Bologna 1909 were once one of the great Italian football clubs, but that was an awfully long time ago.
In the nineteen-twenties and thirties the Greyhounds won the league title six times over, success that was forged from the goals of Angelo Schiavio and Carlo Reguzzoni. They were giants who went toe-to-toe with Genoa and Juventus. They were a big deal.
Much later, in the mid-Sixties, blessed with the brilliant Giacomo Bulgarelli, there was a brief resurrection, another Scudetto added to their cabinet. Two Coppa Italias followed a handful of years after.
Only then, in the half-century since, there has been nothing, or at least very little of substance.
In fact, for a couple of generations now Bologna’s biggest achievement has been to reside in the top tier more often than the second. Damningly, for such a famous institution, there have even been a couple of stints in Serie C too.
All of that mediocrity, all that struggle, all that merely existing, began to ebb away sometime around 2017, when Bologna got promoted and managed to secure a mid-table foothold in the top-flight, a position they maintained right up until the autumn of 2022.
It was a sign that some much-needed stability was returning to the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, even if three different figures in the dug-out in a short period of time suggested otherwise. It was tentative evidence that Bologna were becoming a force again, if within reason.
And then everything changed.
Purely and simply, the appointment of Thiago Motta as head coach has proven to be a catalyst for the Greyhounds enjoying a surprise elevation, one that has seen them subvert the Serie A odds and mount a serious challenge for a Champions League spot.
For a while, earlier this term, there were even whispers of a Leicester-style title bid.
Inheriting a team devoid of confidence after beginning last season with a winless streak, the former Barcelona, Inter and PSG defender – in only his second tenure in club management - immediately set to work on transforming Bologna’s style of play, making them more fluid and significantly more offensive.
It was a structural change that took a while to be assimilated by his new squad but when it was, they flew, picking up points with regularity and impressing with some notable performances.
Offering up a meaningful signifier of what was to come, they concluded last campaign with just two losses in 13. They finished ninth, their highest posting for two decades.
A pragmatic transfer window followed, one that focused on jettisoning some big names in Marko Arnautovic and Nicolas Dominguez, and bringing in the players Motta believed better suited his mandate.
Defender Sam Beukema was drafted in for a mere €7m from AZ Alkmaar and already his partnership with fellow newbie Riccardo Calafiori looks solid and full of promise.
Midfielder Nikola Moro meanwhile has been a steal, patrolling ahead of them.
Other stand-outs include Scot Lewis Ferguson, while on the wing Riccardo Orsolini has been a constant threat, continuing his excellent form in Emilia-Romagna. Up front, Joshua Zirkzee is crucial to everything good about this exhilarating side.
When these players gel, Bologna can be sensationally good, and to date they have gelled on an almost weekly basis.
Granted, Motta’s side are hardly over-flowing with goals, but just two defeats from their opening 17 outings speaks volumes, a terrific start that saw them hold Juventus and Napoli to stalemates and beat Lazio, Roma and Atalanta.
Not even a recent downturn can take the gloss off what has been a thoroughly positive campaign, and furthermore a thoroughly unexpected one.
Alas, the football betting doesn’t agree. It is generally felt like gravity will now take hold and Bologna will return from whence they came, to mid-table and semi-obscurity.
But from what we’ve witnessed so far, it is not a stetch to believe. Relatively new to management, and with a young side taking him at his every word, Motta might yet be responsible for one of the stories of 2023/24.
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to Alamy*
