Four Nights in Turin

As regular readers of this blog will know, last weekend I embarked on a short weekend break to Turin, with the intention of trying to end my eight year wait to witness a Granata victory. However, as this trip was my first ever 'solo' holiday, it was also an opportunity to explore a city that could one day be my home.

Despite living in the centre of England - twenty minutes away from one of the biggest airports in the country - it is impossible to fly direct to Turin from Birmingham Airport, and therefore my day started extremely early in the morning as I had to fly first to Frankfurt, and then on to Turin.

In spite of my lack of sleep, I dropped my bags off at the excellent 'Hotel Diplomatic' (a hotel I can thoroughly recommend for anyone planning a visit) near to Porta Susa train station and went off in order to purchase my ticket for the match on Sunday.

In the evening, I met up for a couple of beers with Steve Rose, again someone who regular readers of the blog will recognise for his excellent 'Maratona and Elsewhere' column. Our conversation was an almost surreal experience, as two English men stood at a bar in the centre of Turin, but had numerous conversations about Torino - including whether Danilo D'Ambrosio's suspension could effect Alessio Cerci's effectiveness against Atalanta (I don't want to give any spoilers away at this early stage, but it didn't).

The locals also seemed to be bemused by this, and we were twice interrupted by two somewhat inebriated gentlemen who looked to be delighted to have the opportunity to speak English with genuine English people. After I was beginning to feel the effects of the two beers (I told myself this was due to the lack of food and sleep, because the alternative is that I am the biggest lightweight in the world) so I said my goodbyes to Steve, and that we would meet up again at the Maratona on Sunday afternoon.

On Friday morning I made another trip to the Stadio Olimpico in order to visit the Museo Dello Sport, that I believe was only opened in November. The entry price of €14 granted me entry to the museum - that had exhibits from all across the Italian sporting scene - and also allowed me to tour the stadium. I have been on a number of stadium tours before (most notably at the San Siro), but this tour was made to feel much more personal as it was just myself and the tour guide. 

Therefore whilst the tour was much shorter than others I have been on, it meant that only the essential areas of the stadium were covered (at the Eintracht Frankfurt stadium tour, we were forced into seeing the car parks of both the players and the officials for some strange reason). When walking round the stadium, the tour guide (I unfortunately never found out her name) mentioned that she had taken another English Torino fan around the Olimpico a few of weeks ago. As fate would have it, just before leaving the stadium I bumped into that fan - Christopher Peet, a retired Granata fan from Stafford who travelled over from England for every Torino home game.

Tour Guide, Christopher, and Myself.

In the evening I visited the Gigi Meroni monument on Corso Re Umberto, and whilst I had seen it from a distance on past visits to the city, this was the first chance I had an opportunity to see it up close and pay my respects. For those that don't know, Meroni was a skillful winger who was tragically killed in a road accident in 1967 by Attilio Romero, a man who later became Torino president in the year 2000. Meroni was only 24 years old.

On Saturday I made another visit to the Basilica of Superga, a location most famous for being where the plane carrying the illustrious 'Il Grande Torino' team crashed in 1949. Although I have visited Superga before, it really is a 'must-do' for any Torino fan in order to really comprehend the emotional impact of this tragedy.

 

Despite originally intending to visit the 'Mole Antonelliana' in the afternoon, the one hour queue meant that this was postponed until later in the evening. After entering a lift that resembles the one from the film 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' the city of Turin looks truly remarkable from 548 feet, and the first word that came out my mouth when I exited the lifted was 'wow', because the view is truly breathtaking - especially at night.

Sunday was a day of mixed emotions for me, because whilst I was excited about attending the Torino-Atalanta match, I was also a little sad that this would be my last full day in the city. I arrived at the stadium early in order to visit the merchandise stands, and after purchasing my Maratona scarf, and consuming a Salsiccia (I'm still not 100% percent certain what this is, but I believe it is some type of sausage) I entered the stadium about an hour before kick off.

Whilst I have twice attended Torino matches at the Stadio Olimpico, this was my debut in the Curva Maratona - and despite initially having reservations regarding the type of view I could expect, the atmosphere (and view) was even better than I had hoped. It also enabled my to join in with one of the most famous traditions at Italian stadia, where the announcer shouts out the first name of the each player in the starting line up, and in unison, the fans shout his surname. Whilst this has been attempted to be replicated in English stadiums, it doesn't really work - so therefore even before the match had started, it was great to partake in this tradition.

 The match itself wasn't a classic - and in all honesty this was probably a good thing - because at times it was difficult to simultaneously watch what the ultras at the front of the stand were doing (one of whom looked suspiciously like Vincenzo Iaquinta) and also keep an eye on what was happening on the pitch. Therefore had it have been an entertaining end-to-end encounter, it would have been even more impossible. Thanks to Steve's translations, I attempted to join in with the singing as much as possible, although to be honest, I usually just started singing any song that included the words 'Gobbi'  'Merda' and 'Vaffanculo', not only because I knew what they meant, but also because they were also quite fun to shout at the top of my voice.

On the pitch, Torino finally got a deserved breakthrough just before half time, as Alessio Cerci magnificently finished off a clinical counter attack. Despite continuing to dominate, fifteen minutes before full time, Atalanta equalised through German Denis' penalty. Although at the time I was convinced that Jean-Francois Gillet had not made contact with Marko Livaja, replays would later show that the Croatian striker had been touched, and that the referee had made the correct decision.

In the dying moments, when I had almost given up hope of ending my trip by witnessing a Torino victory - Matteo Darmian delivered a cross from the right hand side, Jonathas went for the ball and got absolutely nowhere near it, but it fell to fellow substitute Valter Birsa who calmly volleyed into the net. Like everyone else around me, I went ballistic, and started hugging people who two hours previously had been total strangers - but at that moment in time, it seemed to be the only way to react.

So finally I was able to see Torino actually win a match, and also end any lingering doubts that there may have been that I was actually jinxing my adopted team. I was also able to witness another tradition of the Italian game, as the players gathered together and saluted the fans who had supported them for the ninety minutes.

So there you have it, a rather long winded account of my four night trip to Turin, and one that I will certainly be repeating in the future. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everybody who I encountered on my trip (there are far too many to name) and who helped make it such a memorable trip. 

Forza Vecchio Cuore Granata!

Torino 1-0 Juve Stabia

Torino continued their impressive start to the season, as they beat a stubborn Juve Stabia side 1-0 to record their fifth consecutive victory and remain top of the Serie B table.

There was a sombre atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday afternoon as a minutes silence was held to commemorate the lives of Lorenzo Ghedi and Fabio Massimo Pozzo who tragically died after they were involved in a collision with the Torino team coach on Sunday night.

Torino fans also paid tribute to their former player Gigi Meroni, as the 15th October is the anniversary of his death. The enigmatic winger died in a road accident 44 years ago, and the man affectionately referred to as the 'La Farfalla Granata' (The Granata Butterfly) was commonly acknowledged to be one of the best players of his generation before his premature death, aged just 24.

Torino made a number of changes to the side that beat Hellas Verona last weekend, with Alen Stevanovic, Giulio Ebagua and Angelo Ogbonna all coming in to the starting eleven.

The first real chance of the match came after fifteen minutes, after nice interplay between Rolando Bianchi and Giulio Ebagua put Mirco Antenucci through on goal, but his shot was well blocked by the covering defender.

In the opening seconds of the second half, the visitors almost took a surprise lead after a mistake from Kamil Glik gave substitute Jerry Mbakogu a chance to score, but his lob went well over the bar.

Captain Rolando Bianchi almost opened the scoring for Toro, but his fierce shot from 20 yards went over the bar. Moments later, Alessandro Parisi almost came close to scoring his first goal in a Torino shirt when his free kick from 40 yards out was deflected, but Andrea Seculin in the Juve Stabia goal made a good save to deny him.

Torino came close to scoring once again, this time it was Alen Stevanovic who did well to get to the byline and cut the ball back to substitute Alessandro Sgrigna, but unfortunately for Toro, Sgrigna lent back at the vital moment, and the ball ballooned over the bar.

With ten minutes remaining, Torino finally got the breakthrough that their play deserved when the Poland International Kamil Glik delivered an inch perfect assist to find Rolando Bianchi, who peeled away from his marker to head into the corner of the net.

Despite one nervy moment when a Ferdinando Coppola clearance rebounded off a Juve Stabia player to go narrowly wide, Torino held on for their eighth victory of the season - and thanks to Padova losing to Varese on Friday night, Toro are now six points clear at the top of the league.

Forza Torino

IL GRANDE TORINO REMEMBERED

Today marks the 62nd anniversary of the Superga tragedy, an event that changed the history of Torino Football Club forever.

For those that don’t know, May 4th 1949 is a date that is etched in the memories of all Torino fans, and sadly it so for all the wrong reasons. It was on this day that the famous Il Grande Torino team perished in a airplane disaster when the team were returning from a friendly match in Lisbon. Il Grande Torino were a team truly befitting of their name, as they won an incredible five consecutive league titles and were undefeated at their home stadium Filadelfia in four of those seasons. Perhaps the most remarkable achievement of the team was the fact that in a friendly match between Italy and Hungary, Torino provided all ten outfield players for the Azzurri, a feat that will almost certainly never be repeated. Led by their captain Valentino Mazzola, Il Grande Torino dazzled their supporters with attacking football, at a time when the Italian people needed uplifting in the aftermath of the Second World War.

Sadly however, the story of Il Grande Torino has a tragic ending, but one that cemented the teams almost mythical status. Returning from a farewell match for Benfica player Francisco Ferreira in Lisbon, the plane carrying the players and officials crashed into the Basilica of Superga, situated on a hill near Turin. There were no survivors. In the aftermath of the tragedy, an estimated 500,000 people lined the streets of Turin to pay their respects for the players who had perished, with nobody quite being able to comprehend what had happened. Torino have never been able to replicate the success they achieved in the 1940s, and have only been able to win one Scudetto since, in 1976, and currently find themselves in the second tier of Italian football, a world away from the accomplishments of Il Grande Torino.

On my recent trip to Turin, I was lucky enough to visit the Torino museum in Grugliasco, a town on the outskirts of Turin. Whilst it is officially known as the ‘Museo Grande Torino’ the museum features exhibits from all aspects of Torino’s history. Whether that be memorabilia from the team’s run to the Uefa Cup Final in 1992 or a match worn shirt belonging to current captain Rolando Bianchi. However, it is the exhibits relating to Il Grande Torino that are most intriguing, and really enable the visitor to gain a real insight to how the tragedy affected not only the supporters of Torino, but the whole of Italy.

As a Torino fan, I may be biased, but after visiting the Museo Grande Torino, the other football museums that I have visited, those belonging to both AC Milan and Barcelona really do pale in comparison. Part of the reason for this is the fact that unlike at the two museums I have mentioned, where almost all of the artifacts are hidden behind glass cases, and the visitor is left to their own devices, at the Museo Grande Torino, that is not the case. Instead, I was given a tour around the museum by a guide (who thankfully spoke English, thanks again Amleto) and many of the exhibits can be touched and in some cases smelt. That brings me nicely to what was in my opinion the most remarkable exhibit in the museum, a medicine box that had been recovered from the wreckage of the plane after the Superga disaster. The incredible thing was, that whilst the impact of the crash had led to the death of 31 people, the contents of the box showed little damage, and remained pretty much intact. The box included a container of a liniment, that would of been used to treat muscle injuries, and despite being 62 years old, had still managed to retain its smell, that immediately engulfed the room and almost succeeded in transporting me back to the days of Il Grande Torino.

The museum also includes an area dedicated to former player Gigi Meroni, whose tale is once again one of immense sadness. Meroni’s style of play and playboy lifestyle led to comparisons with George Best, however in 1967, his life and career came to a premature end when he was hit by a car whilst crossing the road. He was only 24.

The history of Torino has certainly been an eventful one, but the legends of Il Grande Torino should never be forgotten, and thankfully, due to the existence of Museo Grande Torino, their achievements will continue to be acknowledged and therefore live on. Recently, every new Torino signing has embarked on a trip to the museum, and this is an appropriate step to ensure that each current player knows what it means to represent Torino.

Whilst the museum certainly is a fitting tribute to the players of Il Grande Torino, sadly despite many promises regarding its rebuilding, Filadelfia continues to be left in ruin. However, recently there has been talk of the old stadium finally being rebuilt, if only to be used as a training facility, and hopefully this will happen sooner rather than later.

Forza Torino

All pictures and videos are copyright of ‘Museo Grande Torino’, please if you have the opportunity, please visit the museum. It is open on Saturdays and Sundays, and you can find their official website here.

Video advertising the museum -

Outside the Museum.

Trumpet belonging to Oreste Bolmida, known as 'The Trumpeter of Filadelfia'.

Stands from the old stadium at Filadelfia.

A suitcase belonging to Valentino Mazzola, recovered from the wreckage of the crash.

Ticket stub from the last game played by Il Grande Torino - Against Benfica.

Car that once belonged to Gigi Meroni.

Winners medal from Torino's 1976 Scudetto Victory.

Rolando Bianchi's captain's armband - translation - I am the captain of my soul.

Here are a few pictures of what Filadelfia looks like today.