Today is the 70th anniversary of the Superga tragedy, when probably the greatest Italian team in history – Il Grande Torino – perished in a plane crash.
Over 1,000 fans have flocked to the cemetery in Turin, along with delegations from clubs including Fiorentina and River Plate.
Today is the 70th anniversary of the Superga tragedy, when probably the greatest Italian team in history – Il Grande Torino – perished in a plane crash.
Over 1,000 fans have flocked to the cemetery in Turin, along with delegations from clubs including Fiorentina and River Plate.
This afternoon, as with every year on this day at 5.03pm, the current Torino captain will stand and read out the names of all those who lost their lives in the accident in the Superga hills on May 4, 1949.
They were flying back from a friendly game against Benfica in Lisbon when the plane crashed into the side of the Basilica di Superga during heavy fog.
All 31 passengers on board were killed, including 18 Torino players, their Coaches, directors and three journalists.
Il Grande Torino had been utterly dominant in Italian football, winning five consecutive Serie A titles, making up most of the Italy side and considered to this day one of the best teams in the history of the sport.
“Heroes are always immortal in the eyes of those who believe them to be. And therefore children will believe that Torino are not dead: they are just playing away from home,” wrote legendary journalist Indro Montanelli in the Corriere della Sera.
Il #GrandeTorino
Orgoglio d’Italia#SFT #4maggio pic.twitter.com/zdWjQ0MubM— Torino Football Club (@TorinoFC_1906) May 4, 2019