Torino Legends: Il Grande Torino, Pt. 2

By: bingitz2002 | November 10th, 2008

Despite a bit of euphoria from the fact that we have now won two of our last three games, it is looking to be a slow week for Toro, one in which we can recuperate and get ready for a difficult away trip to Sicily next Sunday in which we might see the return of Matteo Sereni. In the meantime, I’m going to continue something I started a few months ago when I started writing here and continue with my pieces on Toro history. I started with the first part of the Grande Torino legend, so today I will continue with Part 2. For those of you who need a refresher, here is Part 1. And now, enjoy Part 2, covering the war years and the first post-war scudetto:

Just as Grande Torino was rising, outside forces would delay its ascension, in a way a grim forshadowing of what was to come. Although the Italian championship had continued four years into the Second World War, the Allied invasion of Italy and heavy fighting throughout the peninsula made having a championship in the 1943-1944 season simply untenable. This did not prevent Ferruccio Novo from continuing to build the squad, bringing in quite possibly his most spectacular signing to date, Italy legend Silvio Piola. In the second half of 1943, Grande Torino played only seven friendly matches, all against northern teams. The squad had a fairly easy time of it, handily winning every match except for a dropped 5-2 decision against Genoa.

The Campionato Alta Italia underway in Milan.

1944 saw the creation of a wartime championship, the Campionato Alta Italia. Although it would much later be recognized by the FIGC as an official title (although still only “decorative”), it only involved northern teams as the Gothic Line and continued fighting made the participation of central and southern teams impossible. Torino (playing as Torino Fiat) cruised through the Piedmont section of the championship, finishing eight points clear of second-placed Juventus and scoring an astounding 78 goals in 18 games followed by a nearly as impressive 21 in 8 in the semifinal stage to easily book a passage to the final. This was largely thanks to Piola, who would go on to score 31 goals in just 22 games, one of his most prolific seasons ever. Toro did miss Menti and Grezar though, who were playing with other teams in the championship due to the war. Unfortunately for Toro, they were exhausted and not ready for what hit them in final group of three. A tired side battled valiantly against a team from La Spezia but eventually fell 2-1 in an epic encounter, with Piola grabbing Toro’s only goal. The granata rebounded with a resounding 5-2 victory of Venezia, but due to Spezia’s draw with Venezia, Spezia were proclaimed wartime champions, with Torino runners-up. Despite this defeat, it is generally not considered a break in the Grande Toro’s successive run of championships. Indeed, the FIGC only officially declared it a championship in 2002 and even then it was only a ‘decorative’ championship. Furthermore, it was not truly a national championship as only northern teams participated (central and southern teams had their own regional championships) and Torino had lost many players from the 1942-43 side that would later rejoin the team after the war.

The beginning of 1945 saw the Allies push further up the Italian peninsula, but still it was impossible to conduct a national championship. Indeed, the fighting was so heavy that only a city championship could be held in the spring with Torino, Juventus, and three company/workers teams competing. Although Toro finished second to Juventus in this very erratic championship, no trophy was ever awarded, as one of the teams withdrew, some matches weren’t even played, and the use of professional players was heavily restricted. Turin was liberated sometime in late April/early May of 1945 (hard to get an exact date on this) as the Allies pushed across the Po Valley and Mussolini was executed. German forces in Italy officially surrendered on 2 May 1945 and the long process of reconstruction began. In these difficult years it would be football, and one team in particular that would help the Italian people forget their troubles.

Aldo Ballarin

As the country reconstituted itself, President Novo was hard at work. Already having a lethal attack (despite sending Piola off to Juve), the president focused on shoring up the Toro defense. First of all, Valerio Bacigalupo was brought in from Genoa to take over in goal, while speedy fullback Aldo Ballarin (Triestina), Virgilio Maroso (from the youth squad), and Mario Rigamonti (also from the youth squad) were added to the senior squad to reinforce the defense. Novo paid a handsome sum of 1.5 million lire for Ballarin and it would prove to be worth it, with the speedy back tearing up and down the right flank throughout his career at Toro and even adding a few goals. As for the 1945-46 championship itself, the fractured nature of Italy’s infrastructure meant that the championship had to have two regional sections, with the best team in each section meeting for a final, national championship. Toro cruised through the northern section, and although they ended up finishing only three points clear of second-placed Inter, they scored thirteen more goals than the next best teams (Inter and Juve) and had the best defensive record.

If that wasn’t enough, Torino made their intentions clear at the beginning of the national finals, thrashing Roma 7-0 in Rome on 28 April 1946. Torino were up 6-0 after 18 minutes of play and took the foot off the gas after that, still managing to score one more. That performance is to this day the greatest ever away victory ever recorded in Serie A. Amazingly enough, the highlights of that game can be found on YouTube (this is actually a general sports broadcast, the highlights of the game start at 1:30):

Goals: Castigliano, Mazzola, Ossola, Ferraris, Loik, Mazzola, Grezar

Despite that spectacular opening performance, Torino was able to win the championship by only a point over Juventus, with away defeats to both Milan teams and a derby loss keeping their city rivals close. Nonetheless, performances like the Roma game and 7-1 and 9-1 victories over Napoli and Livorno, respectively, helped to ensure Torino’s place as a dominant force in Italian football. The attacking brand of football Torino played during the season earned them much respect from critics and fans alike, and the team ended up scoring 12 more goals than second-placed Juventus despite finishing only a point ahead. Castigliano, Ferraris, Gabetto, Loik, Mazzola, and Ossola all reached double digits in scoring and a legend was in the making. What came to pass over the next three years would be one of the greatest yet most tragic stories of calcio.

Torino defeats Inter 1-0 in at the Filadelfia (26 May 1946):