Today is the 71st anniversary of the Superga tragedy, when probably the greatest Italian team in history – Il Grande Torino – perished in a plane crash.
On this day at 5.03pm in 1949, an accident in the Superga hills took the lives of all 31 passengers on board a plane returning from a friendly game against Benfica in Lisbon.
Today is the 71st anniversary of the Superga tragedy, when probably the greatest Italian team in history – Il Grande Torino – perished in a plane crash.
On this day at 5.03pm in 1949, an accident in the Superga hills took the lives of all 31 passengers on board a plane returning from a friendly game against Benfica in Lisbon.
The tragic accident killed the 18 Torino players, their coaches, directors and three journalists. The utterly dominant Italian side, who had won five consecutive Serie A titles, are to this day considered one of the best teams in the history of the sport.
“Il Grande Torino gave a sense of revenge, the Italian people were united, there was a particular affection,” Torino President Urbano Cairo told Radio Anch’io Sport. “We will go to Superga to lay down a bouquet of flowers, with the authorisation of the prefect.”
The coronavirus pandemic makes this year’s memorial different, as fans usually flock to the cemetery in Turin.
“We are in a very particular moment,” Cairo added. “At the time of the Grande Torino the Second World War had just ended. This pandemic is not a war but has upset our lives.”
Football is currently at a standstill as Cairo remembers the heroes of Turin, but individual training sessions are resuming and the patron insisted ‘health is fundamental’ for the restart of Serie A 2019-20.
“We must make an attempt, but the government must guide us,” he said. “The authorities are doing everything to ensure that everything goes well and above all in safety. Health is fundamental.
“We need a safe protocol. I don’t know if the championship will resume, I’m not able to answer that. There are attempts to restart, staring with individual training.”