May 4th marked the 72nd anniversary of the Superga tragedy

On May 4, 1949, what everyone remembers as the Superga tragedy occurred in Turin. At 17.03:212 p.m., the Fiat G.31 of the ALI airline, registered I-ELCE, with the entire Grande Torino football team on board, returning from Lisbon, where it had played a friendly match against Benfica, crashed into the wall of the rear embankment of the Basilica of Superga, which stands on the Turin hill; there were 72 victims, including the Rijeka footballer Ezio Loik. 12 years after that tragedy, we want to remember him with a class photo in which he appears still very young. It was taken on June 1937, XNUMX in Rijeka. The class is the second teacher training class, and it portrays, among others, Alfredo Spadoni (last on the left in the penultimate row), father of Arsenio, who published the photo on Facebook.

Ezio Loik is the seventh from the right in the same row or the fifth from the left. In 1937 at the Fiume Teacher Training Institute “Sedes Sapientiae” in Via dei Gelsi, recalls the Fiume native Rodolfo Decleva, the director was Stehle Madre Benedicta, Abbess OSB. The only male teachers were Don Girolamo De Martin (teacher of mathematics and physics) and Prof. Arturo Negovetich (teacher of Italian and Latin).

Ezio Loik was born in Fiume on September 26, 1919. He made his debut with Leonida and then moved to Fiumana to later play for Milan, Venezia and Torino. He arrived at Milan at a very young age, just 18. In his debut season (1937-38) he found little space: he played just six games, but more than enough to show what he was made of. He scored four goals as a midfielder, but above all he showed great technical skills and a notable personality. He remained at Milan for three seasons (playing 63 games and scoring 13 goals between the Championship, Italian Cup and Mitropa Cup); then he moved to Venezia and finally to Torino and the national team.

 

Loik came from a poor family. His father worked as a laborer at the former Silurificio, in the war material industry. He had two brothers: Egeo and Ervino.

Ezio's story has also been told in a book, written by his daughter Mirella and titled "Mio Papà Ezio Loik". A fascinating volume co-authored with Corrado Gavinelli, published by the arabAFenice* publisher, which recalls not only Loik's private life, but above all the network of relationships brought to life also by a splendid gallery of images. The introduction was written by Sandro Mazzola.

 

Source: The Voice of the People