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Soccer This Saturday marks the 70th anniversary of Superga
The tragedy that struck Turin Football Club On May 4, 1949, when Il Grande Torino, one of the biggest teams in the game, was eliminated in a plane crash, it was not forgotten.
Turin completely gone and it was at a time when they never had the opportunity to compete on the continent in the European Cup.
Il Grande Torino had won Scudetti four times in a row and, at the time of the fall, they were leading the Serie A, so much so that the title was awarded to them posthumously, and it was not just a question of courtesy.
In addition to the loss of life, there is a mythical halo that floats above the memory of this team, making the tragedy all the more extreme.
Turin enjoyed the best fate in their history, and 10 of their starting lineup also composed Italythe strongest team.
Only the goalkeeper of Azzurri was Juventus and they were hoping to be successful at the 1950 World Cup, but their team was lost in the remains of the Basilica of Superga, as their plane descended through the clouds to crash into the flank of the building, returning from a friendly match in Lisbon. a stopover in Barcelona.
The tragedy has been so well documented that the precise point of impact is known – 17:05 in the afternoon.
A little earlier, the pilot had informed the control tower that the aircraft was perfectly aligned with the runway of the airport and, despite the lack of visibility, it was soon to land in Turin.
Turin had played against Benfica the night before in a tribute to their great captain Xico Ferreira.
They left at 9:40 that morning for Barcelona, where they filled up and where they met. AC Milan, who themselves had stopped to go to Madrid.
In a meeting that would not be allowed now, both teams shared a table for lunch at the airport before separating.
So much has been investigated on this flight that the details are so clearly known.
The flight plan pbaded by Cape Creus, Toulon, Nice, Albenga and Savona before turning north towards Turin.
At 1655, the control tower contacted Lieutenant Colonel Meroni, the aircraft commander.
The weather was described as rainy in Piedmont, with low clouds and visibility of 40 meters and gusty winds.
After a brief silence, the commander gave his position.
A radio beacon at Pino Trines allowed him to take his coordinates to align with the track.
"We are 2,000 meters above sea level," Meroni said.
"We will cut through Superga."
But it is there that the story has been lost.
Not only was the aircraft not aligned with the runway, but it was also not at 2,000 meters above sea level.
In fact, it was only 675 meters above, which is far from the pilot's estimates.
What has happened so that the maneuver ends in tragedy? There are many theories.
From a fault in the altimeter to a drift from starboard, which led the plane into the hill because of the gusting victory.
It remains only three or four minutes after the final communication, the plane crashed against the wall surrounding the Basilica of Superga.
There was no sign of a late attempt to deflect the aircraft and the impact was frontal.
More than half of the plane was disintegrated under impact and only part of the tail was left visible.
The 31 people on board died and 18 were killed. Turin players, while there were two coaches, two club leaders and three reporters.
Defender Sauro Toma Due to a knee injury, he had not traveled and felt guilty about not being on board, his friends and teammates having died.
He was the only surviving member of the team and died on April 18, 2018.
The city took to the streets to bid farewell to its heroes and solidarity was shown from all over the world.
River Platewith Alfredo di Stefano, visited them a few days later to play a friendly match against them.
They are long gone, but Il Grande Torino will remain forever in the hearts of fans.
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