Retro Bologna Shirts – The Rossoblù Heritage

Bologna FC was founded on 3 October 1909 by a group of students and intellectuals gathered at the Birreria Ronzani, including the Czech dentist Emilio Arnstein and the Swiss Louis Rauch, the club's first president. From these international, academic roots Bologna quickly became one of Italian football's dominant forces. The 1920s and 1930s were the club's golden age. Under the legendary coach Árpád Weisz, the Hungarian tactician who later perished at Auschwitz, Bologna won back-to-back Scudetti in 1936 and 1937, and a third in 1939. The club famously defeated Chelsea 4-1 in the 1937 Mitropa Cup final and travelled to Paris in 1937 to win the Tournoi de l'Exposition Universelle, beating Chelsea again on the way and announcing themselves as 'Lo squadrone che tremare il mondo fa' – the squad that makes the world tremble. A fifth Scudetto followed in 1941. After the war, Bologna had to wait until 1964 for their seventh and most romantic title, won in a play-off against Inter Milan at Rome's Stadio Olimpico just months after president Renato Dall'Ara died of a heart attack during the title run-in. The 1970s brought two Coppa Italia triumphs in 1970 and 1974, but the following decades were tougher. Relegation to Serie B struck more than once, including a painful drop in 1982 amid financial chaos. The 1990s saw revival under Renzo Ulivieri, leading to a UEFA Intertoto Cup triumph in 1998 and a UEFA Cup semi-final the following season. The fierce Derby dell'Appennino against Fiorentina remains a fixture loaded with regional rivalry, while modern Bologna, under American owner Joey Saputo and managers like Siniša Mihajlović and Thiago Motta, qualified for the Champions League in 2024 for the first time in over six decades.

Bologna's history is studded with legends who defined entire eras of Italian football. Angelo Schiavio, the deadly inside forward of the 1930s, scored 242 goals for the club and netted the winner in extra time of the 1934 World Cup final for Italy – a Bologna man crowned world champion in his own country's colours. Carlo Reguzzoni, his strike partner, holds the all-time appearance record with over 400 games. The 1964 title-winning side built around the imperious Danish defender Helmut Haller, midfield general Romano Fogli, and the Brazilian schemer José João Altafini who arrived later, sits in club folklore alongside coach Fulvio Bernardini. In the 1980s Eraldo Pecci pulled the strings in midfield, while the 1990s brought one of the most beloved figures of all – Beppe Signori, the diminutive striker whose left foot lit up the Dall'Ara and earned Italy caps deep into his Bologna years. Roberto Baggio, the Divine Ponytail, spent a memorable 1997-98 season at Bologna scoring 22 Serie A goals and forcing his way back into Italy's World Cup squad. Giuseppe Savoldi, Roberto Soldani and Giacomo Bulgarelli all wore the rossoblù with distinction. More recently, Marco Di Vaio, Gianluca Pagliuca returning home as goalkeeper, and the late Siniša Mihajlović as manager – whose courageous battle with leukaemia inspired the Champions League dreamers under Thiago Motta – have all etched their names into Bologna lore.

The Bologna retro shirt is one of the most distinctive in world football. The classic vertical red and blue halves – left side red, right side blue, often with white shorts – have remained essentially unchanged for over a century, making any era's kit instantly recognisable. The 1960s and 1970s shirts, with simple V-necks and no sponsor, are wonderfully pure pieces of calcio history. The 1980s introduced sponsorship and shirt manufacturers like Ennerre (NR), and Bologna's kits from this era often featured names like Aiazzone and Cerveza beneath the iconic halves. The 1990s under Diadora and later Macron produced some collector classics, with Roberto Baggio's number 10 shirt from 1997-98 and Beppe Signori's number 11 among the most hunted. Granarolo, the Emilian dairy cooperative, became a long-running and beloved sponsor that perfectly suited the club's regional identity. Reissues with the Macron logo, Granarolo print and slim-fit collars from the 2010s remain coveted. Collectors particularly seek the centenary 2009 shirt and any kit linked to the squadrone era, though originals from the 1930s are virtually impossible to find outside museums.