was also a Torino player. No less than ten players were among the starters from I Granata - an Italian National team record which still stands. Sentimenti VI, the goaltender from Juventus was the only intruder. Italy would win 3-2 on two goals by Gabetto and one by Loik. The Torino block was composed of Ballarin, M a r o s o , G r e z a r, R i g a m o n t i , Ca s t i g l i a n o, Me n t i I I , L o i k , Gabetto,Mazzola, Ferraris II.
4 Swiss were to play Spain, when a
series of strange circumstances and fate, made the Iberians withdraw. This was the break the Italian dirigenti (executives) needed. And the opportunity was seized. At the head of the Federcalcio was Ottorino Barassi, and the coach for the Moschettieri, as the Italians were also affectionately referred to, continued to be Vittorio Pozzo. The maestro, had no easy task to rally the best available talent. The soccer forces were still divided between il Nord e il Sud. There was no surprise, and lots of scepticism by the tifosi of Italy’s centro-sud upon learning that the selection of players was limited solely to teams based in the north.
Pozzo, who lived in Turin, had confided on the nucleus of Torino’s granata (the team colors). Among these were the legendary Valentino Ferraris II, Loik, Mazzola, Castigliano, Grezar, Ballarin, and Maroso. The cross town rivals, Le Zebre, from Juventus, contributed the goaltender Sentimenti IV, Parola, and Piola, who was making his 31st appearance as an Azzurro. The right-winger Bavati from Bologna completed the squad. That first post war game against the Swiss ended in a tie, 4-4 after a thrilling duel. The Azzurri were down at the half 2-1 with the only
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Italian goal scored by Piola on a penalty kick. In the second half, Italy scored three unanswered goals by Loik and two by Biavati. But the Swiss had taken full advantage of a young and inexperienced Italian defense to score two goals and equalized the score. Worth mentioning is the performance of the Swiss centerforward Amado’ of Sicilian origins, who scored three of the four goals.
Il Grande Torino cuore e anima azzurra It took over a year for the Azzurri to see action again. This occurred against Austria in Milan, on December 1, 1946 in a game won by Italy 3-2. The same score decided the outcome of the following game against Switzerland, played in Florence on April 27, 1947. Pozzo decided to start no less than nine of Torino’s players. For the record, Il Toro (nickname for the Torino team) was the dominating team in Serie A. I Granata had been crowned Italian Champions by winning the Scudetto in a shortened 1942-43 season, and four consecutive titles from 1945-46 to 1948-49. Weeks after having played the Swiss, Pozzo, had to decide the final roster of the the squad who would play the powerful Hungary in Torino on May 11. The only replacement was to be Parola at center-half, with Rigamonti, who
Pozzo’s Goodbye to the Azzurri The Olympics of 1948 were held in England. Italy was invited to take part in the soccer tournament with the best amateurs it could field. Despite a promising win against the USA by a convincing score of 9-0, the Azzurrini fielded by Pozzo, faded against Denmark and lost 5-2. With this loss, the Italians were eliminated. The resignation of the legendary Vittorio Pozzo, as National Team Director soon followed and was unequivocal. He stepped down amidst relentless criticism for his old fashioned style of coaching. He went on to resume his career as sports journalist at La Stampa, the Torino newspaper. After much debate and speculation, the Federcalcio (FIGC) chose to assign the technical direction of the National team to Novo, an executive of the Torino team, Copernico, the coach from Torino, and Aebi of Inter. The latter refused, as did Pozzo, who turned down an offer to stay on as a technical consultant. With the new coaching staff in place as of January 1949, the Azzurri enjoyed two good outings. Novo and Copernico’s Azzurri, had a convincing win over Portugal 4-1 in Genova, February 27, with goals from Menti, Carapellese, Mazzola and Maroso. The second win of significance came in Madrid against Spain, 3-1. Lorenzi, Carapellese, and Amadei