Bologna on my mind: Eros and Thanatos. (2 Dec)

 Written by: Massimo Sampaolesi. Translated by: Carlotta Belluzzi.

After every match, we have an immediate reaction, as if we’d just had some boiling coffee spilled on our trousers. Bologna – Atalanta was barely over, and yet a huge wave of comments flooded online platforms. All sorts of ideas were expressed, even regret for Diawara and Giaccherini – a feeling we should by now be over with. And yet, some keep longing for what we do not have, seeing the grass always be greener on the other side. But to try to make sense of all this, we need to take a few steps back. Last year, around this time, Bologna had 13 points by the 14^th match day, and was well on the list for relegation along with Carpi and Verona. Today, we have 16 points, and we are 9 points apart from the third to last team, Pescara. The situation is therefore different, and a lot better.

Moreover, there is another interesting point to highlight: the 10^th team in the league (i.e. the last team on the left column of the chart) was 6 points away from us in 2015/2016, whereas this year, only 3 points separate us from Genoa. In short: we are clearly and constantly improving. But to further help our understanding, I think it is only right to mention another fundamental point. I would like to talk about the seriously extraordinary Torino: one of the most wonderful elements of this year’s championship. It has now been 10 years since Urbano Cairo bought the bankrupt team for €1’411’000; and after a decade, there they are, in 6^th place, only one match away from the European League.

It thus took Urbano Cairo 10 years to reach the goal of his project, after 3 years where the team struggled in the second league, stumbling from 5^th to 8^th place before finally reaching 2^nd place and conquering a seat in the first league: this is how long it takes. And indeed, this is how long we were told (by everyone, both the fans and the media) that Joey Saputo would need to improve our beloved team. These were the numbers.

Now: what delirious frenzy has seized us at the moment? Spring is far away. What is this erotic apprehension, governing us with uncontrollable impulses, orgasmic outbursts and heated vitriol? What is it with this constant and boring search for a lost lover – why would names such as Ramirez, Diamanti, or indeed Diawara keep popping up, when all the idols we need are already in our team? Is this not what love is? Is love not adoring your companion, without regretting your lost memories? Will we be missing Savoldi any time soon, too? To conclude: should we experience a collapse, let us at least confide in the blue pill, before emasculating ourselves.

Continua a leggere le notizie di 1000 Cuori Rossoblu e segui la nostra pagina Facebook