From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings15 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 28. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad15 Feb 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bologna this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets15 Feb 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Match13 Feb 2027
Jens Odgaard scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Cagliari, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Loan watch15 Feb 2027
“I did not go to Sambenedettese to sit and watch. I want to come back to Bologna and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 25 matches say the rest.
Squad15 Feb 2027
A row about effort at Bologna
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nadir Zortea was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad15 Feb 2027
50 goals in the shirt for Jens Odgaard
50 for the club now, each one filed in somebody’s memory with a date and a scoreline. Numbers like this are what supporters argue about in twenty years.
Loan watch15 Feb 2027
24 appearances away from home and 10 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Tiziano Piras after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match6 Feb 2027
3‑0, and Jens Odgaard took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Bologna tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Market8 Feb 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Bologna, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad8 Feb 2027
3 goals in one game. The first was taken well, the second was taken greedily, and by the third the crowd were simply waiting for him to get the ball.
Market8 Feb 2027
“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.
Market8 Feb 2027
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Trapani moved on, Kevin Bonifazi reports back to Bologna, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
Squad8 Feb 2027
A falling-out at Bologna
Riccardo Orsolini and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market8 Feb 2027
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Bologna heard it as anything else.
Match6 Feb 2027
It had gone 6 games. The players did not celebrate like men who had won a match; they celebrated like men who had been let out of something.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
Ninety minutes of Jens Odgaard at his very best
Marked 9.46. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Bologna.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match30 Jan 2027
The wait goes on for Bologna
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Bologna close the window on a squad of their own making
3 in and 1 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Market1 Feb 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market1 Feb 2027
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Words exchanged at Bologna
Riccardo Orsolini and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Player ratings1 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 21. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Squad1 Feb 2027
A row about effort at Bologna
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jens Odgaard was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Bari have kept their man, and Bologna go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
The manager makes an example of Lewis Ferguson
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match20 Jan 2027
The cup run ends for Bologna
0‑0 against Lazio, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
Squad25 Jan 2027
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Łukasz Skorupski: 1 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
Market25 Jan 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bologna can pretend not to have heard.
Match23 Jan 2027
The wait goes on for Bologna
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Market25 Jan 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
Bologna had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Atalanta, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Riccardo Orsolini was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Words at Bologna training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nadir Zortea is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market18 Jan 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market18 Jan 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Bologna have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Player ratings18 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 24. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Transfer targets18 Jan 2027
Everything agreed with another club, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad18 Jan 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bologna this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets18 Jan 2027
Bologna asked and Ajax Cape Town said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Market18 Jan 2027
Add another name to the list: Genoa have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Mikel Amondarain. The answer from Bologna has not changed — yet.
Squad18 Jan 2027
A row about effort at Bologna
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tommaso Pobega was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market18 Jan 2027
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Abdel Rahim Alhassane wants continental football; whether Bologna can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market11 Jan 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market11 Jan 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market11 Jan 2027
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Kevin Bonifazi had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
Squad11 Jan 2027
A falling-out at Bologna
Riccardo Orsolini and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market11 Jan 2027
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Jens Odgaard falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Transfer targets11 Jan 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
Marked 8.04 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 40. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
Jay Enem keeps the receipts
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bologna may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
Lewis Ferguson pops up at the right end — 7.53
7.53, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Words exchanged at Bologna
Arthur Theate and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Market4 Jan 2027
Nadir Zortea wants to know where this is going
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Bologna hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Market4 Jan 2027
The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Riccardo Orsolini falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Transfer targets4 Jan 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Hellas Verona have kept their man, and Bologna go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Market4 Jan 2027
The name of Eivind Helland has come up in conversations Bologna were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match26 Dec 2026
3‑0, and Jens Odgaard took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Bologna tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Two goals and a mark of 8.92 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 24. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Riccardo Orsolini was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market28 Dec 2026
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Bologna can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Words at Bologna training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nicolò Cambiaghi is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Ninety minutes of Roberto Piccoli at his very best
Marked 9.14. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Bologna.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match28 Dec 2026
The half-term report on Bologna
Position 10, 25 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 25. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Market21 Dec 2026
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Bologna can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
Squad21 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bologna this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at Bologna training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jens Odgaard is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Match19 Dec 2026
AS Roma left with the points after a 1‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Łukasz Skorupski, and the manager let it.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Ninety minutes of Arthur Theate at his very best
Marked 8.19. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Bologna.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
Nicolò Cambiaghi is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Loan watch21 Dec 2026
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Bologna, and 1 appearances in 17 say he has earned the hearing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match9 Dec 2026
Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Artem Dovbyk obliged against Avellino. 5‑1 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Bologna.
Squad14 Dec 2026
The match ball belongs to Artem Dovbyk, whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Marked 8.06 at 21, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Squad14 Dec 2026
6 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 24. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad14 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bologna this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match9 Dec 2026
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Bologna and Avellino in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Riccardo Orsolini falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Marked 9.75 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words exchanged at Bologna
Riccardo Orsolini and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Match5 Dec 2026
Lewis Ferguson among the goals in a wild afternoon
6 goals in one match, Lewis Ferguson on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Bologna and Como.
Match5 Dec 2026
Beaten 2‑4, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad7 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Bologna
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nicolò Cambiaghi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Ninety minutes of Riccardo Orsolini at his very best
Marked 8.16. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Bologna.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.16, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Nicolò Cambiaghi was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.07. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
Nadir Zortea gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Tiziano Piras after 2‑4, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 32. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Riccardo Orsolini was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match28 Nov 2026
Still nobody has beaten Bologna
The unbeaten run reaches 7. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad30 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Bologna
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jens Odgaard was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Artem Dovbyk
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Tiziano Piras after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Looking ahead30 Nov 2026
A test against the best for Bologna
The team at the top of the table next, and the honest measure of where this side actually is. Anybody can beat the club below them; the question is what happens against Como.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad23 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bologna this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words at Bologna training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Riccardo Orsolini is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Match21 Nov 2026
Whatever happens, Bologna do not lose
6 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Loan watch23 Nov 2026
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Bologna, and 1 appearances in 13 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
No hiding place for Jay Enem
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jay Enem, and the manager let it.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
Half-satisfied: Tiziano Piras on the draw
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Market23 Nov 2026
The name of Riccardo Orsolini keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Bologna say nothing, which says plenty.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match14 Nov 2026
Nobody wants to play Bologna right now
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Squad16 Nov 2026
A falling-out at Bologna
Riccardo Orsolini and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad16 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Bologna
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nicolò Cambiaghi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The terraces16 Nov 2026
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Match14 Nov 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Roberto Piccoli. 1‑0 against Lazio, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad16 Nov 2026
7 Bologna players away with their countries
The training ground goes quiet for a fortnight. 7 men have gone off to be somebody else’s players, and the manager is left with the ones nobody has called.
Market16 Nov 2026
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Abdel Rahim Alhassane wants continental football; whether Bologna can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Roberto Soriano, and the manager let it.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
Marked 7.87 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Bologna had the best player on the pitch.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match4 Nov 2026
Bologna march on in the cup
Audace Cerignola are out and Bologna go through, 3‑0 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.
Match7 Nov 2026
Federico Bernardeschi wins it after the whistle should have gone
90 minutes played. Federico Bernardeschi found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and Napoli went from a point to nothing inside one movement.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Two goals and a mark of 8.01 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
The hardest thing about being 18 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Kwesi Sorotu Badori did not need any: 7.93, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.92 at 39, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Bologna
Riccardo Orsolini and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Market9 Nov 2026
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words at Bologna training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jens Odgaard is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The terraces9 Nov 2026
At 21 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad2 Nov 2026
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market2 Nov 2026
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Bologna
Lewis Ferguson and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Market2 Nov 2026
Bologna may not be able to give Nadir Zortea what he wants
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Nadir Zortea wants continental football; whether Bologna can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Squad2 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Bologna
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Riccardo Orsolini was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.04, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nikola Moro, and the manager let it.
Match31 Oct 2026
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 14. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match24 Oct 2026
3‑0, and Federico Bernardeschi took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Bologna tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Two goals and a mark of 9.50 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Market26 Oct 2026
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Bologna can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
Squad26 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bologna this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Bologna
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nicolò Cambiaghi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.39, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Loan watch26 Oct 2026
“I watch every Bologna game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Sambenedettese runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Tiziano Piras, on a 3‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 14. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Up for the corner, and Lewis Ferguson delivers — 7.73
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Lewis Ferguson scored, was marked 7.73, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Squad19 Oct 2026
A falling-out at Bologna
Riccardo Orsolini and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Jens Odgaard falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Match17 Oct 2026
Sassuolo left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
Squad19 Oct 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Alejandro Avallay and Bologna agree another 3 years.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Abdel Rahim Alhassane, and the manager let it.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad12 Oct 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at Bologna
Arthur Theate and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words at Bologna training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Riccardo Orsolini is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad12 Oct 2026
8 Bologna players away with their countries
The training ground goes quiet for a fortnight. 8 men have gone off to be somebody else’s players, and the manager is left with the ones nobody has called.
Match10 Oct 2026
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 17. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Tiziano Piras after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
1 error, one goal, and a night in front of the same three seconds. He will see it tonight, tomorrow and probably in February, and everybody who has played knows exactly which frame he keeps stopping on.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 24. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Riccardo Orsolini was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Nicolò Cambiaghi falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Match3 Oct 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Lewis Ferguson. 2‑0 against Cagliari, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Ninety minutes of Tommaso Pobega at his very best
Marked 8.15. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Bologna.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Marked 8.06 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Roberto Piccoli, and the manager let it.
Squad5 Oct 2026
100 games in these colours. Service of that kind gets rarer every season, and the crowd knows it.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Bologna are still strangers to each other
9 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Nikola Moro goes up and wins it — 7.89
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.89 for the rest of it.
Squad28 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bologna this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match26 Sep 2026
A 3‑1 win over Cremonese, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
A performance of 9.09 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.41, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Nicolò Casale falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Loan watch28 Sep 2026
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Bologna, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Nikola Moro
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 3‑1, Tiziano Piras could afford to be generous.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad21 Sep 2026
A falling-out at Bologna
Arthur Theate and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words at Bologna training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Riccardo Orsolini is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match19 Sep 2026
3 matches without a goal for Bologna
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Match19 Sep 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Tiziano Piras left the room before anybody could ask which.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Jay Enem
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
Juan Miranda knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Bologna, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Looking ahead21 Sep 2026
Cremonese next, and one man in the Bologna dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad14 Sep 2026
9 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Match12 Sep 2026
Nowhere to hide for Bologna
0‑3 against Juventus, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Transfer targets14 Sep 2026
A deal that was a phone call from completion at lunchtime was dead by midnight. Bologna will try again when the window opens; Cesena may not be selling by then.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at Bologna
Riccardo Orsolini and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad14 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Bologna
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nicolò Cambiaghi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom14 Sep 2026
Doors closed at Bologna
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
Nicolò Cambiaghi is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Squad14 Sep 2026
The ambition story running backwards, and the one nobody tells: a footballer who wants a smaller ground, fewer cameras and a crowd that does not turn. It is not weakness and it is rarely reported as anything else.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
$9.3M settles it between the clubs for Cristian Shpendi
Cesena have accepted the money. What Bologna do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Match5 Sep 2026
Beaten 0‑3 by Lecce, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Ali Jaber breaks a bone — 15 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 15 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
Bologna ran out of time with Defensor Sporting. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Bologna close the window on a squad of their own making
7 in and 3 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Riccardo Orsolini was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad7 Sep 2026
8 Bologna players away with their countries
The training ground goes quiet for a fortnight. 8 men have gone off to be somebody else’s players, and the manager is left with the ones nobody has called.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
In brief
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Boardroom
Doors closed at Bologna
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Squad
9 new faces, and Bologna are still learning each other
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The dugout
Tiziano Piras faces the questions
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
The clubs have shaken hands with Defensor Sporting; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Match29 Aug 2026
Parma will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Bologna were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Two goals and a mark of 9.13 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Squad31 Aug 2026
A fracture rules Ali Jaber out for 23 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bologna will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad31 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bologna this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Hellas Verona wanted more than $710.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
Squad31 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Bologna
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Riccardo Orsolini was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
The game went through Lewis Ferguson — 7.72
Marked 7.72 on 9 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Tiziano Piras, on a 3‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 63. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market24 Aug 2026
Bologna say no — this time
The offer from Fiorentina for Martin Vitík was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Market24 Aug 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bologna can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
$2.7M was the most the club would pay and Fiorentina were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Squad24 Aug 2026
A falling-out at Bologna
Riccardo Orsolini and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words at Bologna training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nicolò Cambiaghi is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Boardroom24 Aug 2026
3 academy graduates step up at Bologna
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
Bologna asked and Stoke City said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Market24 Aug 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Vincenzo Ferraro has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Ipswich Town have kept their man, and Bologna go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Market17 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market17 Aug 2026
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Vis Pesaro waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Bologna is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Bologna have gone to Fiorentina with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Bologna offered $2.9M; Parma said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Bologna
Riccardo Orsolini and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words at Bologna training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tommaso Pobega is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad17 Aug 2026
27 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad17 Aug 2026
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Bologna are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market10 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Bologna have gone to Parma with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Lewis Ferguson and Bologna agree another 4 years.
Squad10 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bologna this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Sassuolo have kept their man, and Bologna go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Market10 Aug 2026
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Bologna heard it as anything else.
Market10 Aug 2026
The phone has started ringing about Martin Vitík again, and this time the name on the line is Fiorentina. Bologna are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words at Bologna training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Riccardo Orsolini is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout10 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Nadir Zortea
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market3 Aug 2026
Randers come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Bologna did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market3 Aug 2026
Nicolò Cambiaghi wants to know where this is going
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Bologna hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Riccardo Orsolini commits to Bologna for another 4 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Riccardo Orsolini was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at Bologna training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tommaso Pobega is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Market3 Aug 2026
Still no offer on the table, and Riccardo Orsolini’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.
Squad3 Aug 2026
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Bologna are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
Lazio have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
Lewis Ferguson knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Lewis Ferguson trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.