On Saturday, 11 May, Bologna travelled to Naples for a huge match in the race for Champions League football. Although Napoli's race is already run on that front, the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona is never an easy place to go but Bologna knew that a win would put them in a commanding position with two games of the season to play.
A defeat, however, would have left the door open for Atalanta and Roma to move ahead of them in the final few weeks of the season.
Thiago Motta's men have surpassed all expectations this season and Champions League qualification would be historic in that they have never played in the modern version of the tournament. Their last appearance in the European Cup came in 1964.
They took a huge step towards securing their place in next season's tournament with a 2-0 win against Napoli on Saturday thanks to two early goals from Ndoye and Posch. It leaves them in third place, seven points clear of Atalanta and Roma in 5th and 6th place respectively.
Bologna fans greet players at training ground after Napoli win
The importance of the victory clearly wasn't lost on the Bologna fans who travelled to the club's training ground after the victory to greet the players on their arrival from Naples.
๐ฉ๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ต๐จ ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ญ๐ฌ๐บ๐ป๐จ ๐ด๐ต
Accoglienza da brividi ๐คฉ La #ChampionsLeague รจ vicinissima โณ๐ฅ @alessiodegiu #Bologna #DAZN pic.twitter.com/hHeEIrCobR
โ DAZN Italia (@DAZN_IT) May 11, 2024
Thousands of fans gathered at the training facility and the club coach was greeted with songs, flares, fireworks and smoke bombs as they drove in to park up. After initially being shocked by what was greeting them, the squad quickly embraced what was going on.
They then showed their appreciation to the Bologna fans by climbing up on to the roof of the training round, likely against health and safety advice, to salute them and record the scenes on their phones.
#Bologna, tifosi in delirio per il rientro della squadra in cittร pic.twitter.com/ZYYC6ZObbz
โ TUTTOmercatoWEB (@TuttoMercatoWeb) May 11, 2024
The party in Bologna will likely extend into tonight if Roma fails to beat Atalanta. An Atalnata victory or a draw would mean Bologna can finish no lower than 5th and with Italy guaranteed an extra spot in next season's Champions League, that would be enough for them to dine at European football's top table in 2024/25.