The Day Italian football Died – Torino and the tragedy of Superga
Written by Alexandra Manna and Mike Gibbs: Published by The Brredon Books Publishing Company in Great Britain 2000
This is a really sympathetically written book that takes as the central theme the tragic plane crash of May 1949 which was carrying the entire Torino team as well as reserves, officials and trainers. Torino were known at the time as Grande Torino because of their dominance of Italian football having won Serie A for the previous three seasons and were about to win their fourth,
The players were so dominant in Italian football that they contributed more than half of the national team players for some time. The final chapter in the book reveals some very profesional statistics about the players and the club and throughout there are numerous photos that bring the words to light.
There are obvious comparisons to be drawn with the Munich air disaster but what followed was not a rebirth into ultimate bright lights but a struggle to shake off what appeared to be a curse on the team and its fortunes.
The history before the crash from the clubs inception is covered as is the 50 years that followed and it was this anniversary that inspired the publishing of the book. This disaster had a profound impact on Italian football and is still very much in the conscience today.
Payonthegate 