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BOLOGNA, ITALY – MARCH 22: Vincenzo Italiano, Head Coach of Bologna, waves to the crowd prior to the Serie A match between Bologna FC 1909 and SS Lazio at Renato Dall’Ara Stadium on March 22, 2026 in Bologna, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)
Vincenzo Italiano arrived at his pre-match press conference ahead of Thursday’s Europa League quarter-final second leg at Villa Park with his trademark wit intact, joking that he had asked the club to fly in Tom Cruise to help with what he described as a near-impossible mission, while also outlining a clear and serious tactical plan to give Bologna a genuine chance of completing one of European football’s more remarkable comebacks.
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The Rossoblù head into the tie trailing 3-1 from the first leg, and Italiano was under no illusions about the scale of the task.
“I’ll drop the percentages this time,” he said, with quotes via TMW, referencing his pre-match 50-50 prediction ahead of the first leg. “This is a mission that is almost impossible. I had asked the club to bring in Tom Cruise, he could give us a hand.”
The laughter subsided quickly, however, as Italiano returned to the serious business of how Bologna might make life uncomfortable for an Aston Villa side that will be looking to manage the game on home soil.
“We ruined the first leg with some lapses of concentration within what was otherwise a very high-level performance,” he said.
“Tomorrow we must make life difficult for them, not let them have a quiet evening. It would be important not to concede. And then we have to try to hurt them: they do give something away, as we saw in both previous matches here.”
Aston Villa vs Bologna – Italiano: ‘Ravaglia will play’
On Unai Emery’s attacking philosophy, Italiano was playful. “Emery’s mantra is attack, attack, attack. Mine, by contrast, is defence, defence, defence,” he said with a smile.
He was more measured on what he genuinely expects from Villa. “I would be surprised if they came at us aggressively given their two-goal lead. But I don’t know how they will approach it, what I do know is that the atmosphere pushes them and raises their level. We must find a way to respond.”
Italiano confirmed that Federico Ravaglia returns in goal, “from the start.”
With Lucumí also absent, he has Casale, Heggem and Vitik available in central defence, though he was deliberately cagey about his selection. “One of the three will be on the bench,” was all he would say.
His message to the squad was straightforward. “I told them to remember the matches we have played here before. We need to dig deep for a truly top-level performance and make our opponents work extremely hard. These games always throw up surprises, and that is our only hope.”
