A chat with the well-known Turin journalist: “Good morning, the ideal thread between the Invincibles and the present of Toro”
A collector’s item: this is how the new book from the Repubblica editorial team on Grande Torino can be defined, coming out together with the newspaper today, 4 May 2024, the 75th anniversary of the Superga tragedy. It is called “Grande Torino” and offers an emotional journey to retrace the history of a team that made the history of the world of football. We talked about it together with Emanuele Legcorrespondent of “La Repubblica” often also following Toro, one of the authors who contributed to composing the literary product.
Emanuele, what is interesting about this book? “We can divide it into two parts. One is from the archive: we have recovered old articles by Bocca, Mura, Brera, Fossati, great names from the past who have often written about Grande Torino over the years. They are texts of, as you can understand, very high quality. The second part, however, is new and we have been working on it in recent weeks. There are articles of various kinds: Superga, Grande Torino, Philadelphia seen in various ways and from different points of view. The most interesting things in my opinion are first of all an interview with Sandro Mazzola who talks about his father exposing himself as he rarely did in his life; and then an interview with Buongiorno which talks exclusively about Grande Torino, telling on the one hand the emotions of reading the names of 2023 and on the other what the emotions are for a young Granata in receiving the legacy of Grande Torino and trying to manage it and pass it on to future generations. They were very profound answers considering his young age, he seemed very immersed in the history of Grande Torino”.
In your opinion, does Alessandro Buongiorno represent the continuity between the Taurus of the past and that of the present? “In my opinion, yes. Alessandro, for example, told us the emotions of when his parents took him to Superga for the first time and then the subsequent phases of his life linked to that symbol. Today football is very different from what it once was, compared to when there were many Buongiornos. I’m talking about figures, they are not footballers, who have revolved around the club interpreting and representing the garnet colors in their own way. He has worn the Toro shirt since he was a small child, this is even more important than his value as a footballer. In the interview, he told me exactly this: he thinks of collecting not the technical values of Grande Torino, but the moral values. The hope is that it leaves a seed that can germinate in the future.”
In your opinion, does the May 4th ritual at Superga still have an impact on footballers who perhaps arrive from abroad and know nothing about this story? “It’s a lot harder to get them involved than it used to be. You know, once upon a time there were three pillars of Granatism, three bases on which the Taurus value system rested. Philadelphia, the people of Toro (and by saying this I mean the whole youth sector, with instructors and managers who spent a lifetime in the Toro youth system, with a truly unique knowledge of that world), and then Superga, with the moral legacy of Greater Turin. Today two of those pillars are no longer there; or rather, Philadelphia has been reborn, but it is something very different from what was there before. Then there is a lack of “Granatism” in and around society. With this I am also referring to the memories of when I was a child going to Philadelphia and listening to the stories of people who had seen Grande Torino play. A Brazilian friend told me that Leo Junior wanted to learn the Piedmontese dialect to better understand the stories of the old men at the Philadelphia club. Today the world has changed, Superga therefore remains the only ritual, the only thing that binds us to the past. And it is clear that there are players who feel it more and others who perceive the importance of this moment less.”
Why, 75 years later, are books still being written about Grande Torino? “Because it is a unique story in the world, it has never happened to a team to disappear in one fell swoop and remain invincible, perhaps only what happened to Manchester United can be remotely comparable. There was the quality of the performers: anyone who saw him play tells you that Valentino Mazzola is one of the three greatest players in the history of Italian football. Above all, the strength of the Grande Torino went far beyond its technical value. He represented something more than a football team, he was totally in tune with the people around him. That team was the first factor of happiness for the people after the war, after the rubble, after the civil hatred. This ensures that it has a place in the history not only of football, but also of the country. There are many beautiful stories: for example I read a nice interview in the Corriere della Sera with Ossola’s son, who tells very nice anecdotes about Valentino Mazzola who went to the cinema”.
As a correspondent you have covered many matches and many teams around the world. Does it still affect you to live on May 4th in Superga? “I went to Superga very few times on May 4th. I really like going there in the following days, when the testimonies of those who climbed remain, those who leave a scarf, a note, a flower. In my opinion, the following days are the most exciting. True, I have seen different stadiums and realities all over the world, for example I have just been to Marseille, a city where the passion for football overwhelms you. But the history that Torino has is truly the most exciting there is. Many times I tell it to some foreign colleague who knows little about it and I can see that they listen to me enraptured. And the words of Sarri come to mind, who as an opponent often went to Superga to pay homage to the Invincibles: he often repeats that, if you have football in your heart and pass through these parts, you can’t help but go to Superga, because it is the history of football.”
I can’t help but take this opportunity: as an attentive reporter that you are, is there really, for you, the possibility of it being a name for the Toro bench? “What I understand is that he, at this moment, has no preclusions of any kind, obviously provided that a company presents itself with a serious program. I can also tell an anecdote about Sarri. Few people know that in 1992, when he was not yet known, he went to the Delle Alpi to watch the first leg of the UEFA Cup final between Turin and Ajax; the next day he also went to Philadelphia to see the fans’ reception towards the team. As a simple football fan, that moment especially stuck with him.”
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