Franco Ossola

Franco Ossola

Franco Ossola (right) with Cesare Gallea (left) and Antonio Janni (center)
Personal information
Full name	Franco Ossola
Date of birth	(1921-08-23)23 August 1921
Place of birth	Varese, Italy
Date of death	4 May 1949(1949-05-04) (aged 27)
Place of death	Superga, Italy
Position(s)	Wing Forward
Youth career
	Varese
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1938–1939	Varese	9	(3)
1939–1949	Torino	176	(86)
Total		184	(89)
International career
1943	Italy U21	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Franco Ossola (23 August 1921 – 4 May 1949) was an Italian footballer who played as a forward.

With 85 goals, Ossola is the ninth-highest scorer in the history of Torino behind Adolfo Baloncieri (100). He died on 4 May 1949 in the Superga air disaster when the Fiat G.212 which carried the celebrated Grande Torino team crashed into the retaining wall of the Basilica di Superga. The Stadio Franco Ossola in Varese is named after him.

His half-brother was Aldo Ossola, a basketball player of the Ignis Varese in the 1970s.

Club career

Varese

Noticed as a young boy by the coach of Varese, Antonio Janni, he played for the senior team in Serie C. Initially, Janni did not allow him to play as he intended to sell him to Serie A club Torino, but was forced to send him on the pitch because of a starting player's injury. Janni contacted Ferruccio Novo, the president of Torino, who bought him for 55,000 lire.

Torino

At Torino, he arrived at the age of 18 in 1939 and debuted in Serie A on 4 February 1940. Early in his career at Torino, he suffered from the presence of Pietro Ferraris, who occupied the left wing. He eventually became a starter with the number 11 jersey, and played 181 games and scored 85 goals in Serie A, the 1944 Campionato Alta Italia and the National Division.

He was buried at the Cimitero Monumentale in Turin.

Career statistics

Club

Season	Team	League	Appearances	Goals
1938–39	Varese	C	9	3
1939–40	Torino	A	4	0
1940–41		A	22	15
1941–42		A	13	7
1942–43		A	12	6
1944–45		CAI	24	14
1945–46		DN	30	11
1946–47		A	29	13
1947–48		A	17	9
1948–49		A	25	11
Total Torino			176	86
Total career			185	89

Honours

Club

Torino

• Serie A (5): 1942–43, 1945–46, 1946–47, 1947–48, 1948–49
• Coppa Italia (1): 1942–43

Trivia

Franco Ossola was played by Gualtiero Burzi in the television miniseries The Grande Torino.

External links

• Dario Marchetti (eds.), Franco Ossola in Enciclopediadelcalcio.it, 2011.