Bologna, August 23, 2026 – Intense. Or rather intensity. This will be the characteristic that his Bologna hopes to have from the start. Domenico Tedesco is ready for his debut, charged up as the rossoblù coach himself described, who on the eve of the match against Lazio officially kicked off the new season: “We are new, it will take time. It is not a process that ends with the first league match. Several new players have arrived, the staff is new, even the old players had to assimilate the new instructions. We are charged up, I am the first to be so.”
Tedesco’s analysis
The new Bologna coach speaks frankly and analytically right away, also presenting his work philosophy: “If we do badly I don’t go around looking for excuses, I always start with myself. Maybe that’s also what brought me to coach at this level. I can tell you that the team is growing in terms of personality in possession, in managing the ball with courage. Regardless of everything, we want to play, we want possession. There I perceive growth.”
The preparation
The rossoblù summer was lived with ups and downs, with fans excited about the market but also about some friendly match defeats: “The preparation is good, the friendlies too but I’m happy that now we start playing seriously. If we look at the preparation, we conceded several goals, some are understandable, some motivated by physical condition, some due to some changes since in friendlies you make more changes than you might in the league. This is a point where we suffered a bit.”
Where the team stands
However, Tedesco showed himself particularly motivated and confident in the team’s potential also due to great trust in the club: “I am very relaxed, I see people around me who know what to do. They are very prepared. I’ll give you the example of Alhassane, Amondarain, they are players I didn’t know. In recent years I coached Belgium, I watched that, in Turkey we had a different target. They are interesting guys, I like them a lot. Until the market closes we must remain vigilant, attentive. Surely something is still missing.”
The market
And speaking of what is missing from the market, also in this case the Bologna coach has no doubts about what could complete the squad: “We are not surprised by the market. It’s no surprise that Lucumi left Bologna. The gaps I talked about in past weeks were about principles, tactics. However, a central defender is missing, there is no doubt about that. If you lose Lucumi, who last season saved you in several situations, also with his impact, we certainly know that there is a void to fill.”
Hierarchies and roles on the field
Also important will be the impact of individuals, with the field position of Orsolini and Bernardeschi but also with the discovery of Libra: “We are happy because we discovered this player, who is a new signing for us. There will be situations where he will also go to the Primavera but if there is an opportunity we will use him. He has important abilities, in both phases. Berna is smart, he is good between the lines and in tight spaces, he has the ability to switch play, has vision, knows how to cut inside to hurt. He also did it in Florence and Turin and it is not a new situation.”
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Lazio and the deep-lying playmaker
The first opponent of the new era will be Lazio, whom Tedesco studied, although not personally knowing Gattuso: “We expect a very strong opponent, I am too far away to judge the environment, but it would be madness to underestimate them.” Among the new coach’s ideas is also that of the deep-lying playmaker in front of the defense, a role that several in the squad can interpret: “We are doing very well with Moro and El Azzouzi, Ferguson can also play there even if he has played less there. There is also Amondarain.”
The captain, the goalkeeper and the attack
Clear then are the hierarchies in terms of wing and captain: “De Silvestri, second is Riccardo Orsolini and then there is Ferguson. Skorupski is number 1, Pessina is number 2, then we have Happonen as third who is a promising boy. Massimo is very young and we see his potential, but Skorupski is obviously ahead in the hierarchies.”
A comment also on the offensive department, after Castro’s departure and the arrivals of Dovbyk and Piccoli: “It has changed a lot because obviously with Santi we were very happy, we had already found an important synthesis. He had scored in a friendly in a stunning way but we knew that if an offer arrived he could leave. The priority was to immediately find an important alternative, we are happy to have found Dovbyk and Piccoli.”
Finally a word also on his eve, with Tedesco making his Serie A debut: “Of course I will sleep. I am very calm. I follow and see the team every day. In recent weeks, day by day, I have seen how we worked. The championship starts, it is very beautiful but we are only at the beginning.”
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