The previous season's Scudetto had been won by Torino for their 6th title and their 5th consecutive. The Granata had dominated the campoinato finishing five points ahead of Inter, ten Milan and sixteen Juventus.
It had however been a joyless victory. On May 4 the "Grande Torino" team was involved in tragic air crash on the hill above Turin, hitting the Basilica of Superga. The team were travelling back from Lisbon where they had played Benfica in a friendly. There were no survivors, 18 players, staff members, the plane crew and journalists all died. This happened when there were four games to the end of the season. Torino were four points ahead and were proclaimed champions. The Granata then played the remaining games with their youth team and the opposition in sign of respect did the same.
Italy was still under shock after this awful event but obviously the show had to go on and there was a new campionato to be played.
The summer market had seen some interesting movements. For the top clubs (top 6 plus Romans) the main novelties were:
Torino - manager Giuseppe Bigogno (Roberto Copernico T.D), 16 new players including midfielder Benjamin Santos, two Swedish forwards Pär Bengtsson and Åke Hjalmarsson plus Italian forward Attilio Frizzi.
Inter - manager Giulio Cappelli.
Signings: defender Giovanni Giacomazzi, Dutch midfielder Faas Wilkes and midfielder Renato Miglioli.
Leaving was defender Ubaldo Passalacqua.
Milan - manager Lajos Czeizler.
Signings: keeper Lorenzo Buffon, midfielder Nils Liedholm and forward Gunnar Gren.
Leaving: defender Edy Gratton, midfielder Giuseppe Antonini, forwards Riccardo Carapellese and Héctor Puricelli.
Juventus - manager Jesse Carver.
Signings, defender Alberto Bertuccelli, midfielders Romolo Bizzotto, Giacomo Mari, Rinaldo Martino, Alberto Piccinini and forwards, Danish Karl Aage Præst and Pasquale Vivolo.
Leaving, keeper Lucidio Sentimenti, midfielders Teobaldo Depetrini, Stefano Angeleri, Ugo Locatelli and Vittorio Sentimenti plus forwards Emilio Caprile and William Jordan.
Sampdoria - manager Adolfo Baloncieri.
Signings, defender Silvio Arrighini, Edy Gratton, midfielder Umberto Mannocci plus forward Mario Sabbatella.
Leaving, defender Luigi Zorzi, Argentine midfielder José Curti, Bruno Gramaglia and winger Leto Brunecchi
Bologna - manager Tony Cargnelli.
Signings, Danish midfielder Ivan Tage Jensen, forwards Carlo Matteucci and Uruguayan José Gárcia.
Leaving, Hungarian midfielder Béla Sárosi plus Argentine forward Hugo Giorgi.
Roma - manager Fulvio Bernardini.
Signings, defender Armando Tre Re, midfielder Adriano Zecca, forwards Giancarlo Bacci, Carlo, Lucchesi and Renzo Merlin.
Leaving, Argentine midfielder Vicente De Paola, Hungarian midfielder Gyula Zsengelkér and forward Omero Losi.
Lazio - manager Mario Sperone.
Signings, keeper Lucidio Sentimenti, defender Zeffiro Furiassi, midfielders Flavio Cecconi and Vittorio Sentimenti plus forward Dionisio Arce.
Leaving, keepers Uber Gradella and Marco Brandolin, midfielders Salvador Gualtieri and Paolo Todeschini plus forward Costantino De Andreis.
The Serie A started in September:
There were 3 games: Juventus won all three, including Lazio 3-1 away and Fiorentina 5-2 at home. Behind them Inter and Milan won two and drew one as did a surprising Como.
Juventus 6, Inter 5, Como 5, Milan 5, Padova 5, Atalanta 4, Torino 4, Bari 4, Fiorentina 3, Lucchese 3, Triestina 3, Novara 2, Roma 2, Sampdoria 2, Palermo 2, Genoa 2, Lazio 1, Pro Patria 0, Venezia 0.
October
There were 6 games: in the first big match Juventus defeated Milan 1-0 away but then the Bianconeri dropped their first points with two draws. Inter lost 4-2 to Fiorentina while Milan were slowed down by Lazio 0-0 at home. Lazio also picked up and won the derby 3-1.
Padova were unexpectedly second. At the bottom Bologna struggling.
Juventus 16, Padova 13, Inter 12, Milan 12, Fiorentina 11, Como 11, Torino 11, Lazio 10, Atalanta 10, Sampdoria 9, Palermo 9, Bari 9, Triestina 9, Novara 7, Lucchese 7, Genoa 6, Roma 6, Pro Patria 6, Bologna 5, Venezia 1.
November
There were 3 games: The two derbies ended Inter-Milan 6-5 and Juventus-Torino 3-1. Juventus then won the "derby d'Italia" 3-2 against Inter. Padova and Milan won two out of three and kept up, Lazio pushed up to fourth while Inter despite beating Milan fell back slightly. At the bottom not much changed.
Juventus 22, Padova 17, Milan 16, Lazio 15, Torino 15, Inter 14, Atalanta 14, Como 14, Sampdoria 13, Fiorentina 13, Triestina 12, Palermo 11, Novara 10, Lucchese 10, Bari 10, Roma 9, Genoa 8, Bologna 7, Pro Patria 7, Venezia 3.
December
There were 5 games: Juventus won the big clash with Padova 2-0 and marched on followed by Milan who also won 5 out of 5 and Inter were still clinging on. Padova cracked and slipped down as did Lazio who were overtaken by Como, Fiorentina and Atalanta. At the the other end Bari and Novara slowed down, Bologna not improving while Roma and Genoa showed some signs of life. Venezia still adrift.
Juventus 32, Milan 26, Inter 23, Fiorentina 20, Padova 20, Como 20, Atalanta 19, Torino 19, Lazio 18, Sampdoria 17*, Triestina 17, Roma 15, Lucchese 15, Palermo 14, Genoa 13, Novara 11, Pro Patria 11*, Bari 11, Bologna 10, Venezia 7.
*One game in hand
January
There were 5 games: Juventus stumbled losing two games (Lucchese and Lazio, both 1-2) Milan and Inter got closer to the leaders. Fiorentina and Lazio had a positive month while Como collapsed. In the relegation battle steps forward for Genoa and Bologna while Novara and Bari were in trouble.
Juventus 36, Milan 33, Inter 30*, Fiorentina 28, Lazio 26, Atalanta 24* Padova 24*, Torino 24, Palermo 22, Triestina 22, Roma 21*, Sampdoria 20, Lucchese 20, Como 20, Genoa 20, Bologna 15, Pro Patria 15, Bari 14, Novara 13, Venezia 9. *One game in hand.
February
There were 5 games: Milan thrashed Juventus 7-1 but then lost 2-3 to Lazio so stayed three points behind. Inter dropped a point against Venezia so the situation remained pretty much unchanged. Behind Lazio pushed up to fourth while the Roman derby ended 0-0.
Below Novara got out of the bottom two and Bologna and Genoa looked more comfortable.
Juventus 44, Milan 41, Inter 39, Lazio 31, Fiorentina 31, Torino 29, Atalanta 28,Lucchese 27, Padova 26, Sampdoria 26, Palermo 26, Como 26, Roma 25, Triestina 25, Genoa 25, Bologna 23, Novara 19, Pro Patria 18, Bari 18, Venezia 13.
March
There were 3 games: Juventus pulled away with 3 wins while Milan lost 2-5 to Atalanta but then won the derby 3-1. The big match Juventus-Inter was won 4-2 by the Bianconeri. Juventus cruising while Inter were almost out of the title chase. Behind Lazio and Fiorentina were the only ones left for fourth place. At the bottom Roma were dragged into the relegation battle with two heavy defeats (Torino 0-5 and Sampdoria 1-4) while Pro Patria were now more optimistic of avoiding the drop. Venezia were gonners and for the moment to be joined by Bari.
Juventus 50, Milan 45, Inter 40, Lazio 37, Fiorentina 37, Atalanta 32, Torino 32, Sampdoria 30, Triestina 30, Palermo 28, Como 28, Genoa 28, Lucchese 27, Padova 26, Roma 26, Bologna 25, Pro Patria 23, Novara 22, Bari 21, Venezia 13.
April
There were 4 games: Juventus still with a 4 point cushion, despite losing 0-1 to Roma, as Milan previously lost 0-1 to Genoa. Inter lost to Lazio and Torino and were definitely cut off from the frontrunners. Lazio tightened grip on 4th place and drew the direct clash with Fiorentina 2-2. Roma despite big win over Juventus were still at risk after losing three other matches. Genoa safe but still eight teams in 4 points for the last Serie B place (Bari, Novara, Pro Patria, Roma, Lucchese, Bologna, Padova and Sampdoria) as Venezia were already down.
Juventus 55, Milan 51, Inter 43, Lazio 41, Fiorentina 38, Atalanta 38, Torino 36, Como 35, Triestina 35, Genoa 34, Palermo 33, Sampdoria 30, Padova 30, Bologna 30, Lucchese 29, Roma 28, Pro Patria 28, Novara 26, Bari 26, Venezia 14.
May
There were the last 4 games: on May 7, Milan lost 0-2 to Bari and Juventus drew 1-1 with Novara, so the Bianconeri gained another point. Then beating Bologna 3-2 a week later Juventus became Italian Champions. Inter won three out of four and finish third while Lazio clinched 4th place. Down below Novara won two, plus the draw with Juventus, so were safe, Pro Patria won two (Lazio and Fiorentina) and were safe, Roma got three points and were safe while Bari, despite beating Milan 2-0, losing the last two were relegated.
Final table:
Juventus 62, Milan 57, Inter 49, Lazio 46, Fiorentina 44, Torino 41, Como 41, Atalanta 40, Triestina 40, Padova 35, Genoa 34, Pro Patria 34, Palermo 33, Sampdoria 33, Bologna 32, Lucchese 32, Novara 31, Roma 31, Bari 29, Venezia 16.
Scudetto - Juventus
Serie B - Venezia and Bari
Top scorer - Gunnar Nordahl 35 league goals