Bologna manager Vincenzo Italiano has emphasized the need for his team to show more guile and intensity as they prepare to face Aston Villa in the Champions League. Speaking at a press conference, Italiano stressed the importance of securing points in what he described as “another mini-championship.”
“This is clearly an important match,” Italiano stated. “We need to try and get points. First and foremost, we need a strong performance, because without that it’s difficult. In our previous two games, we’ve done well in that regard, but now we need to add a bit more cunning and ‘fury’ to try and get a result.”
The Bologna boss provided an update on the fitness of Dan Ndoye, expressing relief at the player’s recovery: “Ndoye has recovered, he’s feeling good today, and I’m happy about that. Not having him available in Genoa was a significant sacrifice. It’s better to miss one game than have a longer period of inactivity.”
Regarding team selection for the Villa match, Italiano hinted at potential rotation: “Tomorrow we’ll see who starts up front. We’ve only had one day to prepare, so we need fresh players and significant contributions from the substitutes.”
Italiano also took a moment to address the recent flooding in Bologna, expressing sympathy for those affected and vowing to give extra effort in their honor: “We were already disappointed when we returned from Genoa to hear what was happening and not being able to bring joy to the people of Bologna. We arrived to find difficult conditions, with the training center flooded, which forced us to relocate our training session.”
He concluded with a message of solidarity: “We feel for those people who have lost so much. Tomorrow we’ll try to give something extra in terms of effort for these people, because they’ll be there supporting us, and we’ll push even harder for them.”
