By The international break is finally over, and we can look forward to Bologna’s game against Verona on Monday. Given Bologna’s four losses in a row, the break came at a difficult time, as it would have been better to get on with the games. However, Roberto Donadoni has now had a lot of time to think about the way forward, and hopefully he’ll have a plan on how to beat Verona on Monday. There have been some news since the last post:
As you all know, Sweden beat Italy over two games, and Emil Krafth and Filip Helander are therefore going to the World Cup. Great occasion for the Swedes, and they’ll be joined in Russia by another Rossoblù, Giancarlo Gonzalez. Helander did not play at all over the two legs versus Italy, but Krafth played the first game because of a suspension to Sweden’s regular right back, Lustig. He delivered an overall good performance, and hopefully he’ll build on that when he returns to Bologna.
Godfred Donsah made his debut for Ghana against Egypt a couple of days ago, and this should give him some confidence coming back to Bologna. He has been good all season, and he has bees showing us all how big his talent is. His first game for Ghana will boost his confidence no doubt, and if he can keep up the good performances for Bologna, he can no doubt claim a starting position for his nation as well.
Even though there were no Bologna players in the Italy squad, a quick mention has to be made of Gli Azzurri. A huge disappointment that they didn’t qualify, and the ramifications will be major. Ventura is no doubt going to leave, but many are also calling for Tavecchio’s departure as president of FIGC. Time will tell what’ll happen, but changes have to be made given how the team has played during Ventura’s tenure. The players available for selection are much better now than what Conte or Prandelli had to choose from, and the failure is therefore even bigger.
Bologna’s s sporting director has been talking about some of Bologna’s players during the break. Firstly, he has responded to recent speculation regarding Donsah, and he emphasized that the Ghana international is happy at Bologna, and focused on playing well for the club. This is good to hear, as he’s a really talented player, and one that can be part of the squad for a long time if he continues his development.
Bigon has also been talking about Verdi, given his recent performances. Bigon emphasized that the acquisition of Verdi is the type of deal Bologna always are on the lookout for, saying that Verdi is a symbol of Bologna’s way of operating in the transfer market. Let’s hope for Bigon and his team to pull of more acquisitions like Verdi.
As we move closer to the Verona game, Sempre Bologna will look at the Verona team, as well as what players that are available for Donadoni to select. There has been some speculation the last few days regarding Bologna’s attacking options though, and it seems as Donadoni are considering to utilize both Palacio and Destro. This is something that potentially can get the best out of Destro, and he really needs a good performance as he’s yet to score this season. We’ll most likely see the regular 4-3-3 formation, and if the two both start the game, Palacio is expected to move out to the left hand side of the front three. Some have speculated, given the injury the Di Fra, that Donadoni might change his formation all together, and go for a 4-3-1-2, with Destro and Palacio as strikers, and Verdi supporting them. This would be very interesting to see, but if this formation is chosen against Verona, we’ll need to see very good performances from Bologna’s full backs, to give the team some width in attack.
#rossoblù
Photo: Bologna FC
SempreBologna.com 