Already made two other teams great: this man is behind Bologna’s success

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Bologna is known for many things. But especially for the good food. Mortadella, tagliatelle al ragù, tortellini and lasagna all have their origins in this city. No wonder she is nicknamed “la grassa” (the fat one).

However, the capital of Emilia-Romagna is less known for football. Even though seven Scudetti had already been celebrated. However, they were all a long time ago. Six even date from the period between the First and Second World Wars.

The majority of today’s fans probably don’t even remember it. The joy about the current development is all the greater. Bologna is the surprise team in Serie A with coach Thiago Motta (41) and the three Swiss Dan Ndoye (23), Michel Aebischer (26) and Remo Freuler (31). Nota bene with the third youngest average age (24.8). Halfway through the season they are deservedly in 4th place, a place that means qualification for the Champions League.

An ex-Bayern player as top scorer

That’s no coincidence. Many people in Italy assume that Bologna will be on top until the end. The rock formations seem too stable. They defend too well (12 goals conceded). Ex-Bayern striker Joshua Zirkzee (22; 7 goals) is currently scoring too often. The Dutchman has achieved a definitive breakthrough after difficult years.

The Bolonaise ensemble was composed by Giovanni Sartori (66). A man who understands better than anyone how to bring so-called small teams among the big ones. It all started in the 1990s at Chievo Verona. He tried his hand as an assistant coach. Until then-president Luca Campedelli advised him to try to become a sports director.

The sports director without WhatsApp

Advice that couldn’t have been better. With his transfers and his choice of coach, Sartori led the then amateur club to the Champions League. For years, the club from Verona remained in Serie A. In 2014, Sartori switched to Atalanta. As a result, Chievo crashed – today the club is bankrupt. The manager, on the other hand, performed another miracle with the Berga Masks. He turned the lift club of which he had been a member for years into a regular participant in the European Cup. He has been working in Bologna for a year and a half now.

Despite his many successes, not much is known about Sartori in football-mad Italy. He is described as a man in the shadows or as a sports director without WhatsApp. That’s why he rarely gives interviews. In one of them he recently explained how he goes about recruiting players. «We combine data from videos and live games. The final step is to get to know the player and try to understand his character and personality.”

It took Ndoye a lot of convincing

During his Atalanta days, Sartori is said to have watched more than 200 matches live. Today there are about 90. Ndoye noticed one. “But to convince him of our project, we talked on the phone almost every day for two months,” he says. Ultimately, the transfer was completed to the delight of all parties.

It probably took Sartori much less time to convince Freuler to return to Italy from Nottingham. After all, the two know each other from their past days at Atalanta. Now they are working to repeat the successes in Bologna. The beginning has already been successful.

Source : Blick