Les Lievesley joined Torquay United in 1933 on a free transfer from Manchester United and stayed at Plainmoor for four years before moving to Crystal Palace where he remained until the outbreak of the Second World War.
After the war, he embarked on a coaching
career that would see him coach Torino, who at the time were one of the most
successful club sides in Europe.
Sadly, his career was cut short by his
untimely death in the Superga air disaster that would also claim the lives of
the entire Torino side.
The son of former Arsenal and England goalkeeper Joe Lievesley, Les made his
debut for the Magpies on the opening day of the 1933-34 Division Three South
campaign against Aldershot at Plainmoor.
A strong, committed, fearless player, he
formed a solid half-back partnership with future England international Don
Welsh, who would later captain Charlton Athletic to FA Cup success in 1947.
On Boxing Day 1933, Les picked up the
dubious distinction of becoming the first Torquay United player ever to receive
a red card when he was dismissed in the Magpies’ home clash with Swindon Town.
In his first full campaign at Plainmoor,
Les helped Torquay to reach the final of the Division Three South Cup.
He left Plainmoor in April 1937, after
playing 144 games for the club and scoring five goals, to sign for Crystal Palace
where he would remain until 1939 when Europe
became engulfed in conflict with the outbreak of the Second World War.
During the War, he served in the RAF and
rose to the rank of Squadron Leader. At the end of the conflict he embarked on
a coaching career in Holland
Torino had enjoyed great success under
Novo’s reign in Italian wartime football, and he was looking for foreign
expertise to help to sustain their successes in the post war era. Hungarian
Egri Erbstein was appointed as Technical Director and Les became Trainer.
The team became known as Il Grande Torino
and they won consecutive Serie A titles and provided ten players for the
Italian national side that beat Hungary in a friendly in 1947.
However, an unfortunate twist of fate, in
the most tragic of circumstances, prevented that team from achieving its true
potential.
On May 4th 1949, the team was
travelling home by plane from Portugal, after playing against Benfica in a
testimonial game when disaster struck. The plane carrying the side diverted
from a planned landing in Milan and headed
straight for Turin.
A thick fog enveloped the city and the
mountains around it as the pilots tried in vain to find the airfield. The plane
crashed into the Superga church on a nearby hill overlooking Turin; there were
no survivors as all passengers on board the plane perished.
Les was buried with his teammates,
including Valentino Mazzola- father of future Inter Milan midfielder Sandro
Mazzola- in Turin. The team’s funeral was attended by 500,000 mourners from
across Italy and Europe.
The repercussions of the tragedy were also
felt by the Italian national side ahead of the 1950 World Cup. The Azzurri had
won the last two World Cup tournaments before the war in 1934 and 1938, and
were looking to win a hat-trick of titles. They would not win the World Cup
again until 1982.
Nine years later, English Football would
experience a similar tragedy when Manchester United- another of Les’ former
sides- lost eight players in the Munich Air Crash.
An abridged version of this article appeared in the Torquay United versus Grimsby Town programme on January 26th, 2007.
An abridged version of this article appeared in the Torquay United versus Grimsby Town programme on January 26th, 2007.
