Football Season Guide

When coach Italiano took charge of the team, following an extraordinary previous season under Thiago Motta, there was plenty of scepticism at Bologna. Things did not improve when they won only 1 out of the initial 8 games and suffered an early elimination from the Champions League Group stage. Performances, though, were not bad at all. And in the long run, this paid off. Between February and March, they won 7 out of 9 league games, reaching the top 4, and another Champions League qualification seemed possible. In the meantime, their Coppa Italia run was perfect and they triumphed in the competition again after 50 years, defeating Milan in the final. Concentrated in the Cup, though, they won only 1 of the last 8 Serie A games, thus finishing on the 9th place. Despite calls from other clubs, both in Italy and abroad, Italiano eventually remained at the club but he lost a couple of his boys. This was certainly the case of starting centre-back Beukema. In order to replace him, they signed 22-year-old Vitik, coming from Sparta Praha. At the back, they also let Erlic go, he left no mark last season, while they signed Casale permanently and called back Ilic, who had been previously loaned out. The midfield remained untouched with Pobega's loan from Milan extended for one more season. In the attack, they lost starting winger Ndoye, 9 goals and 6 assists, and they replaced him with Bernardeschi, returning to Italian football after a spell in the MLS, but the latter could also be acting in the midfield. Moreover, they signed another old Serie A star in aging striker Immobile, whose Turkish experience was far from exciting, and he could be battling for a start with Castro and Dallinga, who proved far from prolific. It would be fundamental for them to avoid Orsolini's departure, since he was their top scorer with 17 goals, but they are still casting for wingers and so anything could happen.