It’s the day of truth: it’s the day of the face-to-face meeting between Bologna owner Joey Saputo and Thiago Motta. Whether it will also be the day the verdict becomes official is not certain, because the following news preceded the match: no pre-match press conference for the rossoblù coach. The reason? The conference would have been monopolized exclusively by questions about his future, on the eve of a match in which Bologna has the opportunity to arithmetically secure fourth place and the possibility of taking third, provided they beat Genoa and Atalanta don’t take the three points from Torino. This is the explanation filtered by the rossoblù headquarters, where it is however specified that the choice not to speak was entirely Thiago’s.
But the truth is that he has always dribbled questions about the future effortlessly in recent months and he could have done so one last time. But no. It is yet another bad omen on the eve of the match, which combines with Saelmaekers’ post-Juventus message with a farewell flavor, as if the locker room already knew. From Saputo to Fenucci the message was unanimous: “We will do everything to convince him to stay”.
Today the cards will be put on the table in a face-to-face meeting that should be entirely between the coach and the owner, who in recent times has tried to forge a personal relationship to rewrite an ending that seems to be sealed. It will be understood whether there is still room to get reconfirmed or not, even if with just over a month to go and without having talked about it so far, it seems tough. In short, Thiago is the man of surprises and as such it is legitimate to hope. But in the Italian football world and beyond there is no one ready to bet on the possibility that the coach will remain in Bologna.
Juventus awaits him after courting him since January, with a 2-year contract with an option for a third ready, even if Motta swears that he has not spoken personally to anyone. From Spain and the Premier League, strong in the fact that Thiago is the man of non-obvious choices, they ensure that the choice has not already been made and that there could still be room for one last surprise and an overtaking – at this point sensational – to Juventus at the photo finish: in Barcelona there has been insistence on Motta, a former Blaugrana player, for about ten days as a possible heir to Xavi together with Marquez and Conceicao Flick.
From England, however, they are certain that Manchester United and West Ham would be ready to give Motta carte blanche for the relaunch plans of the two clubs, coincidentally among those who are also interested in Joshua Zirkzee, together with Inter, Milan , Napoli, Arsenal, Newcastle and Juventus who are also targeting Calafiori. Thiago will speak after the match against Genoa. And then, he might no longer evade the subject. Especially if in the meantime Bologna and Thiago have established how and when to communicate the future. “We will do it together.”
From tomorrow evening, after the Genoa home match, there will be a free-for-all. And from tonight Thiago could be free, one step away from Juventus and with the possibility of surprising everyone again, should he choose to try the adventure abroad. Leaving Bologna in search of his heir but with a Champions League in hand with 40 million in cash.
