Superga air disaster
Encyclopedia
The Superga air disaster took place on Wednesday, 4 May 1949, when a plane carrying almost the entire Torino A.C.
football
squad, popularly known as Il Grande Torino, crashed into the hill of Superga
near Turin
killing all 31 aboard including 18 players, club officials, journalists accompanying the team, and the plane's crew. The team was returning from a farewell match for Xico Ferreira against Benfica in Lisbon
.
(Italian Airlines) Fiat G212CP
carrying the team flew into a thunderstorm on the approach to Turin and encountered conditions of low cloud and poor visibility. They were forced to descend to be able to fly visually. While descending for Turin, the aircraft crashed against the base of the rear wall of the Basilica complex at the top of the hill of Superga.
Italian authorities cited low cloud, poor radio aids and an error in navigation as factors contributing to the accident.
The emotional impact the crash made on Italian sports fans was profound, as it claimed the lives of the players of a legendary team which had won the last Serie A
title before the league play was interrupted in 1944 by World War II
and had then returned after the conflict to win four consecutive titles (1946–1949).
At the time of the crash, Torino A.C. was leading Serie A with four games left to play in the season. The club carried on by fielding its youth team (Primavera) and in a sign of respect their opponents in each of these matches (Genoa, Palermo, Sampdoria, and Fiorentina) also fielded their youth sides. Primavera won each of the matches and the scudetto. The disaster seriously weakened the country's national side which had included up to 10 Torino players. Torino itself would not claim another title until 1976.
Of the entire squad only three players remained: Sauro Tomà missed the trip to Portugal due to injury. As well, the Hungarian star László Kubala, who was to give a guest performance in Lisbon, had just been re-united with his wife and son; the boy was ill and Kubala stayed back to help care for him, missing the fatal trip. Another youth team player, Luigi Giuliano
, who played several games and scored 4 goals earlier in the season for the main squad, did not obtain the passport in time and also survived.
The son of captain Valentino Mazzola
, Sandro, became a player of international fame in his own right in the 1960s playing with Inter Milan. Both father and son wore the number 10.
On 26 May 1949 there was a charity game for the victim's families between the "Torino Simbolo" (symbolic Torino) made up of the remaining best of the Serie A against South American giants River Plate. "La Maquina" had such immortal players like Norberto Yacono, Alfredo di Stefano
and Angel Labruna. The game ended in a 2-2 draw.
Club officials
Journalists
Crew
Others
Torino F.C.
Torino Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Torino, is a professional Italian football club based in Turin, Piedmont, that was founded in 1906. The club has spent most of its history in the top tier in Italian football....
football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
squad, popularly known as Il Grande Torino, crashed into the hill of Superga
Superga
Superga is a hill situated on the south bank of the Po River to the east of Turin in north-west Italy. At 672 metres above sea level, it is one of the most prominent of the hills which form an amphitheatre around the city....
near Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
killing all 31 aboard including 18 players, club officials, journalists accompanying the team, and the plane's crew. The team was returning from a farewell match for Xico Ferreira against Benfica in Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
.
Crash
The Avio Linee ItalianeAlitalia
Alitalia - Linee Aeree Italiane S.p.A. , in its later stages known as Alitalia - Linee Aeree Italiane S.p.A. in Extraordinary Administration, was the former Italian flag carrier...
(Italian Airlines) Fiat G212CP
Fiat G.212
-References:NotesBibliography* Donald, David, ed. The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. Aerospace Publishing. 1997. ISBN 1-85605-375-X.* Stroud, John. "Post War Propliners: Fiat G.12 and G.212". Aeroplane Monthly, Volume 23 No. 1, January 1994, pp. 64-68. London: IPC.-External links:** Airliners.net*...
carrying the team flew into a thunderstorm on the approach to Turin and encountered conditions of low cloud and poor visibility. They were forced to descend to be able to fly visually. While descending for Turin, the aircraft crashed against the base of the rear wall of the Basilica complex at the top of the hill of Superga.
Italian authorities cited low cloud, poor radio aids and an error in navigation as factors contributing to the accident.
The emotional impact the crash made on Italian sports fans was profound, as it claimed the lives of the players of a legendary team which had won the last Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
title before the league play was interrupted in 1944 by World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and had then returned after the conflict to win four consecutive titles (1946–1949).
At the time of the crash, Torino A.C. was leading Serie A with four games left to play in the season. The club carried on by fielding its youth team (Primavera) and in a sign of respect their opponents in each of these matches (Genoa, Palermo, Sampdoria, and Fiorentina) also fielded their youth sides. Primavera won each of the matches and the scudetto. The disaster seriously weakened the country's national side which had included up to 10 Torino players. Torino itself would not claim another title until 1976.
Of the entire squad only three players remained: Sauro Tomà missed the trip to Portugal due to injury. As well, the Hungarian star László Kubala, who was to give a guest performance in Lisbon, had just been re-united with his wife and son; the boy was ill and Kubala stayed back to help care for him, missing the fatal trip. Another youth team player, Luigi Giuliano
Luigi Giuliano (footballer)
Luigi Giuliano was an Italian professional football player.He had a distinction of scoring in each of his first 3 Serie A games in the 1948/49 season. He was the only youth team player who was playing regularly on the first squad of A.C...
, who played several games and scored 4 goals earlier in the season for the main squad, did not obtain the passport in time and also survived.
The son of captain Valentino Mazzola
Valentino Mazzola
Valentino Mazzola was an Italian footballer and captain of the legendary Grande Torino side, killed in the Superga air disaster. He is considered one of the best football players of all time and perhaps the first modern all-around footballer, as he was an attacking midfielder who could score,...
, Sandro, became a player of international fame in his own right in the 1960s playing with Inter Milan. Both father and son wore the number 10.
On 26 May 1949 there was a charity game for the victim's families between the "Torino Simbolo" (symbolic Torino) made up of the remaining best of the Serie A against South American giants River Plate. "La Maquina" had such immortal players like Norberto Yacono, Alfredo di Stefano
Alfredo Di Stéfano
Alfredo Stéfano Di Stéfano Laulhé, born into a family of Italian immigrants from Capri, is a former Argentinian footballer and coach, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time...
and Angel Labruna. The game ended in a 2-2 draw.
Victims
Players- Valerio BacigalupoValerio BacigalupoValerio Bacigalupo was an Italian association football goalkeeper from Vado Ligure, Savona. He started his career with home province side Savona. After a brief spell at Genoa he moved to Torino where he won Serie A four times in a row.Bacigalupo older brother, Manlio Bacigalupo, also played...
- Aldo BallarinAldo BallarinAldo Ballarin was an Italian football player.He played for 5 seasons in the Serie A for U.S. Triestina Calcio and A.C...
- Dino Ballarin
- Milo Bongiorni
- Eusebio CastiglianoEusebio CastiglianoEusebio Castigliano was an Italian international footballer who played as a midfielder.-Career:Castigliano played professional club football for Pro Vercelli, Spezia, Biellese and Torino where he was part of the Grande Torino team that won four consecutive league titles.Castigliano also earned...
- Rubens Fadini
- Guglielmo GabettoGuglielmo GabettoGuglielmo Gabetto was an Italian former soccer player. He played as a striker. Aside from goalkeeper Alfredo Bodoira he is the only player to win the Italian championship with both Torino FC and Juventus FC....
- Ruggero Grava
- Giuseppe GrezarGiuseppe GrezarGiuseppe Grezar was an Italian football player, who played for Torino FC and died in the Superga air disaster together with the whole Grande Torino team.-Biography:...
- Ezio LoikEzio LoikEzio Loik was an Italian football player, who played for Torino FC and died in the Superga air disaster together with the whole Grande Torino team.-Biography:...
- Virgilio MarosoVirgilio MarosoVirgilio Maroso was an Italian football player, who played for Torino FC and died in the Superga air disaster together with the whole Grande Torino team.-Biography:...
- Danilo Martelli
- Valentino MazzolaValentino MazzolaValentino Mazzola was an Italian footballer and captain of the legendary Grande Torino side, killed in the Superga air disaster. He is considered one of the best football players of all time and perhaps the first modern all-around footballer, as he was an attacking midfielder who could score,...
- Romeo MentiRomeo MentiRomeo Menti was an Italian football player.Born at Vicenza, Menti debuted in his city's Serie C club in 1935, in the same stadium that was to be dedicated to him a few years later....
- Piero Operto
- Franco Ossola
- Mario RigamontiMario RigamontiMario Rigamonti was an Italian football player, who played for Torino FC and died in the Superga air disaster together with the whole Grande Torino team.-Biography:...
- Julius SchubertJúlius SchubertJúlius Schubert was a Slovak football player. He played for Slovakia. In his country he played for ŠK Slovan Bratislava. In Italy he played for Torino F.C.....
Club officials
- Arnaldo Agnisetta, manager
- Ippolito Civalleri, manager
- Egri ErbsteinErnest ErbsteinErnest Erbstein, Hungarian: Erbstein Ernő, commonly known as Ernest Egri-Erbstein was a Jewish-Hungarian football player and later manager from Nagyvárad; now known as Oradea in Romania...
, trainer - Leslie LievesleyLeslie LievesleyLeslie Lievesley was an English footballer. His regular position was at full back. He was born in Staveley, Derbyshire. He started with Rossington Colliery before moving to Doncaster Rovers in 1929. After scoring 21 goals in 66 games, he was signed by Manchester United...
, coach - Ottavio Corina, masseur
Journalists
- Renato Casalbore, (founder of TuttosportTuttosportTuttosport is an Italian sport newspaper published since 30 July 1945.Renato Casalbore founded the newspaper as a bi-weekly. In 1946, it moved to three editions a week, and since 12 March 1951 it has been published daily...
) - Luigi Cavallero, (La StampaLa StampaLa Stampa is one of the best-known, most influential and most widely sold Italian daily newspapers. Published in Turin, it is distributed in Italy and other European nations. The current owner is the Fiat Group.-History:...
) - Renato Tosatti, (Gazzetta del Popolo)
Crew
- Pierluigi Meroni, captain
- Antonio Pangrazi
- Celestino D'Inca
- Cesare Biancardi
Others
- Andrea Bonaiuti, organiser
See also
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killed most of the Peruvian football club Alianza Lima's team. - The 1989 crash of Surinam Airways Flight PY764Surinam Airways Flight PY764Surinam Airways Flight 764 was an international scheduled passenger flight from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in the Netherlands to Paramaribo-Zanderij International Airport in Suriname on a Surinam Airways DC-8...
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was killed in a 1993 crash. - The 2011 crash of a Yakovlev Yak-42Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crashThe Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash occurred at 16:05 MT on Wednesday, 7 September 2011, when a Yak-Service Yakovlev Yak-42, carrying the players and coaching staff of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl professional ice hockey team, crashed near the Russian city of Yaroslavl...
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team.
External links
- Memorial museum page (in Italian)