Essential encounter in Ferrara coming up

So, as we’re approaching the start of the rerun of the Serie A, Bologna find themselves facing several games as important as a final. The coach and the team need to address them as finals, because if we lose, we might as well book our place in Serie B.

First up is the game this weekend against Spal. Last time the two sides met, back in the first round of the season, Bologna lost by a goal to nothing after a pretty terrible outing in what was Filippo Inzaghi’s first game in charge.

At the time, I wasn’t worried about the result. Sure, the performance was far from encouraging, but it was early in Inzaghi’s tenure.

However, after nineteen Serie A games in charge, the numbers speak for themselves. Two wins against Udinese and Roma, whilst the rest is pretty grim reading. One thing is losing to the likes of Juventus and Napoli, but to not win against the likes of Genoa, Cagliari and Chievo is almost unforgivable.

But, those games are in the past, and the focus is now on the second part of the season, starting with Spal. Inzaghi is still in charge, Inzaghi is still caught in the same mindset which most likely will see us in a 3-5-2 formation, but there are nevertheless factors that cause optimism before the game in Ferrara.

The two biggest factors are our new signings, Nicola Sansone and Roberto Soriano. Ask anyone, and they’ll say that Bologna’s most significant problem this season has been the inability to create problems for the opposition defence. Our two new players should strengthen us in that respect considerably.

As Soriano said in an interview earlier this week:

I’ve watched the last few matches and the final ball was lacking at times.

Soriano is absolutely on point with his quote, and the acquisition of him should see us becoming more precise in that regard. Whether Inzaghi sets us up in his favored 3-5-2 or in something different (we know what’ll happen), Soriano will start in central midfield and contribute with his creativity.

And that is exactly what our attackers need. Because, 3-5-2 can work if you have the right players, something which we haven’t had so far this season. The distance between our midfield and attack have been too far more often than not, and the midfielders haven’t been able to create enough chances for the forwards.

With Soriano, that should change. Sansone should also be a catalyst for change in the way in which we go forward. His direct style of play as well as his ability to dribble past opposition players should give us another dimension. I would not bet against Sansone being involved in a goal for us on Sunday. We’ve missed this kind of player all season since Verdi’s departure in the summer.

Ideally, I would like to see Sansone as well as Riccardo Orsolini against Spal, but that’s not likely to happen if Inzaghi continues with the 3-5-2. It will, though, be interesting to see who’ll start alongside Sansone in attack. Federico Santander should be a given if he recovers physically. If he doesn’t, the inclusions of Rodrigo Palacio wouldn’t surprise me, but I would like to see something different from Inzaghi. Mattia Destro’s inclusion against Juventus was a surprise, but could that be a sign of what’s to come?

It’s no exaggeration that Destro has disappointed at Bologna, but if there’s one thing we haven’t provided for him during his time at the club, it’s a decent supporting cast. With Soriano and Sansone, we could well be seing Destro starting to showcase his once famed potential.

We’ll all live to see whether that happens this weekend.

Until next time.

Photo: http://bolognafc.it