Bologna FC - 1961 Mitropa Cup - Renato Dall'Ara, Mirko Pavinato

Renato Dall'Ara (10 October 1892 in

Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia ( egl, Rèz; la, Regium Lepidi), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has abou ...

– 3 June 1964 in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

) was an Italian entrepreneur, sports manager, and chairman of

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

for thirty years.

Biography

An entrepreneur of modest origins, Dall'Ara went from his native

, starting a thriving knitwear company that made him wealthy. In 1934, he was appointed as president of football club

. During the first years of his presidency, between 1934 and 1941, the team (led until 1938 by the Hungarian coach

Árpád Weisz Árpád Weisz (; also spelt ''Veisz''; 16 April 1896 – 31 January 1944) was a Hungarian Olympic association football, football player and manager. Weisz was Jewish, and was murdered with his wife and children by the Nazis during the Holocaust i ...

) won four league titles and the Coupe des Nations in Paris in 1937 ( it). In the postwar years, Dall'Ara was unable for many years to repeat the previous successes, until the beginning of the 1960s, when Bologna won the

Mitropa Cup The Mitropa Cup, officially called the La Coupe de l'Europe Centrale or Central European Cup, was one of the first international major European football cups for club sides. It was conducted among the successor states of the former Austria-Hunga ...

in 1961 ( it). In the 1963–64 Serie A, Bologna and

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Football in Italy, Italian professional Association football, football ...

were about to play the Championship tie-breaker on 7 June 1964; however, four days before the match, on 3 June, Dall'Ara died in Milan from a heart attack while he was in the Lega Calcio headquarters for a meeting with

Angelo Moratti Angelo Moratti (5 November 1909 – 12 August 1981) was an Italian oil tycoon and the former owner of Inter Milan from 1955 to 1968. Biography In 1962, after a long history in the oil business, Moratti founded Saras S.p.A., an energy multinati ...

in preparation for that match. Dall'Ara was buried in the Certosa di Bologna along with his wife. The stadium of Bologna, Stadio Renato Dall'Ara, was named after him. He was added to the

Italian Football Hall of Fame The Italian Football Hall of Fame ( it, Hall of Fame del calcio italiano) is the hall of fame for association football players that have had a significant impact on Italian football. It is housed at the '' Museo del Calcio'' in Coverciano, Ital ...

in 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dall'Ara, Renato 1892 births 1964 deaths People from Reggio Emilia Italian sports directors Burials at Certosa cemetery