1948–49 A.C. Torino season

The season is remembered by Superga air disaster [2], on 4 May ending the Grande Torino era. After clinching 4 consecutive titles the Granata were ready to win the 5th title at top of the league table. 4 rounds before the ending of championship Grande Torino traveled to Lisboa, to play a friendly match against Benfica due to retirement of Francisco Ferreira[3]. Game which Toro lost 4–3.[4] Torino was named winner of the championship by the Federation, and the Youth squad was able to play the last 4 rounds. Finished a short summer interval from the end of previous season, competition officially resumed in Italy after the 1948 Summer Olympics. Prematurely eliminated, Vittorio Pozzo lost his position as sole commissioner of the Italy national team and Ferruccio Novo took his place.

New season began in mid-September with a Torino almost identical to that of the previous championships; there was only Franco Ossola permanently in place of Pietro Ferraris, who, at age 36, had moved to Novara. The midfielder Rubens Fadini arrived from Gallarate, Dino Ballarin, brother of the goalkeeper Aldo was signed from Chioggia; the Hungarian-Czechoslovakian Július Schubert, a left-sided midfielder; and strikers Emile Bongiorni and Ruggero Grava arrived from Racing Parigi and Roubaix-Tourcoing respectively. The club began the season after a long tour in Brazil where the team met Palmeiras, Corinthians, São Paulo and Portuguesa, losing only once. During the season, reduced to 24 teams after three promotions and relegations, Ernest Erbstein was appointed as the team's technical director and the Englishman Leslie Lievesley became the coach.[5] The campaign also saw injuries to Virgilio Maroso, Eusebio Castigliano, Romeo Menti and Sauro Tomà[6], plus the long suspension for Aldo Ballarin. The Granata, which debuted with a victory against Pro Patria, suffered a defeat in the second round to Atalanta; the team recovered with five straight wins, including that of the derby, but lost again, in Milan, against the Rossoneri. The club would relinquish the lead in the standings[7], then recapture it, finishing midway through the season on par with Genoa, from which a third defeat was suffered, losing 3–0. In the return leg of the derby Torino would defeat Juventus 3–0. Torino's advantage increased in the standings, gaining a maximum of six point on Inter in second place[8]. However, a pair of draws (in Trieste and Bari) allowed Inter to close the gap within four points from Torino. On 30 April 1949, the two clubs met in Milan, ending 0–0, with Torino approaching their fifth consecutive title (the record would be equaled). The team travelled to Portugal to play in a friendly against Benfica. However, upon return Torino perished in the Superga air disaster.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player GK Valerio Bacigalupo GK Dino Ballarin GK Renato Gandolfi DF Aldo Ballarin DF Virgilio Maroso DF Piero Operto DF Mario Rigamonti DF Sauro Tomà MF Pietro Biglino MF Eusebio Castigliano MF Rubens Fadini MF Luigi Giuliano

No. Position Player MF Giuseppe Grezar MF Ezio Loik MF Danilo Martelli MF Július Schubert FW Alfio Balbiano FW Émile Bongiorni FW Guglielmo Gabetto FW Ruggero Grava FW Valentino Mazzola (Captain) FW Romeo Menti II FW Franco Ossola

Youth Squad

After Superga air disaster, youth squad (primavera) disputed the last four round of the competition: they are not considered title winners due to Italian Federation (FIGC) actually assigned the championship to the senior squad.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player GK Guido Vandone DF Pietro Bersia DF Sergio Lussu DF Sergio Mari DF Umberto Motto MF Oscar Ferrari

No. Position Player MF Antonio Gianmarinaro MF Lando Macchi FW Mario Audisio FW Andrea Francone FW Giuseppe Marchetto

• Fabrizio Melegari (a cura di). Almanacco illustrato del calcio - La storia 1898-2004, Modena. Panini, 2004.
• Fabrizio Melegari e Luigi La Rocca. Storia del Campionato Italiano dal 1942-43 al 1949-50: Calciatori 1948-49. edizione speciale per "La Gazzetta dello Sport" Franco Cosimo Panini Editore, Modena, 2005.

Grande Torino