Ruggero Grava (26 April 1922 – 4 May 1949) was an Italian born

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

striker. He moved to France at the age of 1. He began his playing career with Amiens AC and played for EF Nancy-Lorraine, EF Bordeaux-Guyenne,

FC Girondins de Bordeaux Football Club des Girondins de Bordeaux (), commonly referred to as Girondins de Bordeaux ( oc, Girondins de Bordèu) or simply Bordeaux, is a French professional Association football, football club based in the city of Bordeaux in Gironde (de ...

and

CO Roubaix-Tourcoing Club Olympique de Roubaix-Tourcoing was a football club based in Roubaix, France. The team was founded in 1945 in a merge of three clubs: Excelsior AC Roubaix, RC Roubaix and US Tourcoing. In the 1946–47 season, the club won the Division 1. ...

in France. In 1948, he moved to

Torino F.C. Torino Football Club (), commonly referred to as Torino or simply Toro, is an Italian professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont. They currently play in Serie A. Founded as ''Foot-Ball Club Torino'' in 1906, Torino are among the mos ...

, with another Frenchman of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

descent, Émile Bongiorni of

RC Paris Racing Club de France Football (, also known as Racing Paris, RCF Paris, Matra Racing, Racing Club, or Racing) is a French association football club based in Colombes, a suburb of Paris. Racing was founded in 1882 as a multi-discipline spor ...

.Le désastre de Superga,wearefootball.org
/ref> They both died 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 ...

on 4 May 1949.

Honours

Club

;Roubaix-Tourcoing *

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

: 1946–47 ;Torino *

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 Coppa ...

: 1948–49

References

A tribute to Roger Grava
1922 births 1949 deaths People from the Province of Pordenone French footballers Italian footballers Italian emigrants to France Association football forwards FC Girondins de Bordeaux players Ligue 1 players Torino F.C. players Serie A players CO Roubaix-Tourcoing players EF Nancy-Lorraine players EF Bordeaux-Guyenne players Footballers from Friuli Venezia Giulia Footballers killed in the Superga air disaster {{Italy-footy-forward-1920s-stub