Bologna market, Vincenzo Italiano armors Bernardeschi and another big guy
Bologna soccer market: at the end of a season that, unlike the previous two, did not see qualification for the European cups, the Rossoblù are not intent on pulling the oars in the boat. This was guaranteed by Vincenzo Italiano who, after the 3-3 draw at home against Inter, armored in the team Federico Bernardeschi and at least one other current big in the squad.
“I’m tickled by the idea of working at a different pace next year, to try to stay together with the usual bigs,” Italiano said at the end of the day. “Bologna has shown its ability to work with young players. In fact, I want to highlight the explosion of Rowe and the growth of Bernardeschi. Federico, in particular, still has a year left on his contract with us and will stay. We will also confirm a star player, who will remain in Bologna.”
The Felsinei’s season ended with a bitter balance on the European front: seventh place went to Raffaele Palladino’s Atalanta, who will participate in the next Conference League and would have done so even in the event of a tied finish thanks to favorable direct clashes against Bologna. Decisive, in this sense, was the 1-0 defeat suffered by the Rossoblù right in Bergamo on the penultimate day of the championship, with Orsolini’s goal coming too late to reopen the games: the 2-0 first leg had already mortgaged the advantage in the direct clashes in favor of the Nerazzurri, condemning Bologna to close out of Europe for the first time after two consecutive seasons of participation in the cups.
The European journey of Italiano’s team had, after all, already been interrupted in the spring, with the heavy elimination in the Europa League at the hands of Aston Villa. The double-header in the quarterfinals had ended with a 7-1 aggregate between the first leg and the return leg, a loss that had left its mark on the Rossoblù environment and had in fact also affected the second part of the season in the league. The comeback attempted in Birmingham had proved impossible, despite a proactive performance by Italiano’s men.
In this context, the positive notes for the future come precisely from the protagonists mentioned by the coach. Rowe turned out to be one of the brightest elements of the squad, capable of sealing heavy goals like the one at Maradona against Napoli in the season finale or proving decisive in the assist for the winning goal against Atalanta. Bernardeschi, for his part, has been able to earn Italiano’s trust thanks to an increasing performance: his associative and tactically disciplined profile has made him an indispensable point of reference in the Rossoblù game, as also demonstrated by the decisive penalty converted against Udinese last February.
More uncertain, on the other hand, appears to be the situation of Riccardo Orsolini. The Rossoblù captain experienced a chiaroscuro second half of the season, gradually losing centrality in Italiano’s tactical project. His contract, due to expire in 2027, has entered a stalemate: the distance between the player’s request and the club’s offer has not yet been bridged, and rumors of a possible farewell in the summer remain in the background. The figure of the “star player” confirmed by Italiano may therefore not be that of the Marche winger, opening questions about who will be the second big man armored by the coach along with Bernardeschi.
