Bologna FC 1909

Did You Know?

• Bologna have participated in 79 Serie A seasons, the ninth-most in Italian football history.
• The club changed ownership multiple times during the early 2000s and 2010s due to financial mismanagement, later stabilizing under a Canadian consortium led by Joey Saputo.

History

Bologna FC 1909 was brought into existence by Emilio Arnstein, an Austrian who first got into football during his university years in Vienna and Prague. He and his brother had already set up a club called Black Star in Austria. The team was founded on 3 October 1909 in the northern Italian city of Bologna. Carlo Sandoni acted as sponsor and general manager, Swiss Louis Rauch took the role of president, the nobleman Guido Della Valle became vice-president, Enrico Penaglia served as secretary, Sergio Lampronti as cashier, and both Arnstein and Leone Vincenzi were councilmen.

Their first match took place on 20 March 1910 against Virtus, a 9-1 win. The lineup included Koch, Chiara, Pessarelli, Bragaglia, Della Valle, Nanni, Donati, Rauch, Bernabeu, Mezzano, and Gradi. With Arrigo Gradi as captain, they won their regional league and moved up to Group Veneto-Emiliano, where over four seasons they never placed lower than fifth. Bologna first became Northern and National champions in 1924-25, beating Genoa CFC in a five-match final series troubled by crowd disturbances.

They claimed their second Italian title in 1928-29, the last championship before Serie A began. Before World War II, they added three more Scudetti: 1935-36, 1936-37, and 1938-39, and won another during the war in 1940-41.

Stadium

Bologna's official stadium is the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara, the largest sports building in Bologna, named after former club chairman Renato Dall'Ara, who died three days before the final for Serie A's Scudetto. Its capacity is 38,500. The curva Bulgarelli stand is dedicated to player Giacomo Bulgarelli, who died on 21 February 2009. Another stand, part of which is reserved for away fans, is dedicated to Árpád Weisz, coach of Bologna's pre-war winning team, who was killed by the Nazis in a concentration camp during World War II.