Exclusive: Lewis Ferguson lifts lid on Bologna's rise and Premier League 'dream' ahead of 'massive' Juventus clash in Serie A

There is an Italian expression that neatly sums Bologna up: la dotta, la grassa e la rossa.

It translates to ‘the scholarly, the fat and the red’ – a nod to the city boasting Europe’s oldest university, its status as a gastronomic powerhouse, and being known for both red-tiled roofs and historic links to left-wing politics.

At this rate, they might need to add a fourth word to the list: il calcio - football.

Bologna FC are on the rise and the city’s devotion to its club was clear when pulling up to the training ground on a rainy Tuesday afternoon, where colourful banners written in red and blue lit up the drizzly gloom of the day.

”We are always with you,” read one.

”Thank you guys, proud of you,” said another. 

These heartwarming messages weren’t left by chance. Over the last three seasons, Bologna burst out of mid-table obscurity to qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in 60 years, won their first Coppa Italia in more than half a century, and reached their first European quarter-final since the 1990s.

Lewis Ferguson has been in the thick of it all and his rise has been as spectacular as his club's; he signed from Aberdeen in 2022 as a 22-year-old prospect who had never played outside of Scotland, and has gone on to be named Serie A midfielder of the year and become captain during one of the Rossoblu's most celebrated periods.

”It’s been an amazing four years in terms of growing as a club. Playing in the latter stages of Europe - it doesn’t just happen by chance,” Ferguson told TNT Sports ahead of Bologna’s Serie A trip to Juventus on Sunday, live on TNT Sports and HBO Max.

”You’ve got everybody inside this building working as hard as they can and then, with the right structure and ideas behind it, it can all come together. It’s been fantastic."

Bologna’s ability to maintain their momentum has been arguably their most impressive achievement of all.

After finishing fifth to reach the Champions League in 2023/24, coach Thiago Motta left to join Juventus and star players Joshua Zirkzee and Riccardo Calafiori sealed big-money moves to Manchester United and Arsenal respectively.

Then, after winning the Coppa Italia to qualify for Europe again last summer, more key men departed as Nottingham Forest poached winger Dan Ndoye and Napoli swooped for defender Sam Beukema.

But once again, Bologna have enjoyed a memorable campaign in which rising stars like striker Santiago Castro and winger Jonathan Rowe have come to the fore.

”Every season we lose some of our best players, but that falls back on the sporting directors, the work that they do. They are able to replace these guys every year,” Ferguson explained.

”When Zirkzee left, Castro was ready. When Calafiori left, there was Beukema. When he left, Jhon [Lucumi] was still here, and [Martin] Vitik and [Torbjorn] Heggem now. When Dan [Ndoye] left, Jonny [Rowe] was there. That’s the job of [sporting director] Marco Di Vaio and [technical director] Giovanni Sartori, and they do that job fantastically.”

With Calafiori, Zirkzee and Nodye earning Premier League moves in the last two summer windows, it is little wonder that Rossoblu players continue to be linked with English clubs – including Ferguson in recent years, and Rowe following his superb first-leg display against Aston Villa in the UEFA Europa League.

”At a club like Bologna where we’re pushing to get better every year, we’re playing in the latter stages of Europe, and we won a trophy last season, it’s natural that clubs in the Premier League start to take notice and have a look at the players,” Ferguson said.

”For me, the Premier League is the best league in the world.”

Asked if playing in the English top-flight was an objective of his, the Scot replied: ”I’ve never thought too much about it."

”I’m always quite open, I don’t set my mind on one thing and say ‘that’s what I want’. I would be quite open to other places. But as a kid, I always watched the Premier League, so it is in the back of your head that you would like to play there one day.

”I still watch it now, and it’s always a league that has really interested me. That’s not to say I’m thinking about playing in the Premier League every day, it’s just something in the back of my head from when I was a kid, it was always a dream.”

Before anything else, Bologna have a league campaign to rescue after finding themselves with a mountain to climb in the race for European qualification.

Vincenzo Italiano’s side go into Sunday’s clash with fourth-placed Juventus in Turin sitting eighth on 48 points, nine adrift of the top six and with a daunting run-in coming up.

”Our form in the league took a dip just after Christmas," says Ferguson.

"Before that, we were going really well, challenging for the European places. Then we just hit a really bad run of form, and it came at a bad time.

”We dropped out of that race. We’re still there or thereabouts. We know it’s going to be a hell of an ask to push, but we’re not going to give up on it. There are still six games to play and there are massive games: Juve, Napoli, Atalanta, Roma, Inter.

”We’re going to need a bit of help in terms of other teams dropping points, so it probably suits us to come up against those teams because if we win, the teams above us are dropping points.

”It’s going to be tough. Going away to Juve, it’s going to be a good atmosphere, nice stadium, but we’ll look to win that game and pick up as many points as possible to make up a bit of ground.”

Scotland will compete at the World Cup for the first time in 28 years this summer, giving Ferguson the chance to experience his first major tournament after the cruel heartbreak of suffering an ACL injury two months before Euro 2024 ended his hopes last time out.

However, his adopted nation of Italy won't be there after suffering a shock defeat in their play-off final to Bosnia-Herzegovina to mark a disastrous third consecutive failed World Cup qualification campaign.

That sparked a nationwide debate about the state of the Italian game and what areas must be addressed to bring the four-time world champions out of the international wilderness.

Ferguson described the Azzurri’s play-off loss as ”a disaster for Italian football” but saw positives too as he considered the wider issues in Italian football.

”I’m not from here, I wasn’t brought up here, but I see a lot of talk online about Italian football and a lot of people talk it down,” he said.

”I think the level is really high. Inter don’t make the Champions League final two times in three years if the level’s not high. Atalanta don’t win the Europa League and Roma don’t win the Conference League if the level’s not high.

”I completely agree that a lot of things need to change, in terms of youth development and infrastructure. These things can improve. In any country and league there is always something to improve.

”Those two things are the most important for Italy. You don’t see a really young kid breaking into one of the teams and being a superstar like you see in Spain or England. There are kids who are 16, 17, 18 playing in the Premier League and La Liga.

”That’s one thing missing in Italy: you don’t see enough teenagers coming through. That’s something they can definitely improve on here, but I don’t think it’s all bad.

”Yes, it’s a disaster they haven’t made the World Cup, but youth development and infrastructure can definitely make a difference in the next five to 10 years to improve the national team. I don’t think it’s all as bad as it’s been made out to be.”

Bologna’s Serie A clash with Juventus in Turin is also live on TNT Sports and HBO Max on Sunday, April 19, kicking off at 19:45.