Operto came from Casale in the summer of 1948 , after two good seasons with four goals . He was not yet 22 years old when he joined the '' Grande Torino '' , discovered by Mario Sperone , who made several pressures on the leadership to have him at Torino . Due to Virgilio Maroso 's injury , Operto found room in the team in the first matches of the 1948 – 49 championship . He debuted in Turin 's internal race against Roma at the '' Stadio Filadelfia '' on 3 October 1948 . Torino won 4 – 0 , and Operto 's performance impressed even those who did not know him yet . At the end of the season he collected 11 appearances ; Maroso 's return to the club for a long time stopped him from playing with more continuity . With Guglielmo Gabetto , he was the only original Torinese in the team . Although he did not play much , he was summoned for the friendly match between Torino and Benfica . He lost his life on the return trip from Lisbon with his teammates in the Superga air disaster on 4 May 1949 . He was the younger brother of player Giovanni Operto . Piero Operto was buried at the '' Cimitero Monumentale '' in Turin
Superga air disaster
Superga air disaster
Piero Operto