Dino Ballarin (23 September 1925 – 4 May 1949) was an Italian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

Club career

He arrived at

Torino Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...

in 1947, the team in which his brother,

Aldo Ballarin Aldo Ballarin (; 10 January 1922 – 4 May 1949) was an Italian footballer who played as a defender. Club career Ballarin played for five seasons (166 games, three goals) in Serie A for U.S. Triestina Calcio and Torino. With Torino, he won four ...

, played as a defender. Dino arrived from the amateurs never played in any competitive games for Torino. However, he distinguished himself in the team for his dedication, which saw him first to arrive at practice and the last to leave. As a reward, his brother Aldo convinced the club to take him to

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

for a friendly with Benfica, which would be the final game of the '' Grande Torino''. The decision was a great disappointment to the second goalkeeper, Renato Gandolfi, who was notified on short notice.R. Ossola-F. Tavella, ''"Il romanzo del Grande Torino"'', Newton & Compton, Roma, 1993, pp. 281. Gandolfi did not know that this event would later save his life, as both Ballarin brothers died together in the

Superga air disaster The Superga air disaster occurred on 4 May 1949, when a Fiat G.212 of Avio Linee Italiane (Italian Airlines), carrying the entire Torino football team (popularly known as the ''Grande Torino''), crashed into the retaining wall at the back of th ...

. In memory of their deaths, the town of

Chioggia Chioggia (; vec, Cióxa , locally ; la, Clodia) is a coastal town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Venice in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Geography The town is situated on a small island at the southern entrance to the L ...

renamed its municipal stadium in honour of the two footballers. In 1949, the town of

San Benedetto del Tronto San Benedetto del Tronto is a city and ''comune'' in Marche, Italy. Part of an urban area with 100,000 inhabitants, it is one of the most densely populated areas along the Adriatic Sea coast. It is the most populated city in Province of Ascoli P ...

renamed its pitch, then used by

Sambenedettese A.S. Sambenedettese S.r.l. is an Italian association football club, based in San Benedetto del Tronto, Marche. Sambenedettese currently plays in Serie D. History Foundation The club was founded in 1923 as ''U.S. Sambenedettese''. In 195 ...

, after the two brothers. Dino Ballarin was buried in the cemetery of

, near his brother Aldo.

Trivia

Dino Ballarin was played by Matteo Taranto in the TV miniseries ''Il Grande Torino''.

Bibliography

*Nicoletta Perini e Davide Bovolenta, ''"Aldo e Dino Ballarin, uniti per sempre"'', Il Leggio, 2005

References

External links

Playerhistory.com profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballarin, Dino 1949 deaths Italian footballers Torino F.C. players 1925 births Rovigo Calcio players Association football goalkeepers Footballers killed in the Superga air disaster