Valles (Bolzano), July 18, 2026 – Dark clouds over Valles. It was hard to imagine a worse start for the new Bologna under Domenico Tedesco, in front of two thousand fans who came up to Val Pusteria for their team’s debut. Rain was feared, but it was a downpour. As for goals: it ended with a heavy 0-4 defeat against Arminia Bielefeld, worsened by the expulsion after 40 minutes of Jonathan Rowe for an unjustifiable retaliatory foul. It was supposed to be a valuable test after a week of training camp, but the first friendly in Val Pusteria was a monologue by the Germans, a Bundesliga 2 team (their second division) that will debut in the league in two weeks. They were too far ahead in condition, the rossoblù too far behind, with legs heavy from work. With these premises, the defeat was expected, okay: but not in this manner. Because until Rowe’s expulsion, the gap on the field was very wide, especially in terms of organization.
Read more 4-year-old girl drowns in the pool of a hotel in Milano Marittima
The match: Tedesco debuts with 4-3-3
Tedesco sets up Bologna in a 4-3-3, with Pessina in goal (Skorupski not called up as a precaution), defensive line with De Silvestri, Casale, Helland, and Miranda: in midfield Badori with Pobega and Odgaard as mezzalas and up front the trident Dominguez, Castro and Rowe. Just eight minutes pass and Arminia is already ahead. Momuluh steals the ball from Rowe and shoots: Pessina saves, but on the tap-in Grodowski scores unchallenged.
At 14’ the Germans’ second goal is grotesque: on a long ball from the goalkeeper, Pessina comes out of the area but fails to coordinate with Casale who stops the ball, displacing his goalkeeper, Grodowski takes advantage and scores into an empty net. Momuluh at 16’ nearly scores the third but it arrives promptly at 29’: on another goalkeeper’s long ball, Koudossou crosses, the ball stays there and Worl scores without problems.
Johnny loses his head: suffers a foul, gets up and hits the opponent
The game gets tense, with some frustration from the rossoblù and a bit too much verve from the Germans. Dominguez goes in hard on Schreck and gets a yellow card. Shortly after Rowe loses his head: he suffers a foul from Russo, gets up and hits the opponent with a chest-shoulder blow.
Referee Pizzi from Bergamo shows a straight red card. Bologna remains with ten men and faces an agonizing second half, where Tedesco changes all the players, setting up a 4-4-1 with Bernardeschi in midfield with El Azzouzi, Orsolini and Cambiaghi on the wings and Dallinga up front. The rossoblù hold on until the 90th minute, when Bauer heads past Happonen. Final whistle, with an encouraging applause from the fans. Tomorrow is a day off: training resumes Monday and Wednesday the second friendly against Heidenheim, another German second division team.
Read more “Petition against free buses for asylum seekers”: the proposal of Brothers of Italy in Bologna
