The Dominant Team of FC Bologna 1931-41

At the start of the 1931-32 season, Bologna was already one of the best teams in the country. With a new coach on the bench, the Hungarian who is beginning his coaching career (which will last 30 years in Italy), the club has ambition after successes in the Italian first division during the 1924-25 and 1928-29 seasons. , to win the championship again.

Supported by players like Angelo Schiavio, Carlo Reguzzoni, Raffaele Sansone and Eraldo Monzeglio, the club reached 1st place in the championship on the 3rd day and marked its domination of the championship, unfortunately for them, the club dropped to 2nd place on April 17, 1932, a place he would keep until the end of the season. The club will have left its mark on the championship, winning for example 2-0 against Ambrosiana-Inter, 5-1 against Lazio, 3-0 against Milan and 4-2 against Torino at home. Outside, the results are much more mixed, which costs them the title.

This season in Serie A was that of Angelo Schiavio who finished top scorer in the championship with 25 goals, tied with Fiorentina striker Pedro Petrone. Bruno Maini also had a very good season, finishing 5th top scorer in the championship with 19 goals. In total, the club finished in second place in the championship with 50 points, 4 points behind Juventus who seem untouchable. The Bologna club, however, has an exceptional ratio with 85 goals scored and only 38 conceded.

But Bologna will ultimately win an even more prestigious trophy, the 1932 Mitropa Cup which was then played with 8 teams from 4 different European countries. In the first round, in the quarter-finals, the Italian club faced AC Sparta Prague and won this round 5-3 on aggregate. In the semi-final, the club faced First Vienna FC and eliminated them with a score of 2-1 on aggregate.

But the club will not go to the final, why? Well it's the second semi-final which will offer the title to Bologna FC. During the return match between Juventus and SK Slavia Prague, Slavia, after conceding two goals quickly, multiplied obstructions and wasted time, which provoked the anger of Juventus supporters who went so far as to throw stones on the field, seriously injuring Planika, one of the players of the Czechoslovakian club. Slavia decided to leave the field and was confined for several hours in the locker room while 1,500 soldiers and police formed a security cordon. The Mitropa Cup committee, claiming that both clubs are responsible for these incidents, disqualifies them both. Bologna FC is therefore champion by forfeit of its opponents.

The 1932-33 season, the club finished in 3rd place then 4th during the 1933-34 season. The coaches succeeded one another, with the club passing under the supervision of a commission to manage it. 4th place in the league still allows Bologna to play in the Mitropa Cup which now has a 16-team format. During the first round, the club barely beat the Hungarian club Bocskai FC, winning 3-2 on aggregate. In the quarter-final, their opponent is Rapid Vienna, a 6-1 victory in the first leg, but a scare in the return match, the Austrian club winning 4-1 at home, not enough to eliminate the Italian club. In the semi-final, Bologna FC plays Ferencváros TC, 1-1 in the first leg in Hungary, and victory 5-1 in Italy. The club is in the final. The final pits Bologna FC against Admira Vienna who have just eliminated Juventus in the semi-final. The final is also played as a two-way match.

During the first leg, in Austria, the Admira Vienna club won 3-2. But on the way back, it is indeed the Italian club which takes its revenge and what revenge, a crushing 5-1 victory for the Italians. The club wins the Mitropa Cup again. Carlo Reguzzoni finished top scorer in the competition with 10 goals scored.

Stability came with the arrival of Árpád Weisz in 1934. The club finished in 6th place during the 1934-35 season, a somewhat disappointing result, but the management had confidence in the coach.

Bologna FC approaches the 1935-36 season with great ambition, in fact the club seems even more solid than before. In attack we still find Angelo Schiavio and Carlo Reguzzoni, but they are now joined by a player with enormous potential, and who at only 21 years old is one of the most promising players in the country: Amadeo Biavati. Bruno Maini is still there.

The midfield is managed by the three Italian-Uruguayan Michele Andreolo, Raffaele Sansone and Francesco Fedullo. At their side we find one of the best players in the country Giordano Corsi who plays with Mario Montesanto, who is also one of the best Italian players of his time.

In defense, Felice Gasperi is the defensive leader of the team and is ahead of a legend of the country: Mario Gianni who notably has 6 selections with the Italian selection. We also find defender Dino Fiorini who will have his chance with the Italian B team in 1936.

In the 30 matches of this Serie A season, the club finished with 40 points, only 1 point ahead of AS Roma, and won the championship. In total, the club won 15 of its matches, had 10 draws and 3 defeats. The club did not shine offensively, as evidenced by its 39 goals scored only for 21 goals conceded. Angelo Schiavio only finished in 8th place among the top scorers in the championship with only 10 goals scored, it was the defensive solidity of the team that allowed them to win the championship.

The 1936-37 season started again on the same basis. Bologna only lost one home game that season, against the great Torino team. The club is having a superb transfer window, recruiting Pietro Ferrari, a promising young goalkeeper of only 22 years old. With him, Mario Pagotto joins the club as a defender, but the recruit who delights the supporters is Carlo Ceresoli from title rivals Ambrosiana-Inter.

The club seems impenetrable with an iron defense, only 26 goals conceded in the league and shows its domination with a 1-0 victory against Ambrosiana-Inter in Milan on the 3rd day. The club ended its season in the league with a good 2-0 victory against AC Milan and a double from Schiavio who only played 4 matches that season at the age of 31.

The club, however, disappointed in the Italian Cup and the Mitropa Cup where they were eliminated in the first round.

The 1937-38 season saw the departure of midfielder Aldo Donati to AS Roma. It was also a failed season for Bologna which only finished in 5th place in the championship despite the good seasons of Carlo Reguzzoni, who finished 5th top scorer in the championship with 15 goals and Bruno Maini who finished 9th top scorer with 11 goals . In the Italian Cup, it was another failure, with a 2-0 quarter-final defeat against AC Milan.

The 1938-39 season announced at the start of the season the retirement of Felice Gasperi and coach Árpád Weisz, replaced by Hermann Felsner who returned to the Bologna bench after a long stint between 1920 and 1931. With him , the club recruits Ettore Puricelli and Secondo Ricci who replaces Felice Gasperi.

His return is flashy, the club offers great victories: AC Milan (2-1), Juventus (1-0), AS Roma (1-0), Lazio (2-1), AC Milan (1 -0), Napoli (6-1 and 4-0). Bologna impresses with its defensive solidity, supported by an exceptional goalkeeper. Ettore Puricelli is a real success, because for his first season at the club, he finished top scorer in the championship with 19 goals. The club won the championship with 42 goals, ahead of Grand Torino.

In the Italian Cup, the club was eliminated in the first round and was still disappointed. But the club reached the semi-finals of the Mitropa Cup with an elimination against Ferencváros (5-4 in total).

The transfer window for the 1939-40 season announced the departure of Carlo Ceresoli to Genoa. Francesco Fedullo and Angelo Schiavio retire, the latter having not played during the 1938-39 season. Bologna finished in 2nd place in the championship, 3 points behind Ambrosiana-Inter.

The 1940-41 season marked the end of the great Bologna with one last league title with 39 points, 4 points ahead of Ambrosiana-Inter. But what changes this season is the fact that Bologna finishes best attack in the championship with 60 goals scored and second best defense with 37 goals conceded. A historic final season before a return to mid-table in the following years.