Serie A Preview – Bologna in top 10?

Bologna is a club which has to establish itself in the Serie A, too many times has it finished 17th (like last season), scraping enough points to remain the Serie A. Now, with Sergio Porcedda as president of the club, Bologna are beginning to make some smart moves on the transfer market, and building a project. The dream would be to return to the great heights of the Bologna team which won 7 scudetti, the goal is to place mid-table, and the hope is that they escape relegation.

New signings

Bologna have really made their presence known this summer, they targeted some important players and have already some top notch players. Lots of young and exciting players have joined Bologna, like Krhin (midfielder on loan from Inter Milan), who is only 20 years-old, but very promising; and also Ekdal who has apparently joined Bologna on loan from Juventus and is just 21 years-old. To help out Di Vaio in attack, Bologna bought Meggiorini, 25 year-old who scored 41 goals in 110 appearances for Cittadella, a smart signing. Bologna also fixed up the defense with Garics (left-back from Atlanta who can also play left midfield), Esposito (center-back on loan from Genoa and was called up by Italy but didn’t play), and Morleo (left-back from Crotone). But Bologna’s biggest signing this transfer market is Gaston Ramirez, 20 year-old attacking midfielder who comes from Penarol, a very promising player who could become an important player in the future for Bologna.

What’s missing

While Bologna have bought some excellent players, the job isn’t done. In attack, 34 year-old Di Vaio won’t last forever, so a new forward would be useful. Another midfielder would also be useful, considering that they’ve got Mudingayi in the middle and Busce who is 34 on the wings, a new midfielder could come in handy. To address these issues Bologna is chasing the Uruguayan Perez (they’ll be meeting Monaco officials wednesday) who had a great World Cup, and Bologna have also targeted Chelsea’s midfielder Matic, only 22 years-old and the hope would be to get the player on loan for the upcoming season.

Formation

With Colomba at the helm, it seems inevitable that Bologna will play a classic 4-4-2, while they won’t be a super attacking team like Bari, they’ll utilize Krhin and Ekdal’s youth to tire teams out along with Di Vaio who is deadly in front of goal. The starting 11 will be something like this: Viviano in goal, Garics, Esposito, Britos, and Morleo in defense from right to left, Busce, Mudingayi, Krhin, and Ekdal in the midfield from right to left, and Meggiorini and Di Vaio up front.

While Bologna doesn’t usually instill fear into its upcoming opponents (who will be Inter Milan on the first day of the Serie A), I am of the opinion that next season Bologna can emerge well and establish themselves in the mid-table area. With a promising keeper like Viviano (called up from Prandelli to play Ivory Coast), and possibly Perez playing in front of the defense, I don’t think they will be easy to defeat. As for where the goals will come from, Di Vaio has often been a prolific scorer, and he could easily score 20 goals this season with the right support. I’m really looking forward to see Bologna, and I have a lot of hope in them that they will do well.