Bologna's 2013/14 season can be divided into two halves - the pre and post Diamanti eras. Neither half of the season was particularly fruitful but there was an air of inevitability about their eventual relegation in the second phase. The summer saw the departure of Alberto Gilardino who was the Rossoblu's top scorer whilst on loan last season. Alessandro Diamanti remained but even he would find it too hard to carry all the creative burden on his shoulders. Gilardino wasn't sufficiently replaced and Diamanti struggled without a foil in attack. Stefano Pioli has often been touted for a bigger job but he was sacked in January having overseen just three wins since the start of the season. January proved to be a pivotal month for many reasons. Diamanti was surprisingly allowed to leave for China meaning that Bologna's firepower was stunted even more. Davide Ballardini was the man brought in to keep the club up and, at first, it looked as though his pragmatic approach might suit the Rossoblu. However, in the end, the team's inability to score goals proved far too much for the manager to cope with. Bologna won just five times all season - the lowest number of victories in the entire league. Therefore, it was hard to pick out a player who shone in this team. Lazaros Christodoulopoulos was one who didn't disgrace himself during the second half of the campaign and his creativity from midfield kept the club in with a chance of staying in the league up until the penultimate week of the season. However, there was to be no miraculous escape and Bologna were relegated. With limited resources at their disposal, it is difficult to see when they may return to the top flight.
