Between Bologna and Bologna it is a question of alchemy

Bologna is working wonderfully this year. THE Scored 22 points in 14 races, the string of 10 consecutive useful results (which hadn’t happened since 1980) and the third-best defense in the Championship are just an inevitable and pleasant consequence. And also the seventh place in the table, which, if Lecce hadn’t equalized yesterday in such a daring way in the 99th minute, would have been alone in fourth place in the table. “Bologna is a rule,” Luca Carboni sang, following the music. He who relies on the magic of the Emilian capital to confirm the validity of the rule.

«The Bologna Rule is magic that no one can explain. The uniqueness that the Bolognese, but also the many who come from outside, recognize in this city but which no one can express. They always asked us the following: But What is special about Bologna?? Why Dalla, Lolli, Carboni, Cremonini etc.? And we never know the answer. In this song I’m looking for that answer and I can’t find it…”

Luca Carboni in La Repubblica

That’s it. There is an illogical and sensory sphere that makes Bologna a unique city. This also applies to football, which is nothing other than a mirror of society. Because it’s good in Bologna. In particular. Just walk through the streets and colonnades and breathe in life and life, the positive and the overwhelming. So does the environmental factor affect the results of Bologna football? Yes and no. If it was just about the environment, all vintages wouldn’t matter. Without this environment, however, the season would not have been so positive.

Because beyond the solid presidency, the team designed and built by an old fox like Giovanni Sartori, the influence of a very good coach like Thiago Motta (all aspects that we can and should come back to, but which are not the focus of today discussion). ) Today’s Bologna is nourished by numerous Functional elements that catapult him to the top of the biggest national sport. Including without a doubt the atmosphere actually created in Casteldebole.

A lot of things start with a business-related company, because foreign ownership doesn’t necessarily just mean thrift and enrichment. Even Joey Saputo, the fourth foreign president in Bologna’s history, who invested in football and secured the Rossoblù nine consecutive Serie A appearances, now admits: “It’s no longer just a business matter, it’s something that touches my feelings». This Saputo, who played ice hockey as a child in Canada, now begins to get excited with clear eyes as he looks at Dall’Ara.

“On the evening of the second leg of the Serie B playoff final, I was really excited and fully understood what football means to the Italians and especially to the people of Bologna: people were nervous and I was too, I remember the crossbar in Pescara .” the last minute and then the fans on the pitch and the crying of the players, at the end of a journey full of commitment and sacrifice. It’s not the same here in the MLS. The passion of that packed stadium and the emotion of that game really taught me a lot.

Joey Saputo at the BFC Academy webinar

Thiago Motta also understood that Bologna is passionate and overwhelming, and although he (probably) has a great career ahead of him away from the Emilian capital, he understood and admitted how much the general climate influenced the Rossoblù season. Like at the end of the win against Lazio, when he was enthusiastic the empathy created between fans and players. For this reason, the combination of support and pitch makes Bologna a unique place. In addition to the Dall’Ara pitch, which is one of the best in Europe in terms of drainage capacity and the compactness of the pitch, a romantic and impetuous harmony is created in the stands.

Around 25,000 spectators were present against Lazio Rome. The magic of Dall’Ara is an experience you should try at least once in your life, even if you are neutral. It will be the position of the structure, its shape, the walls, the beautiful views, the colors, the smells or perhaps the passion that can be felt in the Rossoblù compartments. Maybe even the history of this stadium. Ninety minutes of infatuation that can intoxicate, recharge and transport those who watch and play. When it starts”the upcoming year“ by Lucio Dalla, so you feel like you’re in paradise.

«Aaaah Lucio Dalla, so much stuff! I’m learning all his songs by heart, I started with “The Year to Come” and haven’t stopped since, like the good bolognese I feel like now. They make me feel good», said Musa Barrow, an acquired Bolognese, and as he said goodbye to Arabia, he took to his Instagram profile to thank a square that he will carry in his heart forever. Because the players pass, but Bologna and Bologna stay – and they leave something in you.

And then we understand how much Bologna is a great place of Italian football, and how much this character influences and resists results, as an intangible but profound factor rooted in the soul of the Rossoblù people (the same feeling can be felt at Turin, now through the management of Cairo weakened, but this is still a great place, these are things you can feel). That’s why certain shirts weigh heavy, and that’s why even someone like Domenico Maietta, native of Calabria, adopted Bolognese (96 appearances for the Rossoblù), spoke to us like that.

“Let me be clear: Bologna is not a place, it is THE place. When I talk about Bologna, my heart swells. It’s difficult to make a player understand when a jersey and a city come to mind. Bologna is a fascinating place, rich in history and culture. Few people know that my grandfather was a Bologna fan. Woe to whoever touched it. There’s something magical about the thought that his nephew would have played in that jersey. He would be overjoyed. Even now I am moved when I talk about Bologna and Bologna.”

Domenico Maietta at Contrasti Magazine

The relationship with the Bolognese fans is also something special for the members of the current squad. Just think of Joshua Zirkzee, who appeared in Gazzetta dello Sport just last week he explained: «I have never felt as loved in football as I do today (Sentence that you don’t hear every day in the world of football, editor’s note). When I walk through the center of Bologna, many people stop me and we talk. I always try to play well because I don’t want to disappoint people». It almost seems like football from the pastwhere that star distance between fans and players hasn’t been established yet and where things happen more naturally.

Finally, the dressing room, because the excellent synergy with the city and the fans would not be enough if the spirit in the group was not high. It will be the positive results, it will also be the right connection with society. However, there is much to be grateful for Thiago Motta, who inspires and spreads performance orientation and coherence with his values. Just think of the constant changing of the captain’s armband. Everything useful, nothing indispensable. And then the infinitely even pulse of the situation. The Italian-Brazilian believes it is essential to constantly work with determination and credibility on the leadership and mentality of the group, the dressing room, so that we row together on the same page.

“It is also pretty“, he announced in a press conference on this matter Calafiori bulldozer. And the group reciprocates with enthusiasm.

Aebischer, the indispensable one, spoke about his coach like this: “Sometimes it’s like a older brother». The climate is positive, calm and i Footballers also seem to have fun away from the green rectangle. The beautiful scene during the Italian Cup victory against Hellas Verona is proof of this. Van Hooijdonk, one of those who played less, scores and… De Silvestri reinvents himself as a speaker for one night. He’s the one who spells Sydney’s name when the Rossoblù fans celebrate. All with a radiant smile. Non-trivial gesture from one of the most experienced of the group, useful for the integration of one of the emerging players.

In short, these guys seem like they get along well. And it’s hard not to feel sympathy for a team that, beyond individual merits (coach, sports director, players), has created a magical alchemy between Bologna and Bologna. Clear and sensual. Ultimately, the truth is that there is no formula. Bologna and Bologna work. I never like this season, To the delight of Rossoblù fans.

“However, I knew the place with its important history and its fans: a very pleasant surprise when I was welcomed. I would like to underline this from both society and the environment. It was like I had always been here, like I was in one large family».

Giovanni Sartori at TMW

There must also be a reason why everyone or almost everyone expresses themselves in this way. And while back then the tactical merits of Thiago Motta, Sartori’s scouting, the foresight of the owners and the technical values ​​of the players were rightly highlighted, today we just wanted Homage to the city. On a large and historic pitch that, as long as tradition plays a role in the world of football (and not only), can drive the team. Of course, here’s to a peaceful release, but perhaps this year also to something more.