Dan Ndoye celebrates winning the Coppa Italia (Photo by Emmanuele Ciancaglini/Ciancaphoto … More
With big clubs dominating across Europe’s top five leagues, Wednesday’s Coppa Italia Final saw one of the minnows taking home the silverware. Taking on Serie A giants AC Milan, it would be Bologna who bucked the trend and took the trophy away from the seven-time European champions.
It was the perfect way to cap a remarkable season for Bologna, who also enjoyed their first ever foray into the UEFA Champions League during 2024/25. Those trips to venues like Anfield and Villa Park will never be forgotten, nor will welcoming the likes of Borussia Dortmund and AS Monaco to the Stadio Dall’Ara.
But this game was about much more than memories, it was about sealing tangible success for the Rossoblu in the kind of upset that so rarely happens, especially in Italian football.
Bologna cause rare Coppa Italia upset
Over the past 25 years, Serie A’s big clubs have dominated the Coppa Italia, Juventus and Inter winning it six times each, with Lazio (5), Napoli (3) and AS Roma (2) all routinely lifting the trophy.
The only three victories not belonging to those five giant clubs were triumphs for AC Milan, Parma and Fiorentina, another trio of teams that were part of the league’s elite when they claimed Coppa Italia glory.
The same cannot be said of Bologna, a club who hadn’t won a major trophy since 1974. After sweeping aside Monza in their first Coppa Italia outing, their road to the final had not been easier, gritting out an impressive win over Atalanta in the quarterfinals before beating an Empoli side who had eliminated Juventus in the previous round.
That two-legged semi-final triumph saw them secure a trip to Rome, with Milan having knocked out neighbours Inter to do the same. Bologna were heavy underdogs, particularly as their Coach – Vincenzo Italiano – had a woeful record in finals during his time with Fiorentina.
Indeed, the 47-year-old had lost the UEFA Conference League Final in each of the last two seasons with La Viola, also losing the 2023 Coppa Italia Final against Inter before leaving Florence last summer.
Dan Ndoye becomes Bologna hero
But none of that seemed to matter when the game got underway on Wednesday evening. Right from kickoff, Bologna seemed to have the perfect gameplan to nullify Milan’s attacking threats while constantly causing their opponents problems.
Mike Maignan was called into action early, diving at the feet of Riccardo Orsolini, before then pulling out an excellent save to push a glancing header from the fit-again Santiago Castro off the line.
Lukasz Skorupski made some good saves at the other end, but the Milan goalkeeper was undoubtedly the busiest of the too, pulling off yet another good save to deny Emil Holm on a well-worked set piece.
Immediately after that came a couple of incidents that frustrated Milan. Lewis Ferguson brought down Rafael Leao when it looked like he would break away, collecting a yellow card for his trouble.
The Scotland midfielder then clashed with Christian Pulisic, but the referee gave the decision to Bologna and booked the Milan striker when it could instead have meant a second yellow for Ferguson.
Jhon Lucumi made a crucial interception just after half time, but Bologna once again established control. A breakaway from Riccardo Orsolini was stopped by Theo Hernandez, only for the ball to fall to Dan Ndoye who drilled a powerful effort beyond Maignan and into the back of the net.
Milan – desperate to salvage something from an abysmal season – looked to respond but, despite good chances for Luca Jovic, Joao Felix and Santiago Gimenez, the Rossoblu held firm much to the delight of the man who scored the only goal.
“Today is incredible, seeing all our fans in this stadium,” a delighted Ndoye told Sports Mediaset. “It was a tough game, but we won for the city, for the fans, it’s incredible and we are so happy. We scored at the right time, then defended like a real team, we held tough.”
That is undeniable, and so too is the fact that Dan Ndoye and his Bologna team-mates will forever be heroes to Bologna supporters.