Another week, another point for Bologna.
Stefano Pioli’s team are growing into one of those ‘hard to beat’ teams in Serie A, having lost only one of their last six games. Saturday evening’s result was a disappointment, as top-scorer Panagiotis Kone’s goal was cancelled out by Antonio Cassano.
Kone has been a scorer of great goals for a while now, but on current form looks to be a great scorer of goals. He stands out in the current Felsinei team though it didn’t go unnoticed that the revitalised Rolando Bianchi provided his assist.
“My goal came from a move we practiced in training,” admitted Kone before explaining how much the Rossoblu had missed their talismanic captain Alessandro Diamanti, who was still absent recovering from ‘flu, though is back training and expected to be fit before Friday.
“Even with ten men,” he went on, “we showed great spirit making it difficult for [Parma] to beat us; we will continue as we are doing.”
Being hard to beat will stand the team in good stead. Tuesday’s Coppa Italia tie with Siena is followed up by a slightly more formidable Bianconeri on Friday evening, as Juventus are welcomed to the Stadio Renato dall’Ara.
The first’s opportunity for Pioli to use more squad players in a game that is of secondary importance to Serie A survival might reap benefits in the long term; expect names like Diego Laxalt and Davide Moscardelli to appear on the teamsheet – the latter of whom has been of primary benefit of late for his work with Gianluca Cerci.
The former Roma stopper was awarded the Man of the Match award after the draw with the Ducali, and attributes his recent good form and recovery from a dip a few weeks ago, to training with the Flying Beard. Apparently, Moscardelli has been working to help Curci’s susceptibility to long shots, which can’t have been too much of a hardship for the veteran striker.
Between the two matches is perhaps the most important clash of the week, on Thursday. Albano Guaraldi’s proposal of a new training centre for the Rossoblu will come before an appeal that, if lost, would most likely see the permanent shelving of the project.
A new centre might not appear to be the top priority for Bologna, particularly with the recently lamented state of their home stadium, but wisdom dictates that the future of the club will be best served through player development, something that is not just easier to perform with better facilities, but will also attract a higher quality of player.
One of the current prospects is Laxalt, who joined the Felsinei from Inter in the summer on loan with a view to a possible permanent signing.
The Uruguayan has been gradually working his way into first-team contention and will soon rack up the tenth appearance that will trigger a €95,000 clause in the deal. It was as a result of that deal that Saphir Taider went the other way and earned the Rossoblu over €5 million as well.
If he makes that appearances against Juventus, it will be in a game that nobody expects Bologna to win. Being on a Friday night means (again) that the Felsinei faithful will be able to watch the rest of the weekend unfold with interest, knowing that a number of their relegation rivals face off; on Sunday afternoon Sampdoria host Catania, whilst Chievo visit Sassuolo.
Playing the Vecchia Signora is a strange business at the moment. Despite Antonio Conte’s side looking a little off the pace domestically, scraping only a last-gasp win against Udinese at the weekend, results tell a different story. They are still gathering momentum and pulling clear of the chasing pack.
That cushion, the critical nature of their next Champions League game at Galatasaray, added to the fact Conte has to reshuffle his pack to adjust to the loss of Andrea Pirlo mean Bologna will have at least a chance in that game; perhaps all the more if they can play with some of the ‘nastiness’ Rolando Bianchi has found missing in both his, and the teams’ performances so far.
Bianchi himself will need no extra motivation for the game. As a former Torino captain, and one who recently announced that the Bianconeri are them one team for whom he could never play, he has set himself up for scrutiny on Friday evening.
The elephant in the room that might save him from that? The expected return of Alessandro Diamanti – just anointed (along with Roma’s Miralem Pjanic) as the most creative player in Serie A; his 31 chances created in 12 games being the joint highest total in the league.
