Leslie Lievesley (July 1911 – 4 May 1949) was an English football player and manager. During his playing career, his regular position was at full-back. Born in Staveley, Derbyshire, Lievesley started his career as an amateur with Rossington Main Colliery, where his father Joe was playing at the time while working at the nearby coal mine, following spells at

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

and Arsenal. Leslie moved to

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...

in 1929. After scoring 21 goals in 66 games, he was signed by Manchester United, but played with them during one of their less successful eras, when they were a

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third t ...

side. He then went to Chesterfield in March 1933, spent four seasons at

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

and two at

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

. Following the start of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

in 1939, Lievesley joined the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

, where he became a parachute trainer and dispatch officer. Following the war he became a coach in the Netherlands at Heracles Almelo, then in 1947, after turning down an offer from Marseille in France, transferred to Italian club

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 ...

as youth team coach. He coached the Italian national team at the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

and became first-team coach at Torino that year. In 1949 he had been offered a contract to coach rival team Juventus, when on 4 May he was one of 31 fatalities 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 ...

that killed almost the entire Torino squad, when they were in the process of winning the

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...

title. He had previously survived two air crashes in the war and one in 1948 when travelling with the Torino youth team. As well as his father, Joe, Lievesley's brothers Dennis and

Ernest Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People * Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor * Ernest, ...

, and cousin

Wilf Wilf is a masculine given name, most commonly a diminutive form of Wilfred or Wilfrid. It is also a nickname and a surname. People Given name * Wilfred Arthur (1919–2000), Australian World War II fighter ace * Wilf Barber (1901–1968), Engli ...

were all professional footballers.

Honours

Manager

Torino *

: 1948–49

Individual

* Torino F.C. Hall of Fame: 2019

References

External links

MUFCInfo.com profile
1911 births 1949 deaths People from Staveley, Derbyshire English footballers Association football defenders Manchester United F.C. players Rossington Main F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. wartime guest players English Football League players Torino F.C. non-playing staff Heracles Almelo non-playing staff Torino F.C. managers Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Air Force airmen English football managers English expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in the Netherlands English expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate football managers in Italy English expatriate sportspeople in Italy Victims of the Superga air disaster {{England-footy-defender-1910s-stub