Ezio Loik (; 26 September 1919 – 4 May 1949) was an Italian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. Born in

Fiume Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...

, Loik began his career with

Fiumana Unione Sportiva Fiumana or U.S. Fiumana was an Italian football club based in the present-day Croatian city of Rijeka and the predecessor of HNK Rijeka. The club was active between 1926 and 1945, at the time when the city was part of the Kingdo ...

. He made his

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 ...

debut with

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

in 1937, and after three seasons, moved to

Venezia Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The islan ...

. In Venice, he formed a notable partnership with

Valentino Mazzola Valentino Mazzola (; 26 January 1919 – 4 May 1949) was an Italian footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or forward. Considered one of the great number 10s in the history of football and, according to some, the best Italian footba ...

, and won the

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

in 1941. The following season, he moved to

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 ...

, where he immediately won the domestic double and five consecutive Serie A titles. At international level, Loik represented the Italy national team. He died in the 1949

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 ...

, along with the whole Grande Torino team.

Club career

Loik was born in

(then part of Italy, current Rijeka, Croatia). He played as a

, debuting for U.S. Fiumana aged 17 in the 1936–37

serie C The Serie C () is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing body that runs the Serie C. The unification of the Lega Pro ...

tournament. After three seasons in

with

A.C. Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional Association football, football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 ...

, he moved to

, where he obtained a third place and a

in 1941. He moved to

in 1942, where he formed a notable midfield duo with

, who had also previously played for Venezia. With the ''Grande Torino'' side, Loik won five consecutive Serie A '' scudetti'' and one further Coppa Italia (1942–43), until dying with most of the team in the

near

Turin 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. The ...

, on 4 May 1949, which also made up much of the Italian national team at the time.

International career

Loik was also capped nine times for the Italy national football team between 1942 and 1949, scoring four goals.

Honours

;Venezia *

: 1940–41 ;Torino *

: 1942–43, 1945–46, 1946–47, 1947–48, 1948–49 *

: 1942–43 ;Individual * NK Rijeka all time XI

References

External links

Statistics at Enciclopedia del Calcio website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loik, Ezio 1919 births 1949 deaths Footballers from Rijeka Italian footballers Torino F.C. players A.C. Milan players Venezia F.C. players Serie A players Serie C players Italy international footballers U.S. Fiumana players Association football midfielders Footballers killed in the Superga air disaster