#OnThisDay: 30 April 1939, 80 years ago, we won our fifth Scudetto
Weisz asked for a serious overhaul following the difficulties faced the season prior and the key new players were Aurelio Marchese from Sanremo and the light-hearted but rebellious striker from Montevideo. Bologna had their great centre-forward and it was Hector Puricelli Seña. It was a good omen as his name Seña sounds like the Italian word for scoring, segna…
That’s what happened. He was brilliant in the air to put it lightly. He was top scorer with 19 goals, nine of which came from headers as he received great service from Biavati as his magnificent timing allowed him to get there before any defender. The Rossoblu started in fine form, winning at Genoa and Bari thanks to his goals. The incredibly difficult situation faced by Arpad Weisz then seemed to affect the team as they lost a couple of games heavily. On 27 October 1938, the great Coach made his departure fleeing for France during the long journey with his family that tragically led to his death in a concentration camp. Dall’Ara called his old friend Hermann Felsner who was able to leave Milan and eager to come back.
After their early exploits, Liguria flew out the blocks with Bologna catching up thanks to a sensational 19-game unbeaten run that only ended in April with a 1-0 loss to Juventus with Puricelli missing and it was a controversial goal. Sansone’s team were winter champions along with the Genoa club who soon fell away after a draw in Puglia. With Bologna leading, challenges from Ambrosiana and Torino were fought off thanks to the efforts of top scorer Puricelli. On 30 April 1939, Bologna became champions of Italy for the fifth time at Roma’s Campo Testaccio with two games to spare.
30 April 1939, Matchday 28
Roma, Campo Testaccio
ROMA 0-1 BOLOGNA
ROMA: Masetti, Asin, Gadaldi, De Grassi, Donati, Fusco, Borsetti, Serantoni, Michelini, Coscia, Alghisi. Coach: Ara.
BOLOGNA: Ferrari, Pagotto, Ricci, Maini, Andreolo, Corsi, Biavati, Sansone, Puricelli, Fedullo, Reguzzoni. Coach: Felsner.
Referee: Barlassina from Novara.
Goal: 47′ Puricelli.