Chapecoense plane crash: What the Brazil club can learn from Torino FC’s tragedy

Chapecoense plane crash: What the Brazil club can learn from Torino FC’s tragedy

Priyansh December 7, 2016, 10:20:18 IST

Now that it has been more than a week since the Chapecoense squad was nearly wiped out in a plane crash, one begins to wonder at the enormity of the task that lies ahead of the club.

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Chapecoense plane crash: What the Brazil club can learn from Torino FC’s tragedy

Now that it has been more than a week since the Chapecoense squad was nearly wiped out in a plane crash, one begins to wonder at the enormity of the task that lies ahead of the club. How does one move on from a tragedy of monumental proportions? It is not just that few players have left the club; almost the entire family has been wiped out. The Copa Sudamericana title, which has been awarded to Chapecoense, will only have symbolic significance. Those who are alive and connected to the club will feel the emptiness for the weeks, months and years to come.

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How does one recover from such a catastrophe? Does one ever really recover? Does one even need to recover? Maybe, the absence of the players who had brought fame to this club will drive the next line of Chapecoense footballers forward. Or maybe not. The tragedy could just become a heavy cross to bear.

Players of Chapecoense that didn't travel to Colombia pay tribute to teammates at the Arena Conda stadium in Chapeco, Brazil. Reuters

If the club is unable to move past the disaster, there will be no shame in that. For life does not prepare us to deal with incidents like this. How could one possibly anticipate a tragedy which decimates the foundations of an institution? The best one can do is respond to it. There are no training sessions to cope with a flight crash.

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Perhaps, it might be helpful to learn the story of club which never really recovered from a plane disaster – Torino FC. On 4 May 1949, a flight carrying 31 passengers crashed into the wall behind the Basilica of Superga in Turin. Nobody survived the accident. The Torino squad was returning from a friendly match in Lisbon. Few weeks later, its youth team players confirmed a fifth straight Serie A title as their opponents generously fielded their junior sides in the remaining games. Since 1949, though, Torino has won the scudetto just once – in 1975-76.

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Only one player survived, Sauro Toma who was forced to stay back due to a knee injury. But the painful experience never left him and he retired at the age of 25 in 1950. In his book, Toma wondered “But can you be alive if you carry death in your heart?”

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The three Chapecoense players who survived will need all their might to overcome this tragedy. Those who have departed will be remembered, as they should. But their memories should not be an obstacle for the future.

Here again, Torino’s example is worth discussing. Every year, on 4 May, a memorial service is held at the Basilica for those who were killed in the Superga crash. It has become an occasion to celebrate Torino’s glorious past, a period in which it could legitimately claim to be Italy’s best football team. Juventus and Internazionale were rich but in the ‘40s, it was Ernest Egri Erbstein’s side that dominated the domestic competitions like never before.

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Such was the collective outpouring of grief that many South American football associations called 4 May a ‘Day of Football’, the impression left by Torino’s performances on the continental tour previous summer retaining its potency. In fact, River Plate even travelled to Italy for a friendly match which raised important funds for a club in crisis. Their friendship extended to the use of each other’s home colours for away kits in the following decade.

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Torino’s legacy for Italian football ran deep. Under the guidance of their manager Egri Erbstein, the side set new standards for preparation and planning. The club established feeder networks with smaller clubs much before it was considered to be common practice. This allowed Torino the right to first refusal on the best talents harnessed by those teams.

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Erbstein was ahead of his time in other ways too. As Dominic Bliss’ biography of the Hungarian coach details, he was among the first trainers to provide statistical data on the player’s physical condition. After he brought the club’s attention to the value of southern fruit and vegetables, Torino began to import them. Such emphasis on players’ nutrition was unheard of back then.

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Tactically as well, Torino was remaking the football order in Italy. National team manager Vittorio Pozzo’s metodo or the W-W formation had been in vogue following the country’s successive World Cup titles in the 1930s. But Erbstein surprised teams by implementing Herbert Chapman’s W-M system or the 3-2-2-3. With the addition of a centre-back, Torino proceeded to setup a mid-field quadrilatero, which had the perfect attributes for its counter-attacking style.

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Erbstien described the quartet in the following words. “The quadrilatero, which represents the cornerstone of the sistema (system), is made up of willing and snappy athletes, good hitters with an efficient head for the game.” Skipper Valentino Mazzola was the leader of the pack and his presence in the midfield was a reference point for the rest of the side. Giuseppe Grezar, Eusebio Castigliano and Ezio Loik formed the quadrilatero with Mazzola.

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It was not just about Torino’s overwhelming success or the mind-boggling numbers amassed by the side. The significance of the club for the city of Turin was immense as well. Despite the bombings from both sides, football had never stopped in Turin during the Second World War. In fact, Torino’s home ground Stadio Filadelfia was among the damaged sites but local cup competitions went on even when the fascist forces were nearing their defeat.

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It has been historically established that the Torinese people had shown little affection for Benito Mussolini’s regime. However, the damage caused was substantial and it was the club’s success which helped them to recuperate. Torino’s achievements once ensured that ten of its players were named in the Italian national side’s starting eleven, which was a world record. The club’s then president Ferrucio Novo did his bit by using his contacts at Fiat who employed the players as workers in the munitions factory during the War. This ensured the players played together over the weekend.

Erbstein, though, was unable to ever complete a full season with the club. His Jewish background meant he had to constantly move homes during the War years. However, he could not keep himself away from the club he dearly loved. His friendship with Novo meant that the two remained in contact even after Erbstein was forced to leave Torino in 1938.

Upon his return in 1946 as a ‘Technical Director’, the coach ensured continuation of the club’s success which, among other things, brought an unbeaten run at home for 93 games. Erbstein’s personal obstacles had shaped him into a man known for his generosity. After multiple separations and near-escapes for his family, the Erbsteins had finally found a home in Torino.

But in 1949, Egri left his loved ones in the flight crash. It was indeed remarkable that the suitcases of everyone on flight were found in proper condition even though the bodies were mangled. Suzanna Erbstein, the coach’s daughter, poignantly recalled the remains of his father’s possession in Bliss’ book.

“When I found his suitcase in the ruins of the aeroplane, my heart gave a throb. Not only was the suitcase perfectly intact, but so was everything inside, including the glass container of his aftershave lotion. The suitcase was mine. I lent it to my father because he needed a bigger one this time, saying, ‘But I want it back…’ So he remained faithful, as always, to his promises.”

It was Erbstein’s courage and generosity which marked out the halcyon days of Torino. About 500,000 people attended the funeral following the Superga tragedy. The worldwide reaction to the Chapecoense disaster suggests that the world will once again offer unqualified support to the team and the families that are suffering.

Torino could never bring Il Grande Torino back, but the memories of that side continue to illuminate the lives of people around the club. The histories of the Chapecoense players will also continue to exist on this planet. They are alive in the hearts and dreams of those whose lives they made cheerful.

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