Written by Matteo Ciaramella
Sometimes, a football season can feel like a movie. Real life loses its ‘realness’ and we end up witnessing stories and plots worthy of winning the Academy Award for ‘Best Picture’. Well, if I had to pick a movie for 1964, I would not give it to the original winner – Tom Jones by Tony Richardson – but rather, to an unbelievably thrilling campaign that has etched its place in the minds of the people in Bologna, Italy.
This is the 1963-1964 Bologna title run.
The typical dramatic Hollywood movie usually follows a standard plot. You start off an underdog, whether it is one person or a collective. They have always been under the radar, living in the shadows of a stronger, mightier character, but all of that is about to change. The underdog starts strong, whatever their pursuit or objective is. Everyone around cannot believe it, and just feels lucky to be living in this fantastic tale. The atmosphere is positive, happy. Then, the inevitable downfall.
Right after the halfway mark, just as everything seems to be going perfectly, something shatters. Whether it is wrongdoing by the antagonist or simply bad luck, the underdog stalls, and the story takes a sad turn. The viewers are left in a state of scary uncertainty – they, we, no one knows what will happen. What we do know, however, is that we want to see the underdog win, no matter what. Through sheer will, desire, and determination, the underdog rises back up, stronger than before. At this point, both the viewers and surrounding characters are on a high, as they cheer on the underdog towards that one objective that has been haunting them for so long. At last, we get the desired outcome, and all is good in the world.
Scene.
Now, let’s rephrase.
The year is 1963. Bologna Football Club has concluded yet another trophyless season – the 22nd one to be exact. A former giant of the sport, winning ways have simply vanished from the streets of Bologna, and the club now comfortably resides in the middle of the pack, occasionally making a run for slightly higher league finishes. Head coach Fulvio Bernardini is a revolutionary with past success, yet his progressive ideas have not materialized into a Serie A title since 1956. At Bologna, he is at the helm of a promising team, but no one considers them real title threats. Bigger clubs like Milan’s Inter and Turin’s Juventus are deemed far more equipped for a title, and that is a universal belief. But it’s in moments like this, when all of the odds are stacked against someone, that their tenacity and will to succeed are highest. This is exactly what happened to Bologna.
After a very average start to the season – with 4 wins, 5 ties, and a loss in 10 games – something just clicked in the Bologna squad. 10 consecutive wins followed and an unbelievable climb back up the table had fans in awe. The team had become this unstoppable train, charging at the league championship with no intention of giving up. A 2-1 win over title rivals AC Milan on March 1st, 1964 was enough to catapult Bologna fans onto an inconceivable level of hope. At last, 23 years later, their title dreams felt real.
Unfortunately, that feeling was about to be chewed up and spat out mercilessly.
On March 4th, the Italian Football federation issued a statement declaring that 5 Bologna players had tested positive to an anti-doping check before a game against Torino, a month prior. In a shocking turn of events, the federation deducted the two points that came from Bologna’s victory in the game, and further penalized them with another point off the tally. Fogli, Pascutti, Pavinato, Perani, and Tumburus – the alleged abusers – thankfully got off with no suspension, as they were deemed unaware of all the wrongdoing.
The Bolognese people didn’t know what to do, how to feel, or what to think. What will be of their team, who just the other day was the main favorite to win the Scudetto? When the point deduction took place, riots broke out, and the city of Bologna became a hot mess. The people were angry, as were the players. Star midfielder Giacomo Bulgarelli bitterly remarked “How are you going to convince people that this is not a swindle? We have been stifled so many times now…”, while Romano Fogli stated that “Fogli is retiring! These things should not be happening!”
The underdog team that dazzled spectators with their beautiful football was convicted of a heinous crime. Good guy turned bad. Hard to believe, but true.
Fortunately, among those furious Bologna’s fans were three lawyers: Mario Cagli, Alberto Magri, and Arrigo Gabellini. They took on the case and a couple of days later, the prosecuting attorney ordered the doping-positive urine samples to be taken to Bologna for new testing. With the risk of contamination during the transportation of these samples, however, the prosecutors decided to travel to Florence, where the evidence was stored. There, the story takes another surprising turn: the samples were not sealed whatsoever and placed next to amphetamine tubes – a forbidden substance in the world of sports. When testing the urine in fact, researchers unsurprisingly uncovered amphetamine. What was rather curious, however, is that it was found in amounts that could easily kill a man.
Someone had manipulated the evidence.
Regardless, on March 20th, head coach Fulvio Bernardini and team doctor Igino Poggiali were disqualified from football for a staggering 18 months. Upon hearing the news, club president Renato Dall’Ara could not help but cry. Rock bottom. This is the lowest point of the movie for our protagonist, but as sad as that might sound, the good news is that the only way from here is up.
On May 16th, in fact, everything changed – the good guy is good after all. Following a compelling chase after Inter through March and April, Bologna finally got their 3 deducted points back, courtesy of a ruling that found the evidence inconclusive and free of any forbidden substance. The two teams were now level on points, and despite the city of Bologna hoping for a last-minute overtake, the deadlock remained intact. By the end of the season, Inter and Bologna both sat at 54 points.
Fervent debates followed, though one solution stood out: a tie-breaker game. By many accounts creative, ingenious, and slightly nonsensical, this really was the only real option available. The Olympic Stadium in Rome was chosen as the venue and June 7th as the date, giving the two teams but a week to prepare after their final league games. Fulvio Bernardini – a Rome native – decided to take his player to Fregene, just outside of Italy’s capital, and get ready for the decisive game away from fans, media, and the ever-distracting spotlight. The purpose of this ‘bubble’ approach was simply to protect the players from external, disruptive forces, and allow them to approach the game with a clear head. A noble and respectable yet in vain try by Bernardini, as the preparation for the big day was ultimately overshadowed by the sudden passing of president Dall’Ara on June 3rd, 1964, 4 days before the tie-breaker. A father figure not only to the Bologna players and staff, but to the entire Bolognese population, Renato Dall’Ara greatly influenced those around him and was sure to be missed dearly. While certainly distracting our heroes from the game with deep sorrow and frustration, the passing is what fueled them with the proper motivation and heart needed to overcome the overwhelming favorites that were Inter, and end this spectacular season on a positive note. It is also worth mentioning that the Italian Football Federation was willing to postpone the game, but the Bologna players decidedly opted to keep the original date so as to honor their president fittingly: by winning.
And so June 7th arrives. The game is one of the most anticipated events in Italian football history. Under near-40 degree weather, the two teams fielded their usual lineups, except for a tiny change in Bologna’s squad. To replace the injured winger Ezio Pascutti, Bernardini decided to give this movie one final twist, and play fullback Bruno Capra, who had made just 11 league appearances during the entire season. A surprising move to say the least, but a winning one at that. The unexpected change had Inter players and manager Helenio Herrera, to put it mildly, confused. In a dominating display, Capra played a big role in securing the win for Bologna, as did goals by Romano Fogli and Harald Nielsen, to ultimately give the city of Bologna and its citizens this long-awaited, emotional, and hard-earned title.
Scene.
References
https://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/SerieA/Squadre/Bologna/Primo_Piano/2009/02/19/spareggioscudetto.shtml
https://tuttocalcio360.altervista.org/7-giugno-1964-bologna-inter-2-0-felsinei-campioni-ditalia/?doing_wp_cron=1668493922.1232919692993164062500https://storiedicalcio.altervista.org/blog/bologna_63_64.html: 1963-1964 Bologna: the Hollywood season https://www.ultimouomo.com/il-misterioso-caso-del-settimo-scudetto-del-bologna/: 1963-1964 Bologna: the Hollywood season