It has arrived, that magical and enchanted moment has finally arrived. Bologna, thanks to Atalanta’s 2-1 home success over Roma, can celebrate their arithmetic qualification for the next edition of the Champions League with two days to spare, the first with the new format. It is the first historic access to the big-eared cup since it changed its name (1992). To find a Bologna in Europe, you have to go back to 2003, 21 years ago, when they were finalists in the then Intertoto Cup. For the top continental competition, however, we need to go back to 1965, 59 years ago. It was the post-Scudetto season, Fulvio Bernardini was on the bench and the competition was called the Champions Cup. Another life, another era. The present says that the Emilian dream has just come true.
THE REASON – The Bolognese simply needed to wait, after Maradona’s success against Napoli, for Atalanta to defeat Roma at the Gewiss Stadium. A result that arrived thanks to the 2-1 of the Orobic team which consolidated the mathematical certainty of qualification for the Champions League for Bologna. Thiago Motta’s boys, in fact, have a 7-point advantage over the Romans: impossible to reach eso, Champions assured (with a minimum revenue of 36.5 million euros).
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THE FAIRYTALE – The fairytale of Bologna in the Champions League starts again here. From the leader Thiago Motta, the backbone of a group that highlighted quality and sparkling play. A coach who, thanks to great work carried out, managed to make great players who still had everything to prove, in search of the right size to explode. A dimension found in Emilia-Romagna. So let’s try to tell this tale, imbued with an emotion, a sentimentality worthy of the best stories, a journey that has reached a historic goal.
THIAGO, THE MOST WANTED – The Champions League season experienced by Bologna is fully reflected in the ideas put forward by Thiago Motta. Technical-tactical choices that allowed the Emilian club to win and play well, satisfying even the most demanding palates of a public that was not used to fighting for decades on such important stages how bright. The light brought by Thiago Motta is characterized by high, offensive and suffocating pressing, seasoned with a classic (these times) bottom-up approach and interchangeable roles from midfield upwards. A tactical organization that culminates in a 4-2-3-1 (or, if necessary, 4-3-3) which gives no points of reference to the opponents. In this continuous change of functions, the objective is to make the available squad work as best as possible, almost reaching overperformance through meticulous, precise and detailed game organisation. It is no coincidence that Motta is among the most sought after coaches in Italy (Milan have explored him, but he has an agreement in principle with Juventus).
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ALL WORK – Of course, Thiago Motta did his part, but it is the players, as always, who take to the pitch and sweat for the goal. The star of the team, and also of the transfer market given the interest of Milan (primarily), Juventus and Arsenal, is without a doubt Joshua Zirkzee. Eclectic center forward, as good at scoring as he is at finishing. Imaginative attacker, with an extraordinary foot game, dribbling and progression almost like a 10 or offensive winger rather than a penalty area attacker. But, behind the Dutchman, another big shot like Lewis Ferguson, sought by Juventus, stands out. Ductile, physical and dynamic midfielder with a keen sense of goal. But we cannot forget Stefan Posch, the team’s first playmaker and author of the 2-0 goal against Napoli. How should we remember Freuler, Ndoye, Saelemaekers (ready to redeem from Milan), Calafiori (in Juventus orbit) Fabbian, one of the best Orsolini ever, Beukema and here the Champions League has officially been reached.
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SARTORI NE SA – But behind a great coach and a talented squad, there is always a sporting director of absolute quality. After having accomplished several feats, including the unforgettable Chievo tale, Giovanni Sartori reinvented himself as a true architect of Bologna. In the space of just two transfer sessions, the rossoblù sporting director managed to bring players from minor leagues to Thiago Motta’s court, but who were worth the goal achieved this evening. The names are endless (present above), but they were fundamental in raising the technical level of this team. All thanks to precise planning: thousands of matches watched, strictly live, in Belgium, Holland, France, Switzerland, Denmark, Scotland, Poland, Spain and Portugal, everywhere in Europe. A player is then inserted into the rossoblù database, is observed once at home and once away by three different observers, and finally reports are drawn up which are evaluated by Sartori in person. This is how shots are born, this is how Bologna was born, a Bologna, finally, from the Champions League.