Raise your hand if you would have bet on Bologna in Europe in July. Or rather: who would have bet on arithmetic qualification for the Europa League with four games to go. Or better yet: who would have bet on the fight for a place in the Champions League together with Juventus, Atalanta and Roma. Honestly, I think you can count on one hand the people who actually believed all this. The reality, however, is this: Bologna is in full swing to qualify for the Champions League after having already secured a place in the EL. This alone would be enough to summarize the extraordinary season of the rossoblù, led by a man who forcefully entered the club’s history.
Bologna with destiny in its hands
So thank you Hellas for this early gift: the 2-1 against Fiorentina, thanks to goals from Lazovic and Noslin, was the great joy of the Sunday in Bologna. To tell the truth, even if Fiorentina had found the equalizer in the final minutes, nothing would have changed for Bologna. Now the rossoblù can no longer be reached by the Italian team, which is 14 points away with only 3 races remaining in the season. Furthermore, the draw between Roma and Juventus keeps the rankings almost unchanged: the Bianconeri at +2 and the Giallorossi at -4. In a nutshell, if we can say so, everything that will arrive between now and the end of the championship will be dripping fat. To understand better: Bologna’s goal is the Champions League, but in the worst case scenario it will be the Europa League. Not bad, in short.
Calm on the streets of Bologna
No celebrations in the city or on official social media: Everyone is extremely focused on the last big effort. Absolutely understandable because with a finish line so close and destiny in one’s hands, it would be a shame to sit on one’s laurels. But there’s no need to worry: every member of the staff and team is well aware of what’s at stake and all attention is focused on these last 3 days.
Thiago has the chance to write another piece of club history: in any case, however, the Italian-Brazilian coach has already entered the inner circle of coaches who led Bologna to play for a continental cup over the last half century.
The recent European history of rossoblù
The arcades of Bologna hadn’t had a European feel for a while. Quickly reviewing some dates, Gigi Maifredi took Bologna to the UEFA Cup in the ’89-’90 season, while Ulivieri in ’97-’98 he won the Intertoto. In 1999 Bologna was eliminated in the third round by Galatasaray in what was the UEFA Cup, now the Europa League. He sat on the Bologna bench Francesco Guidolinwho arrived during the current season to replace Sergio Buso.
In the 1998-1999 season, however, Carletto Mazzone and his Bologna were eliminated in the semi-finals by Olympique Marseille. However, by winning the double play-off against Inter at the end of the championship, the rossoblù secured a place in the UEFA Cup for the following year. Finally, in 2002, Guidolin guided Bologna to a seventh-place finish which guaranteed a pass to another Intertoto.
Source: Il Resto del Carlino, Massimo Vitali
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