Bologna's coach, Vincenzo Italiano spoke to the media in a press conference ahead of the cup final fixture against AC Milan.
How are you experiencing the historical importance of this final?
"We are living it with great enthusiasm because, truly, it's what is carrying us, what has accompanied us on this journey in the Cup, with a second leg semifinal at the Dall'Ara packed and, tomorrow, all these people who will move to get here at the Olimpico to give us support and try to play a great match. After 51 years, Bologna returns to play such an important match. After so many years, so many people will once again see the rossoblù colors playing a match to try to win such a trophy. So tomorrow, all together, we will try to take another step towards history, knowing we are facing champions, a great team, but we want to play our chances. We know we have them, we must also be careful of the qualities of our opponent, but we have all the desire and will to play a great match."
Did you imagine you would get here?
"In recent years, Bologna has been showing great growth. With Saputo, the goal is to grow year after year and there are always confirmations."
A vow in case of victory?
"I had said enough with vows, if this miracle were to happen, I want to think about it afterward. We'll organize something, but now maximum attention and concentration. Tomorrow we have the whole day to fine-tune and adjust some little things, then we will see. But with heads held high."
How are you preparing for the challenge? Italiano replied:
"They are used to it, we a bit less. They have lifted a trophy this year, Bologna hasn’t done that for many, many years. But every match starts from zero and let's forget what happened on Friday when we switched off for just fifteen minutes. We will propose some different players, and I believe they will too. We must play freely, light-hearted, with joy and without regrets. We will try to be ready."
You lost your last finals... Italiano commented:
"This is my seventh final and already getting here is a great merit. Playing finals is beautiful, you get there through a path where you beat strong teams and surprise people. Our presence here was not planned, we did something superlative. Finals are played to win them but just getting here is already a satisfaction. I’m at 3 wins and 3 losses, if tomorrow my men want to give me this gift, I’d be very happy... but it's already beautiful. I see the boys’ looks and how they prepare the match, but also the affection of the people is beautiful and we want to give them joy."
What have you focused on? Will you choose Thijs Dallinga or Santiago Castro in attack?
"You were asking me if facing Milan in the double match could be positive or not, but I’m convinced that yes, we will start from zero, but trying to understand where we made mistakes in that last quarter of an hour and instead what we did well in the rest. Every time we made mistakes, we were able to react and express ourselves at our best. I’m convinced that tomorrow there will be perception of danger, attention, and sacrifice: there’s no need for the coach. I told the boys that if I stayed home tomorrow, they would still go on the pitch and give their all. They want to excel, they keep growing and tomorrow is a great reward for Lollo (De Silvestri) and his teammates. We must play carefree."
Bologna was impressed by your speech at the Quirinale.
"Since I arrived, it has been a succession of emotions. Starting from Valles, with some difficulties, growing little by little. The relationships and the way of thinking have changed, results and growth have come. I had never seen such cohesion in a group: those who play do well, those who come in do even better. My words came from the heart, the emotions lived this year pushed me to show the President of the Republic what tomorrow will mean for all of Bologna. We made a community happy: the older people have seen this club win trophies, my peers maybe never even in these kinds of matches. We must set an example and show all possible fair play: may it be a beautiful show and may the best team win."
Wanting to make history, is it a pro or a con?
"When you step on the pitch you must only think about playing, not about what’s around the match. You have to put quality and ruthlessness in the two areas: at the kickoff you forget the surroundings and what you’re playing for. Give your best, try to win duels with maximum perception of danger. If you are focused on the pitch, the rest goes unnoticed. The boys know that what counts is humility and making as few mistakes as possible, on paper we face someone stronger than us. To balance this, we must go hard."
Will you also risk those who are not 100%? Italiano said:
"Earlier I didn’t answer about Castro, but the foot pain seems to have gone away. The problem is he hasn't played 90 minutes for two months, I don't know what stamina he might have from the start but I know what he can have if he comes on during the match. I want to think carefully about it, we can't make mistakes. But with Santi, it's just a matter of missing minutes. Then Holm, Ndoye, and Odgaard are coming back, we must manage that too."
What do the 30,000 Bolognese arriving give you?
"It will be emotional, we managed to give an entire city another important match after so many years. In the city, something inexplicable is being lived... You can feel that there is great anticipation for the match. For the rest, tomorrow, from the moment the referee blows the whistle, we must think about the 29,000 rossoblù beasts who will be as hungry as us to bring home this trophy. I’m sorry they can't get on the pitch but we will feel them, they want to be close to us."
