Bologna coach Palladino: ‘I’d like a visit from Kimi Antonelli’
Raffaele Palladino has invited Formula 1 world champion Kimi Antonelli to visit Bologna, and has warned his side to stay level-headed after three straight wins before Saturday’s trip to Parma.
With quotes via TuttoMercatoWeb, the Bologna coach opened his pre-match press conference by congratulating the Mercedes driver, a lifelong Rossoblù fan, on becoming the youngest champion in F1 history.
“I wanted to open the press conference by congratulating Kimi Antonelli, because it’s only right. He’s one of Bologna’s excellences, and we’re all happy,” Palladino said. “I’d love for him to come and visit us at the training ground and the stadium. It’s right to congratulate a great champion.”
Bologna have turned their season around since Palladino replaced Domenico Tedesco in September. Wins at Cagliari, at Milan (4-2) and at home to Monza have lifted them to 14 points, but the coach insists nobody should get carried away.
“A month ago we weren’t bad, and today we haven’t become phenomenal. We have to be balanced in our judgements,” he said. “We’re growing, and I have good feelings for the future. But defeats and difficult moments will come, and we’ll need to be balanced then too.”
Palladino returns to former club Parma
Saturday’s game at the Tardini, which kicks off at 18:00 CET [17:00 GMT], is a return to a club that means a lot to Palladino. He scored Parma’s 1,000th Serie A goal and was in the squad when the club went bankrupt in 2015.
“It was a beautiful and formative experience. We got as far as Europe, then unfortunately there was the bankruptcy, a bad page in Italian football,” he said. “We felt almost abandoned by everyone, and it was sad to see people not getting paid.”
He also warned that Parma, fresh from a 3-0 win at Atalanta, will be dangerous. “They’ve found balance and solidity. The 3-0 in Bergamo says a lot. I expect a test of maturity.”
Artem Dovbyk, Roberto Piccoli and Mikkel Odgaard are all available, while Jay Enem is close to returning. Lorenzo De Silvestri and Emil Holm are still out.
Asked about January, Palladino said: “It’s early for the transfer market, but I believe in this group. When the time comes, I’ll speak to the club, as is right. I came here to build a long-term project.”
