On Sunday 3 October 1909, about twenty-five young men gathered on the first floor of a beer hall in central Bologna and founded a football team. On 3 October 2027 Bologna turn 118 years old. It is the story of a cosmopolitan group, a shirt borrowed from a Swiss school and a team that "made the world tremble".

A beer hall and an international crowd

The meeting took place at the Ronzani beer hall on Via Spaderie, home of the Circolo Turistico Bolognese. The new team began life as the football section of this touring club.

The driving force was Emilio Arnstein, a sales agent from Prague who had already helped set up a team in Central Europe. Around him were Spanish students from the Royal College of Spain, local Bolognese, and young men from Livorno, Naples, Switzerland and Prague.

The first president was a Swiss dentist, Louis Rauch. The vice-president, Guido Della Valle, was just 15 years old.

Red and blue from Switzerland

The first captain, Arrigo Gradi, was also asked to choose the kit. He proposed the shirt of the Swiss college in Rorschach where he had studied, quartered in red and blue, and everyone agreed. Sources give slightly different names for the school, but all agree that this is where the "rossoblù" were born.

In 1910 the team broke away from the club and switched to vertical red and blue stripes, which became its trademark. In 2000-01 a bolder version was tried, with just two wide bands, one red and one blue.

The most unexpected shirt came in 1925, the year of the first title. It was dark green with black trim, inspired by Rapid Vienna and also chosen for the heat, and it stayed on as a change kit, alternating with white, until the 1980s.

A crest with the city's flag

The oval crest carries the initials BFC and the year 1909 in white on blue at the top. On the left are red and blue stripes, and on the right a red cross on white, as on the flag of Bologna.

The year 1909 was added after the 1993 bankruptcy, when the club was rebuilt. In 2018 the gold borders became platinum and the colours were darkened.

"The team that makes the world tremble"

Bologna have won seven Italian titles: 1925, 1929, 1936, 1937, 1939, 1941 and 1964. In the 1930s, under coaches Árpád Weisz and Hermann Felsner, they earned the nickname "lo squadrone che tremare il mondo fa", the great team that makes the world tremble.

In the same era they twice won the Central European Cup, in 1932 and 1934. In 1927 their home ground opened, today's Stadio Renato Dall'Ara.

The most emotional title came in 1964. President Renato Dall'Ara died three days before the title play-off against Inter, the team won it for him, and the stadium was later named after him.

Legends and a new golden age

Angelo Schiavio is the club's all-time top scorer, with more than 240 goals. Giacomo Bulgarelli holds the appearance record with 488, and Helmut Haller, Roberto Baggio, Giuseppe Signori and Marco Di Vaio also wore the shirt.

Recent years have brought fresh joy. In 2024-25 Bologna played in the Champions League for the first time since 1964-65, and on 14 May 2025 they beat Milan 1-0 in the final to win the Coppa Italia, their first since 1974.

Today the rossoblù are still in Serie A, where they finished eighth in 2025-26.

Celebrate with us

From a beer hall on Via Spaderie to the 2025 cup triumph, Bologna remain true to their red and blue stripes. Happy 118th birthday, rossoblù!

See our collectible jerseys at sportarena.gr.

Photo: the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara – Nick.mon, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.