Italiano: ‘Bologna dream to be in Europe every season’

Vincenzo Italiano insists Bologna’s ‘dream is to qualify for UEFA tournaments every season’ ahead of their must-win Europa League clash with RB Salzburg.

It kicks off at the Stadio Dall’Ara on Thursday at 20.00 GMT.

The Rossoblu finally got their first victory in the Europa League this season with a 2-1 away to Steaua Bucharest, then battled their way to a home 0-0 draw against SK Brann when down to 10 men for over an hour.

It means Charalampos Lykogiannis is suspended when hosting RB Salzburg in a must-win game for European progress.

“Every match in Europe is complicated, and we are up against a strong, young team with a lot of quality, who are top of their domestic league,” said Italiano in his press conference.

“It’s going to be a battle, but we are on home turf, and want to have our say. The Champions League last season was a different level, but this time our target is to finish in the top 24 and get through.

“We don’t know how many points that will require, but we’ve got to make the most of home advantage. In the last game, we paid a heavy price for a distraction, so we need the utmost concentration for the full 90 minutes.”

Bologna have certainly found their form in Serie A, putting together an unbeaten run of six wins and three draws, including three consecutive victories against Parma, Napoli and Udinese.

“We are on the right track now and mustn’t lose our way,” assured Italiano.

“RB Salzburg have been in European competition for 19 consecutive years, whereas this is only our second for a while. The dream of the President and all the fans is for us to qualify for UEFA tournaments every season.”

There have been many compliments and Arrigo Sacchi even said Bologna play the best football in Italy, but Italiano is keeping their feet firmly on the ground.

“We want to achieve the maximum in every situation and push aside negative moments. We’re in a solid position and are performing at a consistent level that is bringing results.

“Now we need to start from scratch every time, because humility is essential, and I as a coach try to remind them of that. There will be negative times, but we must not lose our faith in ourselves either.”

There has been a lot of squad rotation at the Stadio Dall’Ara and another change overall, as Benjamin Dominguez has been added to the UEFA list.

“We waited to the last minute to see if Emil Holm could recover, as otherwise we’d bring in Lorenzo De Silvestri to cover the full-back roles. However, Holm is OK, so we opted for Dominguez to have another alternative upfront.”

It remains to be seen which centre-forward will lead the attack tomorrow between Santiago Castro and Thijs Dallinga.

“They have different characteristics. Dallinga can run into space and throw himself into the opposition defenders, while Castro sacrifices himself and ties it together with the midfield. Both manage to satisfy my requests.

“Perhaps we don’t have a centre-forward who can score 20 goals per season, but if both have split that difference by the end, then I’ll be happy.”