Bologna 2019/20 Season Preview

Date: 20th August 2019 at 12:00pm
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Bologna had an encouraging end to the 2018/19 campaign as they finished in 10th place after dwelling in the relegation zone for about half the season.

After the appointment of Sinisa Mihajlovic part way through the season the Rossoblu went on an incredible run to end the season where they beat Inter, Napoli, Torino, and Sampdoria to name a few. This has given many Bologna fans a renewed sense of optimism regarding the upcoming season.

It will be hard for them to improve on last season’s finish and crack into the Europa League spots but that must certainly be their goal for this season. The club has spent over €55 million this summer making last season’s important loan deals permanent and have brought in a plethora of young, exciting talent from some of Europe’s smaller leagues.

It will be interesting to see what heights Mihajlovic can reach with Bologna after a full summer to mould and train the squad in his vision.

Summer Dealings – 8/10

Bologna has done a fantastic job to make some important loan moves permanent this summer including Italians Riccardo Orsolini, Nicola Sansone, and Roberto Soriano.

Orsolini was the most important of these signings as he really came into his own under Mihajlovic’s tutelage. In addition to these moves to cement their attack they have also brought in some defenders from the Belgian league in Takehiro Tomiyasu for €9 million and Stefano Denswil for €6 million.

They also brought in Mattia Bani from Chievo Verona for €2.5 million to help shore up the back end. Overall, they did a good job of reinforcing their squad and moving out some deadweight, but more could have been done to bring in fullbacks as they are thin in that position.

Key Man – Riccardo Orsolini

Going into the 2019/20 season Bologna will be heavily relying on winger Riccardo Orsolini to provide a spark moving forward. The 22-year-old finished with 10 goals and six assists over 37 appearances over all competitions and banged in six of those goals in his 15 matches playing for Mihajlovic.

The Italian has shown a lot of promise since his Serie B days with Ascoli and this could be the season that he establishes himself as a top Serie A attacker.

One to watch – Takehiro Tomiyasu

This season could be the perfect opportunity for several of Bologna’s younger players to prove themselves in Serie A, but Takehiro Tomiyasu has the best chance.

The 20-year-old was an integral part of Saint-Truiden’s defence as he played in all but three league matches, getting only three yellow cards, and only missed time because he was called up for duty with the Japanese national team.

The defender has made it clear that his goal is to crack Mihajlovic’s line-up by the start of the season and is eager to make his name known throughout the country.

The Coach – Sinisa Mihajlovic

This season the Rossoblu will benefit from a full offseason under Mihajlovic and their fans will be raring with excitement. After the Serbian’s appointment the team took 30 of 51 points remaining in the season, while there is of course the hope he makes a swift recovery from his health issues.

He often stuck with a 4-2-3-1 after his predecessor, Pippo Inzaghi, was utilising a three at the back formation for the first half of the season. His attack-minded and solid formation changed Bologna’s fortunes drastically last season and this impact carry transfer over into this season.

Prediction – 10th

Although Bologna have done well in the transfer market and are in a good spot with Mihajlovic at the helm, the rest of Serie A improved this summer as well. With this in mind it is likely that they finish around mid-table, most likely in 10th place for the second season in a row.

 

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