The Japan Times - Scotland's Ferguson ends injury nightmare with Bologna cup triumph

Scotland midfielder Ferguson has had to battle through a tough period after suffering a cruciate ligament tear in April, an injury which cost him a chance to play at Euro 2024 and a hefty chunk of this season.

The 25-year-old, who returned to action in November, has also had to deal with other muscular injuries which have hampered his comeback, but fought back and was rewarded by leading Bologna to a historic victory as captain.

Ferguson was again crucial on Wednesday night, with a typically classy and feisty performance at Rome's Stadio Olimpico before celebrating wildly with joyous teammates and tearful fans in the stands.

He had to play much of the match with a bloody nose after clattering into Rafael Leao towards the end of the first half, and was forced to change a blood-stained shirt as Bologna defended their slender lead earned with Dan Ndoye's 53rd-minute strike.

"Obviously I had a really serious injury and I had to work really hard for six, seven months. More even," Ferguson told reporters on Wednesday night.

"Then when I got back I had to work even harder, then I got injured again, and then again.

"It's been a really hard year, but I'm really happy to be here. We put in a historic performance tonight."

Ferguson's Scotland teammate Scott McTominay has dominated the headlines as the star of a potentially Scudetto-winning Napoli team.

But Ferguson is one of a clutch of Scotsmen to have already shone in Italy, blossoming since moving to the Mediterranean nation from Aberdeen in 2022 and becoming one of the stars of Bologna's recent resurgence.

- Making history -

He was key to Bologna qualifying for the modern Champions League for the first time last season -- discounting a brief stay in the old European Cup back in 1964 -- and in late 2023 overtook Denis Law as the highest-scoring Scot in Serie A history.

A poor league phase campaign in Europe's top club competition put a downer on the first half of Bologna's first season under coach Vincenzo Italiano.

But things began to click at the tail end of their failed continental campaign, with their win over Borussia Dortmund in January -- their first ever in the Champions League -- being celebrated like they'd won a trophy.

Since then, Bologna have gone from strength to strength -- they're still in the hunt for next season's Champions League and are now cup winners.

"In the three years since I've been here we've grown a lot, every year we improve our level of play and the way we work," said Ferguson.

"Last year we made a records points total, we made history by getting into the Champions League and now we've made history again."

Ferguson has come a long way since his last cup final, lost to Celtic in his debut season in the Aberdeen first team back in 2018.

"This morning I watched that match to remind myself how I felt... I used it to motivate me for tonight," said Ferguson.

Bologna have two matches left in their Serie A campaign to reach the Champions League, with two points separating them from fourth-placed Juventus ahead of fixtures with Fiorentina and Genoa.

T.Sasaki--JT