Also this year the Toro Club Leinì does not forget its heroes. On the 75th anniversary of the tragedy of Supergathe Club organized a commemorative event to remember the Invincibles of Great Turin.
Club members, fans and enthusiasts met this evening at the Grande Torino Park of Leinì, to pay homage to the players who tragically lost their lives on 4 May 1949.
That day the team that had dominated Italian football by winning five consecutive championships from 1946 to 1949 was on board a three-engined Fiat G.212 who transported her to Turin from a friendly match in Lisbon.
The aircraft, which took off from Portugal at 9.40am, landed first at Barcelona airport to refuel and then at 2.50pm left for the Piedmontese capital directed to the Turin-Aeritalia airport. The planned route was to fly over the locations of Cap de Creus, Toulon, Nice, Albenga And Savona. The atmospheric conditions over Turin did not allow the landing. At 5.03pm the plane, probably due to strong winds and pilot error, crashed on the Turin hill, against the Basilica of Superga, causing the death of all 31 passengers on board.
Among the victims, in addition to the coaches Leslie Lievesley And Egri Erbsteinthe masseur Osvaldo Cortinathe organizer of the trips Andrea Bonaiutithe managers Ippolito Civalleri And Arnaldo Agnisettasports journalists Renato Tosatti, Renato Casalbore And Luigi Cavallerothere were some of the best players in the world, like Valentino Mazzolathe team captain, and Ezio Loikconsidered one of the greatest talents ever seen.
The tragedy was a dramatic event that forever marked the history of Italian football leaving an unfillable void in the hearts of Granata fans that still survives today. “Only fate won them“, commented the mayor of Leinì Renato Pittaliswho attended the commemoration together with the Toro Club Leinì.
Founded in 1965, the Club has for decades represented a point of reference for all Granata fans in the area in the memory of Grande Torino. Born as “Granata Club Leini” at the trattoria “White horse”the idea of an association dedicated to the Bull took shape thanks to a group of enthusiasts, including the first president, Francesco Ferreroknown by all as “Cecu d’la bastera“.
The following year, on 10 May 1965, the first official board was elected, composed of the founding members: Francesco Ferrero, Luigi Balbo, Pierluigi Benedetto, Giuseppe Grogno, Piero Pozzato, Armando Scarabosio And Giuseppe Piacenza.
November 29, 1965, a historic moment for the Club: the inauguration of the new headquarters in Via Carlo Alberto. The event was attended by illustrious figures from the Granata world, as well as the players Gigi Meroni, Natalino Fossati And Angelo Cereserthe companion Cavalier Rebaudengo and, above all, the legendary coach Nereo RoccoThe “paron“.
Last May 4th, in collaboration with the Municipality of Leinì, the Club colored the Provana Tower illuminating it with his own coat of arms. Will the initiative be repeated tonight?
