THE Bologna fans who had been waiting for some time outside the Niccolo Galli Training Centre in Casteldebole on the western outskirts of the historic Italian city in the hope of grabbing one of their players for a selfie or an autograph weren’t disappointed when Lewis Ferguson finally emerged through the electronic gates.
The Scotland internationalist stopped his vehicle, lowered the window and obligingly signed the replica strips, photographs and posters which the supporters had been clutching, answering their questions about when he expected to return from the injury he had been sidelined by as he did so.
As the dark thunderclouds which had been hovering ominously in the distance gradually drew nearer and the threat of a soaking increased, a few of the gathering offered their thanks to the I Rossoblu captain and dashed off to find shelter. Grazie mille Saint Lewis! Grazie mille!
Ferguson, though, waited patiently until all of the remaining requests had been satisfied before restarting his engine, bidding his wellwishers arrivederci, accelerating out into the road and finally heading for home.
Making a sudden exit clearly never enters his thinking, allowing his attention to wander beyond the here and now is obviously not in his nature when there are more pressing matters to attend to.
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The former Hamilton and Aberdeen midfielder has once again been linked with rival clubs – including current top flight leaders Napoli - in recent weeks as a result of his assured performances for Bologna in Serie A and the Champions League league phase this season.
The prospect of him joining forces with his countrymen and fellow national team members Billy Gilmour and Scott McTominay at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona next term is a tantalising one for members of the Tartan Army.
The 14-times capped 25-year-old has been around the professional game long enough now – he made his first team debut at New Douglas Park back in 2018 - to understand that no possibility can or should ever be discounted.
Ferguson cost Bologna a paltry €2m three years ago so it would perhaps be understandable if they were prepared to cash in on a player whose market value has soared to 15 times that during his spell in Italy in the next transfer window.
Yet, there is too much, way too much, for him to look forward to in the coming weeks and months to allow himself to become distracted by outside noise, regardless of how much substance there is to the speculation. He realises he will need to maintain his full focus to achieve his heady goals with both club and country.
“In football, you never know,” said Ferguson following another training session at Casteldebole the next day. “Things can change so quickly. But reports in the media don’t really bother me. I don’t waste my time or energy reading them or thinking too much about it.
Getting himself fully fit again, ensuring Bologna finish in the top four in Serie A and qualify for the Champions League for the second season running and captaining the side to Coppa Italia glory against AC Milan in the final in Rome are his immediate objectives.
After all that, there is the not-so-small matter of a World Cup qualifying campaign looming on the not-too-distant horizon.
“It was frustrating, a little bit annoying, to be out,” he said. “But the good thing for me is that I’m back at an important time. We’ve got some massive games in the league and cup. The season is fizzling out for a lot of teams at the moment, but not us.
“Last season was incredible and a lot of people probably thought it would be impossible for us to do similar or go even better. But we've got a good squad, good players and a really good manager who's got us playing the way he wants us to play. We've been strong this season again.
“We're in a good place and the aim is now to go and finish the season as strongly as possible. Obviously, it would be amazing to get our hands on a trophy. It's going to be difficult, AC Milan are a good team. But, yeah, there is an awful lot to look forward to just now.
“The fans are absolutely buzzing. It's really nice to see. They've not been used to having a successful team in recent years so they're just delighted to be able to enjoy these sort of moments. We as a team are just so proud to be able to give something back to the city.”
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The strong connection between the Bologna players and their fans after two stellar seasons was glaringly obvious to everyone who was in the Stade Renato Dall’Ara – and your correspondent was fortunate enough to be among them - for their Coppa Italia semi-final second leg win over their Serie A opponents Empoli last month.
The crowd which had packed into the stands stayed long after the referee had blown the final whistle and celebrated with the team on the trackside well into the night.
Ferguson returned to the bench that evening and took a full and enthusiastic part in the post-match party despite not getting on the pitch. But he finally made his comeback in a 1-1 draw with Juventus last weekend and played for the full 90 minutes. He will be hoping to feature from kick-off when they take on AC Milan in the Coppa Italia final in the Stadio Olimpico in Rome tomorrow.
Goodness only knows what the scenes in the Piazza Maggiore will be like if they land their first major honour in 51 years. The Amaro Montenegro will flow freely.
Ferguson has already lifted one prestigious prize since moving to Italy back in 2022 – last year he picked up the Premio Bulgarelli Number 8 award which is handed out to the outstanding midfielder in Serie A every season.
The Scot, though, has relished working with the German-born coach during the past six months and the change has proved nothing short of inspired.
“The manager's been excellent this year,” he said. “Because of how well Bologna did last season, I’m sure a lot of people would have looked at him and thought, ‘That's an impossible job’. But he's the sort of guy who will take that challenge on. He's really driven. He's intense. He’s done an amazing job.
“He has got a different way of playing and my role has changed slightly. Last year I was playing more as an attacking midfielder and my responsibilities were to help the attackers in the final third, to try and get on the end of things, to try and score goals.
“This season I’ve played a little bit deeper than normal, not as a defensive midfielder as such, but certainly deeper. I have been more box-to-box than before. But it’s a position I am really comfortable in and really like. Plus, it’s where I think I’m probably best.
“He [Italiano] had watched a lot of our games before he came and he had conversations with me about the move. He asked me where I would prefer to play and I just told him, ‘I’ll play anywhere’. He thought my qualities would be utilised best in that deep-lying position.
“I have good relationships with the other midfielders so that has helped me. Jens Odgaard, the boy who's playing as the No 10, is a lot more attack-minded than I am, is more of a natural forward. I've also played a lot with Remo Freuler, who is a real mainstay of the team, and have a good understanding with him in the middle. I’ve really enjoyed it.”
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The switch, though, begs some questions? Where does Ferguson feature for his country when Scotland return to action in friendlies against Iceland at home and Liechtenstein away next month? Where would he be best deployed in the Group C matches against Denmark, Greece and Belarus?
He started on the left of the threequarter line in a 4-2-3-1 formation in the Nations League win over Greece in Athens back in March. Is he keen to be utilised deeper by Steve Clarke in future? Does he have designs on the berths currently occupied by Gilmour and Kenny McLean?
It will not present any issues going forward in his view. In fact, he believes that it may help his homeland’s cause as they attempt to secure their place at Canada, Mexico and the United States next summer.
“I will play wherever I am required for Scotland or Bologna,” he said. “If a manager comes to me tomorrow and tells me he wants to use me as a centre-back, then I will go and play there and give it my best.
“I'm really comfortable in all the midfield areas, I've played a lot of football in all of them. I suppose it just depends where the manager is at, what he needs tactically, what team you are playing against, how they are going to set up and what the score is.
“It is all good experience. You definitely need that as a midfielder, need a little bit of versatility. In some games you need to be versatile, to change your role in game. Loads of things happen in a football match, injuries, substitutions, whatever. You need to be able to adapt to them. I’m happy in every position now.”
“They are something that we as a team are definitely looking forward to,” he said. “We want to be that team that reaches every major tournament. I think we've got the quality to do that.
“On a personal note, it would be great if we could finish the season strong here at Bologna so I could go into those matches in a positive frame of mind. Last season ended on a such bad note after such a good season. So, yeah, I would like to finish this season well, recover and rest for a little bit in the summer and then be ready to go again and help Scotland qualify.”
Being given the nod to start that Nations League promotion/relegation play-off first leg match against Greece was, for a player who has so often been an understudy to Gilmour, Callum McGregor, McLean, Scott McTominay, Ryan Christie and John McGinn since breaking into the national squad, a sweet moment after such a traumatic spell.
Ferguson admitted the thought of representing his country drove him on as he was fighting his way back to full fitness in the gym.
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“The rehab was really long and difficult,” he said. “I had a few things in my head that I just wanted to tick off. First of all, I wanted to return fit and healthy and play for Bologna, which I did. Then I obviously wanted to play and compete in the Champions League and I did that as well.
“The other thing was being back involved with Scotland, being back on the pitch with a dark blue top on. Those were the three things that really stuck in my head while I was going through the rehab, working every day. Those were the three things that I focused on and tried to get. Once I got them, it was all about building on them and trying to play as much as possible.”
“I expected to come up against some great opponents and some great teams and we did,” he said. “But we had some great performances. It didn't start too great for us. But we had just changed manager and changed a lot of players. It was taking time for some things to bed in and the Champions League started.
“At that point, we probably didn't get the results that we needed. But as we went on and gained more experience, we became a much stronger team. I actually think that is a big part of where we are today. We learned so much off the back of it. We took it in our league form and our cup form. It benefited us massively.
“It's such a ruthless game at that level. We probably just lost too many games by really fine margins. But with more experience and where we are as a team now, we would be much better equipped to go and perform.”
Ferguson became a father for the second time earlier this year when his partner Lauren presented him with a bouncing baby daughter. He is clearly revelling in his life off the park every bit as much as he is enjoying his football on it just now. He is making sure that he lives very much in the moment.
“She’s our wee Italian girl,” he said with a smile. “She was born over here in Bologna, which was really nice. We called her Lorena, an Italian name. Her big sister Lake is two-and-a-half now and is ruling the house. It’s hard work, but I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. Its good fun. In fact, it’s the best feeling in the world.”
