Bologna-Verona, Mihajlovic conference: ‘I was wrong too with Lazio’

One step away from the home match against Verona, Sinisa Mihajlovic hypothesizes that (almost) anything could happen on the market and in the meantime he immediately calls to his own responsibilities a team that has lost (throwing away an important opportunity) at Lazio. “We talked to the guys this week – says the coach -: it’s a shame to have lost like this, our management must be better, we must not be overwhelmed by events. We got five yellow cards plus a red when the fouls weren’t functional to our game. We hurt ourselves and we need to improve: we always say that but often we can’t manage the race. Maybe I made a mistake with the changes too, but losing like this is bad for me and for the players: we didn’t manage it well. Now I expect perfect or almost perfect emotional management: to be aggressive but attentive to yellow cards, we are not a bad team even if last year we were the worst. Verona is a good team and it’s our first home championship: we have to be patient, they are physical because they have 5-6 players above 1.90, so watch out for inactive balls. Are there fans on the pitch today? It’s Italy: on the second day there is already talk of coaches taking risks, it’s the Italian mentality, I like it because it always keeps you awake because when you don’t train you miss it ”.

Mercato e Schouten

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In that match against Lazio, Orsolini and Bonifazi were punished (the second partially) for having delayed a technical meeting. “Orsolini? I don’t bear a grudge: I spoke the day before and said I didn’t want to see any more delays, then he and Bonifazi arrived… later. Orso was the first time he had arrived late, Bonifazi had already done so: but now all the boys arrive early, so he needed it and that’s all for me. He too has the chance to play against Verona. Did Bonifazi let him in? Did I have to make a virtue of necessity otherwise I did, did I play? Regarding the new defensive signings, I say that Lucumi is not yet available while Sosa is taking him to the bench: however, I see the first one ready, he has also played in the European cups; the second is younger but it takes time, he is still a little lost, let’s see how he grows. From here to the end of the market? Many things can still happen: we can take some players, we can give others away, it is important that we try to be more competitive, not to take too much to take, we must look for elements that are better than what we have. All the coaches dream of having the team ready at the start of the championship but sometimes it is not possible: this is true for Bologna but also for many teams. Maybe you can make movements that were unthinkable a month ago, let’s see ”. Meanwhile Jerdy Schouten confirms: “The renewal? It’s almost done ”, probably until 2026.