Giuseppe Rigamonti

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Lore & Background

Giuseppe Rigamonti was part of the Grande Torino, the team that won five consecutive Serie A titles between 1942 and 1949 (not counting the 1944 Campionato Alta Italia, which the FIGC later gave only honorary value to Spezia). The typical starting lineup of that side was: Bacigalupo; Ballarin; Maroso; Grezar; Rigamonti; Castigliano; Menti; Loik; Gabetto; Mazzola; Ossola. Rigamonti played as a centre-half, anchoring the defence in a team that also won the Coppa Italia in 1943, becoming the first Italian side to achieve the league and cup double in the same season. The Grande Torino's players formed the backbone of the Italy national team, at one point fielding ten players simultaneously for the Azzurri. The team's success ended on 4 May 1949, when the Fiat G.212 airliner carrying the whole team crashed against the retaining wall of the Basilica of Superga in Turin. The crash was attributed to dense fog and spatial disorientation due to a faulty altimeter in the cockpit. The team was returning from a friendly with Benfica played in Lisbon. The crash killed the entire team, reserve players, coaches Egri Erbstein and Leslie Lievesley, two club officials, the club masseur, three journalists, and the four crew members.

In Their Own Story

On 4 May 1949, the Fiat G.212 airliner carrying the whole Torino team crashed against the retaining wall of the Basilica of Superga in Turin. The crash was attributed to dense fog and spatial disorientation due to a faulty altimeter in the cockpit. The team was returning from a friendly with Benfica played in Lisbon. Among those killed was Giuseppe Rigamonti, along with the entire team, reserve players, coaches Egri Erbstein and Leslie Lievesley, two club officials, the club masseur, three journalists, and the four crew members.

Reader's Guide

Giuseppe Rigamonti | Torino FC, 1940s | Centre-half. Role in the Grande Torino: Rigamonti was the centre-half in the typical starting lineup of the Grande Torino, the team that won five consecutive Serie A titles between 1942 and 1949. The lineup was: Bacigalupo; Ballarin; Maroso; Grezar; Rigamonti; Castigliano; Menti; Loik; Gabetto; Mazzola; Ossola. He was part of the defensive unit that helped Torino become the first Italian club to win the league and Coppa Italia double in the same season (1943). Why he is granata forever: Rigamonti died in the Superga air disaster on 4 May 1949, along with the entire team. He is remembered as a member of the greatest side in Torino's history.

Did You Know?

• Giuseppe Rigamonti was the centre-half in the Grande Torino's typical starting lineup: Bacigalupo; Ballarin; Maroso; Grezar; Rigamonti; Castigliano; Menti; Loik; Gabetto; Mazzola; Ossola.
• He was part of the Grande Torino that won five consecutive Serie A titles between 1942 and 1949.
• Rigamonti and the entire team died on 4 May 1949 when their Fiat G.212 airliner crashed against the retaining wall of the Basilica of Superga in Turin.
• The crash was attributed to dense fog and a faulty altimeter in the cockpit.
• The team was returning from a friendly match against Benfica in Lisbon when the crash occurred.