Baggio in Bologna

In 2025, it is easy to see how Bologna are upsetting the big clubs and challenging the establishment. Vincenzo Italiano has them playing exceptional football. Their Coppa Italia victory was the long-overdue major trophy this iconic club's fanbase had craved, and combined with back-to-back European football qualifications, it's a great time for all things Bologna.

This wasn't always the case. Bologna has a prominent place in Italian football history, but like many clubs outside of Inter, Milan and Juventus, they have had their fair share of low points. But just how did a club that was playing its football in Series C1 just three seasons earlier, sign one of the world's greatest ever footballers?

In 1997/98, Roberto Baggio was one of the biggest names in world football. He was arriving to sign for Bologna after leaving the bright lights of Milan and Turin behind, in search of somewhere to call home and rediscover his best form.

So why was a player who had lifted the Balon d'Or just four seasons earlier and arguably the symbol of 90's Italian football left struggling to find a club? To answer that, you need to look back even further.

Arrigo Sacchi is famous for many things, most notably his remarkable achievements as a coach and what many credit as a 'game-changing' view of how football should be played. It's not that Sacchi didn't believe in number 10s; he just couldn't see beyond a 4-4-2. To his credit, he had delivered tremendous success for the clubs he had managed and the national team. Baggio had proven that he could not only play in the Sacchi system but thrive when he stepped up to carry his country to the 1994 World Cup Final. Baggio was an unfortunate victim of his era; tactical trends come and go, but footballers like this are once in a generation.

So with 4-4-2 the new norm, this left Baggio, an elite technician who flourishes linking midfield to attack and unlocking defences, in a game that seemingly didn't want him. He was viewed as a luxury that managers couldn't afford, a footballing indulgence in a world of grinta. This is best summarised when Parma manager and then Sacchi disciple, Carlo Ancelotti, not only passes up the opportunity on signing Baggio on a free but is so emphatically against number 10s, he would later sell Gianfranco Zola for the same reason.

This leaves Baggio's options limited to say the least, until Bologna and then coach Renzo Ulivieri took their chance to bring him to the Renato Dall'Ara. Although, like every great comeback story, there was further adversity to overcome first.

Initially, life at Bologna was far from plain sailing. Failing to win a game until November, this increased the pressure on Ulivieri. Baggio had started well, scoring three goals in his first two games before three consecutive 0-0 draws would see Bologna stalling, just as Baggio was poised to kick on. The motivation was clear: Baggio was at Bologna to play his way back into Cesare Maldini's plans for France '98. During an interview with James Richardson in 1998 for Gazzetta Football Italia, Baggio said, "These things happen in football, so nobody should be surprised. I chose to join this great club - I wanted to come to Bologna, and I don't regret it for a moment", showing his willingness to exist outside of Le Sette Sorelle and deliver amongst modest surroudings to remain in with a chance of achieving his ultiamte dream, lifting the World Cup.

The season would improve; in the run-up to Christmas, there would be much-needed victories against Napoli and Lecce to supplement notable draws against Sampdoria, Fiorentina, and away at Baggio's former club, Milan. Although it would be Baggio left most disappointed upon his return to the San Siro when Ulivieri opted to start his talisman on the bench. This would explode three weeks later when Ulivieri repeats this act against another of Baggio's former clubs, visiting Juventus. A pre-game disagreement, which saw Baggio refusing to start on the bench, led to Ulivieri resigning. Bologna's charman was able to convince him to take some time and reconsider. Baggio's teammates were able to help him see the bigger picture, and luckily for everyone involved, the best was yet to come.

Following one more disappointing away defeat to Lazio, the second half of the season would see Bologna transformed. Losing just three of the next seventeen Serie A matches, they would fly up the table and move into the European places. This run would include some incredible results, including a 1-0 win away at Inter, a 3-2 win away at Sampdoria and the crowning moment of the season, winning 3-0 at home to Milan.

Milan were coming off the back of some difficult results, in what was the beginning of the end for Fabio Capello. But this took none of the shine off the result for Bologna, the Dall'Ara witnessed history when Baggio's poacher's instinct enabled him to pounce on the inexperienced Dario Smoje and finish from close range. His penalty to make it 3-0 was the icing on the cake, showing the world what he is capable of when utilised.

Aside from one further slip away in Turin, a goal from Baggio was not enough when a young Pippo Inzaghi bagged a hat-trick to secure a 3-2 win for Juve. This didn't stop Bologna, who would see out the final day with a 2-1 win at home to Lazio and finish 8th, entering them into the following season's Intertoto Cup.

A season in Bologna turned out to be a resounding success for Baggio, carrying the flag for players everywhere who rely on instinct over strategy. The best goal scoring return of his career and outscoring some huge names of 90s Italian football on the way to doing it.

Beyond what it meant for Bologna, this renaissance was enough for Cesare Maldini to reserve a place for Baggio at France '98. Winning the World Cup after what happened in 1994 was everything to Baggio professionally. He didn't regain his number 10 shirt for that tournament, nor did he ever win the World Cup, but he did go on to continue winning the minds and hearts of football fans everywhere, and he proved that football isn't played on paper or by the coaches; it is played with passion, desire and instinct.

Bologna proved that greatness always has a place, and sometimes the missing piece of the puzzle is right in front of you.