Vincenzo Italiano at all costs, to avoid the risk of starting the Champions League season on the wrong foot. Bologna met for dinner with the coach who bid farewell to Fiorentina yesterday evening: the aim is to see him again today, due to the white smoke. The rossoblù club is counting on it, having waited for Italiano for a week, a sign that the former Spezia player was still at the forefront of the rossoblù management’s thoughts. I also sign that there is some resistance to overcome or detail to iron out and signal to send. Because it is true that the Champions League is a tempting objective for any ambitious coach on the launch pad, but it is equally true that in the growth path of a Bologna coach, next year, it is an arduous challenge: to do better than Thiago Motta, to put it in Simply put, it is a fascinating but complicated challenge.
In fact, Raffaele Palladino slipped away from the wait. Realizing he is a second choice, after a week of negotiations and waiting he contemplates dumping his agent and negotiates to close with Fiorentina. Even more so, in Bologna, everything is focused on Italian: to avoid the risk of being left holding the bag and having to opt for a stopgap solution.
The meeting with Italiano took place in the last few hours, with contact between the parties also yesterday. The sensations in Casteldebole are positive: that is, the aim is for white smoke on the same day, with a two-year contract worth around 2 million plus bonuses with the option for a third year. Having mentioned the economic conditions, the environmental and management aspect was also discussed. Because Italiano will have a say in the signings, but net of any differences of opinion, it will be the club that will take on the burden and honor of the choices in the season that will lead to the Champions League and the objective of confirming itself at the top: in short, faced with possible wrong bets, the management will take responsibility, relieving the coach from possible misunderstandings with the team.
This is also a sensitive issue for Italiano, after two years of a love-hate relationship with the Fiorentina square, to avoid confusion between real objectives and potential growth ambitions. For the rossoblù Italiano management he is the first choice: vice versa he would not have waited for him, playing on multiple tables waiting for the recovery against Atalanta and the Viola Conference League final. It is for Sartori, who had him as a player at Chievo. It is due to a question of the game system, which can vary from 4-2-3-1 to 4-3-3 and would give the opportunity to focus on continuity after the Motta management, without upheavals. It is also because Italiano is an emerging coach, who knows how to manage the European midweek commitment. By waiting for Italiano and playing on multiple tables he also risks being left holding the bag if the coach were to refuse, courted under the table by Lazio and Nottingham. But after yesterday’s dinner in Casteldebole, optimism shines through. Today, the definitive answer.
