical direction was entrusted to Egri Erbstein, a football master and the driving force of that extraordinary team. During these remarkable years, the Grande Torino achieved several record performances: it provided the Italian national team with 10 players out of 11 (match of May 11, 1947 in Turin: Italy-Hungary 3-2, with only Bacigalupo absent); the 10-0 victory at the Filadelfia stadium against an unfortunate Alessandria on May 2, 1948; and 19 home wins (out of 20 matches) and 39 points (out of 40 available) achieved at home in the 1947-48 season. After virtually securing the sixth league title in Torino’s history, the granata flew to Portugal to face Benfica in a friendly on May 3, 1949 following an agreement between the two captains, Mazzola and Ferreira. The following day, May 4, the entire team boarded the three-engine aircraft I-Elce to return home. After the last radio contact, possibly due to bad weather or an altimeter failure, the plane crashed into the embankment of the Basilica of Superga. Those who died in the accident include players Valerio Bacigalupo, Aldo Ballarin, Dino Ballarin, Emile Bongiorni, Eusebio Castigliano, Rubens Fadini, Guglielmo Gabetto, Ruggero Grava, Giuseppe Grezar, Ezio Loik, Virgilio Maroso, Danilo Martelli, Valentino Mazzola, Romeo Menti, Piero Operto, Franco Ossola, Mario Rigamonti, Giulio Schubert; coaches Egri Erbstein and Leslie Lievesley; masseur Ottavio Cortina; officials Arnaldo Agnisetta and Ippolito Civalleri; assistant Andrea Bonaiuti. Also killed were three of Italy’s best sports journalists: Renato Casalbore, Renato Tosatti and Luigi Cavallero, and crew members Pierluigi Meroni, Celeste D’Inca, Celeste Bianciardi and Antonio Pangrazzi. Grande Torino, pride of Italy always and forever." With this long statement on its website, Torino FC remembers the Grande Torino on the anniversary of the Superga tragedy.
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