There was one thing within the water in Bologna this 12 months. Or the ragù, maybe.
Not solely did the soccer membership representing this gastronomic stronghold within the centre of Italy qualify for the Champions League for the primary time ever, however their gamers have continued to experience that wave of momentum at Euro 2024.
Whether or not it was Riccardo Calafiori’s barnstorming help for Italy towards Croatia, Stefan Posch’s energetic performances for the spectacular Austrians, or goalkeeper Lukas Skorupski’s man-of-the-match show for Poland towards France, they’ve popped up in every single place.
The truth is, on the finish of the group stage the Serie A membership identified that their gamers had supplied extra objective contributions on the match than some other membership with two objectives and 5 assists. Not dangerous going for the underdogs from Emilia-Romagna.
No doubt, one nation has showcased this unchained Bologna-mania greater than some other: Switzerland.
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Midfield duo Michel Aebischer and Remo Freuler have every supplied a objective and two assists to this point, however they’ve arguably been outshone by a team-mate who ought to ship shivers down the backbone of any nervy England fan, Dan Ndoye.
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The winger’s electrical attacking shows have lit up the match, even when he solely has one objective to indicate for it to this point. However what a objective it was.
Ndoye’s run between two Germany centre-backs and guided volley was his first strike for the Swiss senior staff, and helped them go agonisingly near a well-known win over the host nation, who bagged a late equaliser.
The Bologna winger’s electrical tempo and dizzying dribbling expertise have made him a standout participant to this point and even earned the 23-year-old switch hyperlinks to the likes of Manchester United and Inter Milan.
“His improvement is unbelievable, I can see it day after day,” mentioned Switzerland supervisor Murat Yakin. “He has grown rather a lot because the Underneath-21s and it was an awesome choice to hitch Bologna. He’s younger, I like having him within the staff rather a lot along with his unpredictability and his clear head; the objective towards Germany helped to unblock him mentally.”
Yakin has been delighted by Ndoye’s progress (Picture credit score: Getty Photos)
A number of English consideration will undoubtedly be skilled on acquainted faces like Man Metropolis defender Manuel Akanji, Newcastle’s Fabian Schar and ex-Arsenal man Granit Xhaka.
However Ndoye may effectively be the person to determine whether or not his nation reaches a serious match semi-final for the primary time ever in Dusseldorf – at the very least that’s how former Switzerland worldwide Blerim Dzemaili sees it.
“You don’t know easy methods to tackle this staff as they don’t provide you with any reference factors. They will defend and counter-attack, but additionally preserve the ball with Freuler and Xhaka, who is absolutely the chief,” Dzemaili advised Corriere della Sera.
“However the essential participant is Ndoye. He’s doing issues that no person was anticipating, he’s even scoring objectives and that’s giving him much more confidence.”
Calafiori is one other Bologna participant to have a breakthrough 12 months (Picture credit score: Getty Photos)
Ndoye’s rise has been fast, however he’s not the one one; club-mates Calafiori, Joshua Zirkzee and Lewis Ferguson have had equally ascendant years. The winger joined Bologna from Basel final summer time after spells with Lausanne and Good and was a key determine in Motta’s facet as they completed fifth, shaking up the established elite by bettering giants like Roma, Lazio, Fiorentina and Napoli.
Though he was removed from scientific, scoring one objective in 32 video games to go together with two assists, Ndoye performed an necessary position tactically, diligently monitoring again to assist defensively in what proved to be excellent preparation for a summer time spent with Yakin’s tactically astute, hard-working facet. “Thiago Motta scolded me typically to make me defend extra, and I thank him for it as a result of that allowed me to enhance rather a lot,” Ndoye mentioned.
Make no mistake. Ought to England have any gaps on the again, he’ll discover them. Ought to they discover themselves leaving an excessive amount of house, he’ll assault it.
Ndoye has been a hive of exercise in his appearances to this point, with 18 dribbles and 13 makes an attempt on objective whereas clocking a dash pace of 35.6 km/h that solely six gamers have bettered. Earlier than arriving in Germany, Ndoye had solely began one aggressive match for his nation.
Now he may determine whether or not they turn out to be the primary Swiss facet ever to make the ultimate 4 of a serious match, after falling on the quarter-final hurdle three years in the past on the Euros and 3 times on the World Cup.
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