Since they play “like in paradise”, an old slogan of another Bologna, and we are in hell, for this Naples-Bologna Dante would be needed to write the chronicle. The journalist Mimmo Carratelli wrote it in the presentation of the match for the newspaper Il Roma, talking about the “wonder team, Thiago Motta’s Bologna with the 4-1-4-1 with lots of movement, interchangeable roles, surprise insertions. Think of a a team that puts on a show in attack, but it is the defense (second in the championship, 27 goals against, like Juventus; 44 for Napoli) that holds up the magnificent rossoblu adventure. The attack is only the seventh of the tournament. Bologna is fourth it’s a novelty these days. The last top-ranking Bologna (second in 1965-66, third in 1966-67) had Bulgarelli, Haller, Pascutti, Fogli, Negri, Janich in their team in a two-year period, top-ranking Bologna bought up midfielders (Ferguson, Aebischer, Fabbian, Freuler, Moro) and bought Zirkzee from Bayern for 8.5 million, plus defenders Calafiori, Beukema and Posch and two other attackers, the Dane Odgaard and the Argentine Castro”.
This Saturday match demands a proud performance from the Azzurri: “For four rounds unable to win at Maradona after beating Juventus, an eighth place in the standings and the series of failures in the last ten games (six draws, two defeats, just two victories) which have excluded the team from the next European spotlight after fifteen consecutive years in Europe (8 in the Champions League, 7 in the Europa League), Bologna is very much in play, two points behind Juventus, but pressed from behind by Roma and Atalanta, four points behind “incomprehensible” opponent. Can achieve a result such as losing oneself unfortunately. The Azzurri’s performance at home is disheartening: the last victory was on March 3 against Juventus. The numbers add up to 67 days without joy in Fuorigrotta. The last away win, however, was more than a month ago. Defense from the relegation zone and numbers that get worse match after match.”
