On This Day: 31 Torino staff died from Superga disaster; Fabregas was born

Hi all, welcome to All Football's On This Day! Let's find out what happened today (May 4th) in football history. If you have more stories and news that happened on this day in history, feel free to post them in the comment area and share them with AFers.

On this day in 1949 - The Superga Disaster

On 4 May 1949, an airplane carrying 18 members of A.C. Torino crashed into a hill outside Turin, killing all 31 passengers. The club was founded in 1906 as part of an acrimonious split from Juventus, which led to a heated rivalry between the two sides known as the Derby della Mole.

On the day of the crash, the team were returning from Lisbon, where they had played a friendly against Benfica. The weather around Turin was poor, with rain and mist limiting visibility. As the plane approached the Turin airport, it drifted off course and crashed into a hill called Superga on the outskirts of the city. All 31 people on board died, including the 18 team members; their coach, Englishman Leslie Lievesley; his staff; the airplane's crew; and three journalists. The only Torino player not killed that day was Sauro Toma, who had missed the match against Benfica due to injury.

At the time, Torino were four points clear in Serie A with four matches left to play in the season. Torino was forced to field its youth team for the remaining matches, while its opponents fielded youth teams as well as a show of respect. Torino won all four matches to claim their fifth consecutive Scudetto, in what was certainly a small consolation for their loss. They have won only won Scudetto since, in 1976.

On this day in 1987- Cesc Fabregas was born

Fàbregas came through La Masia, Barcelona's youth academy, leaving at 16 when he was signed by Premier League club Arsenal in 2003. He broke several of the club's records in the process, earning a reputation as one of the best players in his position, and won the FA Cup in 2005.

After a protracted transfer saga, Fàbregas left London in 2011 to return to Barcelona in a deal worth up to £35 million. During his three-year spell at the Camp Nou, Fàbregas played alongside Xavi and Andrés Iniesta and won a La Liga title, the Copa del Rey, the Club World Cup, the UEFA Super Cup and two Spanish Super Cups. 

He returned to London in June 2014 to Arsenal's cross-town rivals Chelsea for a fee of £30 million, and in his first year there he helped to secure League Cup and Premier League triumphs.

On 11 January 2019, Fàbregas signed for Monaco on a contract lasting until the mid-2022.

On this day in 1904 - Schalke 04 was founded

Schalke 04, is a professional German football in Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. The "04" in the club's name derives from its formation in 1904. 

Schalke has long been one of the most popular professional football teams and multi-sports club in Germany. As of June 2018, the club has 155,000 members, making it the second-largest sports club in Germany and the fourth-largest sports club in the world in terms of membership.

Since 2001, Schalke's stadium has been the Veltins-Arena. Schalke holds a long-standing rivalry with Ruhr neighbours Borussia Dortmund, arguably one of the most widespread and well-known rivalries in German football, and matches between the two teams are referred to as the Revierderby.

On this day in 1988 - Radja Nainggolan was born

Nicknamed Il Ninja, he has spent most of his professional career in Italy, representing Piacenza, Cagliari, Roma and Inter Milan and making over 290 Serie A appearances.

A Belgium international for eight years, Nainggolan played 30 times for his country (scoring six goals) and represented it at Euro 2016.

Considered by many experts to be one of the best and most complete midfielders in Europe, due to his ability to aid his team both offensively and defensively, Nainggolan is a quick, dynamic, hard-working, physically strong and versatile midfielder, who is capable of playing in several midfield positions.

Nainggolan has smoked cigarettes during his playing career. On New Year's Eve 2018, he became the subject of strong controversy in Italy after he posted a video on Instagram cursing, drinking alcohol and smoking.

On this day in 1985 - Fernandinho was born

Fernandinho started his career at Brazilian club Atlético Paranaense before moving to Shakhtar Donetsk in 2005, where he became one of the best foreign players to ever play in the Ukraine Premier League. 

With Shakhtar, he won six Ukrainian Premier League titles, four Ukrainian Cups and the 2008–09 UEFA Cup. He was voted by the Shakhtar Donetsk fans as the best Brazilian player to ever play for the team. The scorer of the only goal in the final of the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship and a full international for Brazil since 2011, he was part of their squad which came fourth at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and also competed at the 2015 Copa América and the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

On 6 June 2013, Fernandinho became Manchester City's first signing of the summer, for a fee of £34 million. He signed a four-year deal and is understood to have waived around £4 million owed to him by Shakhtar in order to complete the transfer, as he was desperate to secure a move away from the Ukrainian club. Since moving to Man City, he has won two Premier League titles in 2014 & 2018 and four League Cup so far.