Bologna Club Focus: Diamonds are… Not quite… Forever

Date: 12th February 2014 at 2:37am
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Diamonds are formed by extreme pressure; carbonates laying on the ground, wood, plant matter, even animal matter are pressed into the earth naturally, and layers of earth form on top of them. Over time, over millions and millions of years they are compacted and, first, become graphite and then become diamonds, which are not just invaluable, but robust and solid.

It was ironic, then, that it took the removal of Diamanti for Bologna to become robust and solid, earning an invaluable win at Torino on Sunday afternoon. That’s right, Alessandro Diamanti’s protracted move to China was completed last week and, while the Rossoblu were rewarded handsomely in terms of finance, the team looked as if they would go into the weekend rudderless and without inspiration.

However, the compactness and resilience that had been displayed only occasionally thus far came to the fore. The team, after a disappointing opening that saw Ciro Immobile squeeze free to nod home, were almost faultless.

Into the breach left by Diamanti strode Diego Perez; a man who was built to lead, a man who managed to rally his troops, and gave a performance as full of heart as any of his matches this season. In terms of captaincy, seeing the Rossoblu armband on a more combative, niggly player than Diamanti gives an idea of the way the team will get out of the mess they’re in.

It will not be on the crest of a wave of the spectacular, forty-yard crosses, thirty-yard shots and deft flicks and touches. It will be a rolling up of the sleeves, a tripping of the opposition when needed and a bloody-mindedness not to leave anything on the field. In that, Sunday’s match was a fine example, yet it was a little more than just blood and thunder.

Gianluca Curci more than had the beating of his almost namesake Alessio Cerci, as the Italian international toiled to create anything against Davide Ballardini’s side. The midfield looked untroubled, save for a few pressure-relieving fouls, and when the ball got to the forward players, they were able to use it.

Lazaros Cristodopoulos looked tricky and creative, Cristaldo was a regular threat (and indeed, scored both Bologna’s goals) but the star turn was, as so often he has been at the Stadio Olimpico, Rolando Bianchi. Bianchi was back to his bludgeoning best. He made the equaliser after pouncing on a loose ball, bustling past two Torino defenders and prodding through to Cristaldo.

He won headers, flicked balls on, took fouls and generally did everything a target man striker could do. It was almost as if he thought he could use a game against Torino to show his old team exactly what they were missing. More of the same in future would be more than welcome.

I make no secret of my fondness for Torino, and have watched them often this season. Bologna, in Bianchi and Cristaldo, played with two men up front. They fed off one another well and the way Cristaldo made the point it was Bianchi’s work that created his first goal suggests there’s more than a little respect between the two.

Torino’s dangermen, Cerci and Immobile, were the exact opposite. Both seemed to drift into positions from which they were ineffective, and both played balls across the box that would have benefited from the other being on the same wavelength – testament to how well the Felsinei defence marshalled the threat, though Cerci did have a header (of all things) that bounced perilously close to a goal off the crossbar and post. Seldom have they looked so ineffective together.

Another important factor of Sunday’s game was the timing of it. Playing early in the day, and already ahead of their relegation rivals – except Chievo, who lost on Saturday night, Bologna knew that a draw wouldn’t be the worst result for them but in winning, the pressure was cranked up on those teams below them. Although Catania drew themselves closer to the pack with a draw at Parma, both Sassuolo and Livorno wilted, and the Rossoblu stand now four points clear of the drop zone.

Watching Bologna this season has been a little bit like looking at Rene Magritte’s Dominion of Light; the focus drawn to the streetlight in front of the buildings. With Diamanti no longer illuminating the front of the painting, the eye can rest on that which is in the background. If this weekend is anything to go by, the absence of one light allows the others to shine more brightly in its place.

The job is not complete, not by a long chalk, but this weekend provided a window into how Bologna might make the best of themselves this season.

 

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