From that “Bologna is a unique club” that inaugurated Sam Beukema’s season in the first pre-season press conference, to the grit shown on the pitch in the debut match against Udinese: the 2024/25 season of the Felsinei has thus begun together with that of one of the protagonists of the Champions League ride, as well as now the leader of the dressing room of the rossoblù group. The Dutch defender, Sam Beukema, who swore love to Bologna and promised the best for the Champions League, was the linchpin of the rossoblù defense already in Bologna’s first official match. He who sewed on the outfit of a pillar of the back line for an entire pre-season spiced up by the farewell of Calafiori, the injury of Lucumì, and the new balance alongside Erlic.
In this context, Beukema took charge of the team’s needs, immediately learning the new defensive directives of mister Italiano. The numbers of the rossoblù central defender testify to this, as, according to Sofascore, he is the defender with the highest percentage of successful passes (99%) after the first matchday. Attention, aggression but also positioning for the number 31 of Bologna who drops to the second step of the podium if we look at the number of successful passes among all the players. Only Bremer is better than him.
Italiano has carved out a crucial role around Beukema, not only in the defensive phase but also in the offensive phase. Again according to statistics, the Dutch centre-back was the player who gave the go-ahead to the most goal-scoring opportunities during the match against the Friulians, demonstrating that he has assimilated the new tactical concepts of the new rossoblù coach, while maintaining the idea of play that characterized Bologna during the last season. In view of the match in Naples, Beukema will once again play a fundamental role in Italiano’s starting 11, with the possibility of seeing Jhon Lucumì at his side, back from injury and already available to the team.