With Roberto Donadoni at the helm, the Bologna faithful have had much to cheer about over the festive period.
Having been appointed as head coach at the tail-end of October, when Bologna were mired below the proverbial dotted line and had tasted defeat in eight of their last ten outings, the former Parma boss has presided over a promising stretch of results that have allayed fears of relegation while generating cautious optimism among the Rossoblu fraternity for the second-half of the season.
Best Player
Key to the Rossoblu’s resurgence under Donadoni has been left-back Adam Masina, though it is perhaps the 21-year-old’s form preceding Donadoni’s arrival that provides a clearer sense of his ability.
Having stamped his authority on the top-flight with an impressive showing against Lazio on the opening night of the season, Masina has maintained his eye-catching form over his sixteen outings at full-back for the Veltri since.
6 foot 2 in stature, Masina is hardly the most diminutive full-back but for what he lacks in pace he most certainly makes up for in defensive nous.
The 21-year-old boasts an enviable capacity to deliver frequent crosses into the danger area yet rarely neglects his defensive duties. His goalscoring performances against Carpi and Rom underlined his handy knack of arriving at the far stick when Bologna load the penalty area.
Small wonder Donadoni, who guided Italy through Euro 2008, earmarked the youngster as a future Azzurri stalwart after the Morrocan-born star was granted permission to represent the nation at U21 level.
Highlight of the season
The best performance from Bologna this season arrived on December 6 when then Rossoblu condemned pace-setters Napoli to only their second defeat of the season. The Partenopei were buoyed by their recent 2-1 success over Inter and travelled to Bologna top of the tree having collected 25 points out of a possible 27 from their last nine Serie A matches
Instead, a header from Luca Rossettini, sandwiched by goals either side of half-time from Mattia Destro, proved suffice in halting Napoli’s remarkable unbeaten stretch and sparking scenes of euphoria in the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara stands scarcely seen during Rossi’s stint in charge.
Biggest disappointment
The biggest disappointment of Bologna’s campaign thus far lies not in an individual but rather a collective, chiefly their form to start the campaign under Delio Rossi.
Granted, the 55-year-old clearly lacked the motivational tools to prize the absolute maximum from his talented group of players, but their stuttering start to life back in the top-flight poses a very pertinent question as to where the Rossoblu would lie in the Serie A table if life back in the top-flight hadn’t began so turbulently.
Mattia Destro arrived with lofty expectations but was barren under Rossi, netting his first goal in Bologna colours during Donadoni’s bow as head coach. The Italian spurned several golden chances during the summer months, namely an errant header during his side’s 1-0 home defeat to Palermo in October.
Bologna were leaking goals at an alarming rate and, unlike Empoli during their nascent campaign in Serie A last term, lacked an identity. The Rossoblu’s solitary two wins arrived against fellow newboys Carpi and Frosinone and the highly regarded summer arrivals were slow in assimilating.
Donadoni’s appointment has arrested that slide and quelled the notion that Rossi’s dismissal was, as many opined, premature.
Transfer Hit
Godfred Donsah has made quite the impact since arriving from Cagliari. Widely regarded as the heir to Michael Essien given his Ghanian roots, the bullish midfielder has cemented his place under Donadoni and has merged a fruitful relationship with Amadou Diawara in midfield.
The Ghanian was absent for the remarkable victory over Napoli but, at only 19 years old, has displayed great maturity in his performances this season such as his goalscoring one against Verona a month ago, serving to underline his importance to Donadoni’s plans.
Transfer Flop
The Rossoblu’s summer business has began to bear fruit, with the likes of Antonio Mirante and Luca Rossettini frequently impressing. More, though, could be expected from Lorenzo Crisetig. The youngster has been a mainstay in the Italy U21 squad over the years, but has yet to fully make his mark at club level.
What next?
Bologna could conceivably signal the end of Sinisa Mihajlovic’s reign in Milan when the side resume domestic duties after the winter break at the San Siro.
Further forward, Bologna will be seeking to solidify their position in mid-table and will be hoping that Destro preserves his prolific goalscoring stretch infront of goal.
The Rossoblu are a predominately counter-attacking outfit under Donadoni and so it will be intriguing to see whether the side are able to alter their approach given the strength of opposition and whether sides eventually twig how to successfully stifle the Veltri.
