03 October 2015
A change of manager, an American takeover and a dramatic play-off victory would be a neat summary of Bologna’s rollercoaster 2014/15 season.
Bouncing back from relegation to Serie B two years ago, the top-flight stalwarts sealed their return to the promised land in June, beating Pescara over two legs, meaning that Serie A will count the Rossoblu among its ranks for the 70th time.
As Delio Rossi’s men head to Turin for Sunday’s clash with Massimiliano Allegri’s Bianconeri, Juventus.com takes a look at the newly promoted side’s past, present and prospects for the coming campaign.
history
Seven-time Scudetto winners, appearing in Serie C as recently as 1993, the story of Italy’s sixth most successful top-flight club is not for the faint-hearted.
Founded in 1909 bearing the traditional red and blue colours of the city, Bologna emerged as one of the most formidable sides of the first quarter of the 20th century, winning all but one of its Serie A titles in a glorious 16-year spell between 1925 and 1941.
After a post-war era of near misses, achieving top-five finishes on nine occasions, the Rossoblu claimed their seventh and last top-flight league championship in 1964 under the management of legendary Italian coach Fulvio Bernardini.
With World Cup winner Helmut Haller in their midfield until his switch to Juventus at the end of the decade, Bologna established themselves once more as perennial title challengers right up until the mid-1970s.
Spells across all three of Italy’s professional divisions and flirtations with bankruptcy followed in the intervening 30 years as the Rossoblu struggled to maintain their success of the 1920s, 1930s and 1960s.
However, the side’s promotion to Serie A eight months after being taken over by North American owners Joey Saputo, also chairman of MLS outfit Montreal Impact, and Joe Tacopina, who left the club last month, will have Rossoblu fans hoping for a season in which they can consolidate their position in the country’s top-flight once again.
stadium
The Stadio Dall’Ara has been Bologna’s home for 88 years, replacing the club’s former ground, the Stadio Sterlino, on its completion in 1927.
As well as hosting three generations of league football, the Dall’Ara also has a history as a venue of international repute, staging five World Cup fixtures including England’s second-round win over Belgium in 1990.
The 38,279 capacity arena was also the site of a peculiar record a few years later, with the Three Lions involved once more: David Gualtieri’s strike for minnows San Marino after 8.3 seconds was the fastest in World Cup qualifying history.
manager
In an 18-year career with over 374 games as a manager under his belt, Rossoblu boss Delio Rossi is one of Italy’s most experienced coaches.
Beginning his journey with Salernitana, solid showings at Lecce and Atalanta earned the 54-year old the top job at Lazio in the summer of 2005.
In his most successful spell in the dugout to date, Rossi guided the Rome club to an impressive third place berth in 2006/07, earning the Biancoceleste a place in the following season’s Champions League as a result.
After two back-to-back mid-table finishes, the Rimini-born coach rounded off his time in the capital in style, lifting the Coppa Italia as his side prevailed over Sampdoria, a team he would manage three years later, on penalties.
Moving to Sicily the following autumn, Rossi continued to work his magic at Palermo, remarkably inspiring the Rosaneri to within two points of a place in the Champions League play-off round.
The story was much the same the following year and despite being replaced by Serse Cosmi and rehired in the space of eight weeks at the turn of the year, the ex-Foggia midfielder secured European football once more before departing for Fiorentina later in the year.
Failing to reach the heights of his previous feats at Lazio and Palermo, Rossi faced quick dismissals from the Viola and then Sampdoria before arriving in Bologna this summer with the task of preserving the historic club’s top-flight status.
how are they looking for sunday?
Following defeats from their opening six league games, Bologna have received a tough welcome back to Serie A. With just one win to their name, coming against fellow new boys Frosinone on Matchday 4, Delio Rossi’s men currently sit second from bottom.
Despite a rocky start, the Rossoblu will still have reasons to be optimistic for the coming campaign. Following the arrivals of Mattia Destro from Roma, ex-Bianconero Emanuele Giaccherini on loan from Sunderland and youngsters Amadou Diawara and Erick Pulgar, Bologna have all the makings of a competitive squad.
Catching the most attention so far though has been fellow new signing Anthony Mounier. After swapping Montpellier for Bologna over the summer, the French winger has scored two of his team’s three league goals so far this term, including that valuable winner at home to Frosinone.
As for Sunday’s encounter at Juventus Stadium, with a record of just five victories in 68 trips to Turin, form would suggest that the Rossoblu might have to wait until after the international break to pick up a second three points of the new campaign.
However, with a tactically astute manager in Rossi and a proven goalscorer leading the line in Destro, tomorrow’s visitors are not to be underestimated.
