Former Bologna striker Julio Cruz believes the current team should not be broken up: ‘We only need 2-3 reinforcements’. The Argentine striker spent three seasons with the Rossoblu and shared his assessments of their stellar season with La Gazzetta dello Sport:
“Bologna deserve to qualify for the Champions League. And then they should keep everyone, for the joy of being able to play something big with a special group and in a super city.”
You were also there the last time Bologna were in the Europa League: August 27, 2002, the return leg final against Fulham after the 2-2 draw in the first leg:
“We played very well. And today Motta and Inzaghi propose the best football in Serie A.”
What fascinates you about Thiago?
“In November 2022, I spoke with him at Casteldebole, he had arrived two months earlier. He impressed me. He likes coaching, he likes watching his players play, he likes to create a score in which everyone is involved. In every speech of his, one concept was clear: where he wanted to go to do good for his team. And to achieve this, the appropriate tool is to make yourself understood well. He is a smart guy: he was as a player, he is now. And he understands the players, to the point of dragging them along.”
What do you like most about this Bologna?
“That it entertains and they have fun: it is a compact team, they all know what they have to do, even if they fall behind they calmly continue to pursue their game, their guideline. Credit to Motta and everyone. It’s a mixture: club, staff, coach, players, and those behind the scenes. We players are the final product of important work done behind the scenes.”
That Champions League vanished on May 5th, 2002?
“Today’s Bologna can and must make it: also to avenge our Bologna. We played with our heads held high, always: like today’s Bologna. The city was happy, ecstatic. Going to the Champions League would have been wonderful, but it will be if they go today.”
So, if Champions League football were to be secured, should Motta stay?
“He and everyone should stay. And the club should add those 2-3 more players to make a top team. You know what I like about this Bologna? That it is young, there are strong and quality players, Calafiori, Zirkzee himself, Ferguson who will recover, not least the Argentine Castro. Here: with this youth, Bologna can last for years, open a cycle. If the Champions were to arrive, everyone should stay: playing such a competition where you are loved is easier but also a dream.”
