A 100-year long legend

di Andrea Rosselli

As usual on Wednesdays, today Toro sustained a double training session at the Centro Sisport: no major worries for coach Alberto Zaccheroni, who worked with the entire roster.

The Granata are preparing next Sunday's home match against Empoli, which is scheduled precisely in correspondence to the Centenary: in fact, it was on December 3rd 1906 that Swiss businessman Alfredo Dick and other 22 gentlemen founded Torino Football Club.

Dick was the former chairman of city rivals Juventus, but he decided to leave the club towards the end of the year 1905, as the Bianconeri's board was in turmoil. Dick immediately contacted the other Turin team, that's to say FC Torinese, which was founded in 1894 but was already on the decline and overwhelmed (and some say hampered on purpose, maybe the real reason for Dick's departure) precisely by Juve: in fact, FC Torinese didn't even join the 1905 championship and were close to the definitive extinction. Following his resignation from Juve, Mr. Dick kept the club alive with a solid financial contribution and after a few weeks he made the final decision: the foundation of a brand new club.

It was a frozen night, that December 3rd 1906, and the meeting took place in a smoky hall of the "Birreria Voigt", one of the most famous Turin cafes. Apart from Mr. Dick, the invited (only six of whom were Italians) were a few former Juventus' board members and players who decided to follow him in the new adventure, and the representatives of FC Torinese. After a few hours Torino FC had officially seen the light, with former FC Torinese vice-president Hans Schoenbrod appointed as the first chairman

President Urbano Cairo has planned a long day of celebrations, starting a 1 PM at the Stadio Olimpico (that's to say two hours before the kickoff against Empoli) with a show introduced by Granata presenter Piero Chiambretti and finishing at midnight precisely at the former Birreria Voigt (now called Bar Norman), the place where the Toro legend was born.