Like the Spaniards from Girona and the French from Brest, the Bologna club is one of the surprise guests of this new edition of the Champions League. But unlike the Catalans or the Bretons, the Rossoblù lost, during the last off-season, their conductor in the person of Thiago Motta, who is now in the heyday of this entertaining Juventus. The successor is none other than Vincenzo Italiano, former master of the beautiful game of Fiorentina, who represented one of the Italian coaches most in demand on the tactician market at the end of his contract. His arrival seemed obvious as the tactical and human qualities of the native of Karlsruhe are exceptional. But like Thiago Motta, some executives from last season have packed up such as Joshua Zirkzee and Riccardo Calafiori, who left for Manchester United and Arsenal respectively. The Emilia-Romagna club was nevertheless able to count on the reinforcements of Thijs Dallinga, Nicolò Cambiaghi, Emil Holm, Jens Odgaard, Nicolò Casale, Juan Miranda as well as the loans of Samuel Iling-Junior and Tommaso Pobega. A job which, on paper, seemed sufficient to remain in the top third of Serie A. But the first two months of competition unfortunately show a completely different reality.
After 8 contested days of the championship, Bologna is in a sad 13th place, far from this magnificent 5th position gleaned last year. The Rossoblù have won only one Serie A match for six draws. Despite everything, their adversaries still want to be wary of the sleeping beast: “They had a lot of success last year. It’s a club with a great history. Last year they provided fantastic football under the leadership of Thiago Motta. There is now a new coach who, in the last two years, has appeared in the Conference League final twice. The team is made up of more or less the same players and the style of play is similar, but so far they have earned fewer points than they deserved. The new coach makes the team play very aggressively, as shown in the match against Liverpool. It will be a difficult match for us», Explained Unai Emery, coach of Aston Villa, who wants to do everything to avoid a trap at home this Tuesday evening, as part of the 3rd day of the Champions League.
Fighting the ghost of Thiago Motta
It will take a resounding feat, a spark of genius, a magic trick to achieve a big blow this Tuesday evening in Birmingham. It would be the best calling card to break away from bad thoughts and thus enter a new dimension by forgetting this bad start to the season. At Villa Park, there will be nearly 53,000 spectators, including 2,500 from Bologna. Emery’s team have already taken 6 points from two games after their victory against Young Boys and Bayern Munich, while Bologna only pocketed one point thanks to the frustrating draw (0-0) against Shakhtar before the defeat not without shining at Anfield against Liverpool: “It’s clear that it’s an important match, like the others, even if now we have to score points, seek performance above all, we have to show more malice and fury. The important thing is to always play the game openly. We continue to offer our game and the results will come. It’s not enough to snap your fingers for the three points to come. Aston Villa are full of points, but I am confident that we will show some important ideas in this match. We have to take care of some details, but I know the boys have understood what needs to be done“, declared Vincenzo Italiano at a press conference. Because to make Thiago Motta forget, we will need results.
Indeed, if Vincenzo Italiano’s skills are no longer to be proven after having played in two consecutive European Cup finals with Fiorentina, Bolognese players and journalists are having a hard time moving on after Thiago’s great epic. Motta. One of the stars of that team, Lewis Ferguson, recently returned to full training, as he continues his rehabilitation following his cruciate ligament injury in his right knee last season. In an interview for the Corriere di Bologna. The Scottish international, who missed Euro 2024 with his country, did not hesitate to pay tribute to… Thiago Motta: “He writes to me from time to time to ask how my convalescence is going. Immediately after the injury he called me, also after the diagnosis. He told me, “I know you will do everything you can to come back strong, be patient and focus on healing.” He’s a great coach, he gave me the opportunity to play here for two seasons, I loved playing for him. We played fantastic football, he taught me a lot and he made us progress everywhere“, he explained. Motta’s shadow still hangs over the group, which does not make the work of Vincenzo Italiano’s staff easier.
