Bologna, Di Vaio says: Project was Mihajlovic’s, with Motta
Bologna’s sporting director, Marco Di Vaio, has shared his views on the club’s recent performance during a discussion with Radio TV Lega Serie A.
Praising his team’s current performance, Di Vaio looked ahead to their upcoming matches. He said, “We are happy with what we are doing, but our thoughts are already on Wednesday’s game against Inter in the Coppa Italia. We are hoping to sustain this trajectory of growth. We have crucial back to back matches against major teams coming up.”
Di Vaio discussed the role of coach Sinisa Mihajlovic in aiding the club’s growth since their 2019 survival bid but mentioned the unfortunate circumstances surrounding Mihajlovic’s illness which led to an early separation, saying, “The construction of this project, I believe, started with Mihajlovic, but unfortunately, Sinisa could not benefit from this new cycle as he fell ill. Last year we had to part ways.”
However, he expressed his satisfaction with their current coach, Thiago Motta. He talked about Motta’s influence on the club saying, “Thiago Motta is a coach who proposes a style of football that focuses on possession, as was seen in the last game against Roma. He also instills a strong defensive organization and high-paced game as he trains the team with intensity.”
Di Vaio asserts Motta’s unique approach entails involving the entire group, which has proven to be one of their core strengths. “This summer, we have had extensive discussions on how to set up the team and Motta requested two key players per role. He demonstrated this yesterday evening by also giving an opportunity to Ravaglia,” Di Vaio stated.
Di Vaio revealed that Motta evaluates the week’s training to make decisions for Sunday’s matches, thereby elevating everybody’s performance levels. He concluded by saying, “We watch a lot of matches, seek to value our players, involve the coach in the market and we have many scouts around the world. There’s nothing revolutionary about us when compared to others. Our work lasts all year, both in video and live, with the intention of acquiring players that are the closest possible to Motta’s ideas.”