Superga tragedy 60th anniversary

Mr. Presentable

Today is the anniversary of possibly the worst sports tragedy ever. The obliteration of the Torino team which had won four league titles in a row, and who made up almost all of the Italy side at the time.

http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/superga.html

therecklessone

It's impossible not to draw comparisons with Munich, but Superga saw almost the entire Grande Torino squad killed (only one member who hadn't travelled for the friendly with Benfica survived) and the club never recovered from the shock, winning that years Serie A title (the season had only four games remaining, and they played their youth team in the remaining fixtures, which their opponents also did in sympathy) and one title in the 70s.

I wonder if the disaster had happened in the era of competitive European football would it have been more famous, or is it merely the fact that the tragic events in Munich are more widely known in this country because of our attachment to the English game, and because of the shared language?

Some of the records held by the team: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grande_Torino#Il_Grande_Torino

John Foot's book Calcio is a wonderful starting point for anyone interested in the team and the disaster.

One thing that does stand out in the comparison is the remarkable work done by Jimmy Murphy and others in keeping United together in the aftermath of their own loss.