Bologna coach Italiano concerned about squad depth for upcoming matches against Genoa and Villa, Carlos Volcano reports

Italiano made it clear during Friday's media conference that his decisions regarding player selection will not be influenced by the upcoming Champions League match against Aston Villa.

Four new injured players today, many absences, unexpectedly arrived at the last minute?

"Unfortunately it's like this, I'm sorry because we always talk about how you can work well during the breaks, then when the internationals arrive they come back with a few minutes in their legs, but this time we lose Aebischer, Ndoye, Iling and Erlic, Lucumi came back today and worked separately. We work one game at a time, we'll be ready, but I'm very sorry about this situation with the internationals returning, we'll have a lot of commitments in the next 20, I'm not happy."

Ndoye recovers for the Champions League? What do you think about the wingers? Is Dominguez ready?

"Aebischer has an adductor problem, Ndoye is tired, Erlic has an injury, Iling has a Pobega-like condition with his collateral ligament, these are discomforts that will take time to go away. We need to start drawing energy and performance from some guys who have given less and had little space, we needed to wait for them. I knew and I know that there can be difficulties on this journey, you've seen what happens, you're missing important players, you think something and are proven wrong by something that happens. We'll all have to be ready, Karlsson Orso and Odgaard, everyone. I'm just sorry for this situation."

What exercises did you do to improve the attack?

"It makes me think, we have to be better at finishing, putting our teammates in a position to score goals, we talked about it with the guys, goals must also come from midfielders, on set pieces, from defenders, in situations where we need to optimize. We must continue to focus on this point of view. I am convinced that in the final pass situations we can improve."

Karlsson?

"He's working hard, he's trying to reach a different condition, he had an ankle that didn't allow him to play at his best, he's understanding the coach's requests. Up front we'll have to be able to take advantage of the moments, I spoke to him about it, with Parma for example someone like him has to give something more, he shot coming inside the pitch, he has to look for it with greater intentions. The summer injury affected him a bit, the usual ankle, he lost a bit... he started well, but he knows it too. He's working, we're waiting for him. He's calm, he knows it, we're 6 wingers, now Iling and Ndoye aren't there."

Freuler has always played in the league, how will he be managed?

"He's a driving force, he deserves everything he's achieving, he's lucky enough to have a great physique, and this allows him to always be at the top. I hope he starts scoring goals here too, not just in the national team (smiles)."

How is Odgaard? Do you see him as a striker?

"At the moment, given the injuries, we are obviously talking about it, I evaluate everyone weekly, game after game, I see all 6 wingers at every training session, they can all be useful. In attack, you win games, the starters and those who come in are important."

How do you rate Urbanski and Skorupski in the team and the young Polish player Labedski?

"There is little to say about Skorupski and Urbanski, they are two important players for the team, Urbanski is an immovable starter in the Polish national team, Lukasz is a veteran, a reliable goalkeeper and a leader here. I was surprised by Jan Labedski, he has personality and quality, in my opinion Bologna in the Primavera has interesting players and Labedski is one of them."

Was there an overload of work in the national team in your opinion?

"The boys called up can't wait to play with their respective national teams and I'm happy about that, they have a great spirit. However, at the moment when perhaps due to a lack of desire to stay out and communicate the conditions, because they are convinced that even if they are not 100% they can perform, then sometimes they go too far. Because they are close matches, when you go to the national team it is difficult to work intensely and doing 180' in 3 days the players come back tired and overloaded, so we don't risk them, of course not and this is what I mean when I talk about the 'free' situation of the unavailable."

Are Dallinga and Castro  two players who can coexist as you did with Beltran and a first striker last year? How are you working with Dominguez?

"No, for me they are both first strikers, in forcing the game during the game yes, but they are two first strikers, two forwards, Beltran was more stocky. We did it during the game against Como but they are two penalty area men, two first strikers. Dominguez arrived with great desire, he started off at full speed, but then it's normal, he's far from home, there's an inevitable down phase, but now I've seen him smiling, I've seen him well and he's growing a lot."

An anecdote with GIlardino?

"We played 2000/2001 and 2001/2002, he was young and I was old, he came from Piacenza, he then proved to be a top-level striker, we all know that. We saved ourselves for two years. I have good memories of Gila, I will say goodbye to him very willingly."

Tomorrow Genoa is very hungry... but so is his Bologna...

"Tomorrow two teams that need to get points will face each other, we'll see who is hungrier than the other, at Marassi we will have to equalize this desire to get points, then whoever is better will win the match, but we will have to be as hungry as them."

Do you expect a different Genoa also in terms of system?

"We'll see if they will propose the same lineup as against Atalanta, Roma and Juve, I don't know. We are ready for anything, we play every three days, we have our strategies against every system. I can't tell you how they will line up because they have a lot of injured players, we have to expect anything and be ready."

And Aston Villa?

"We'll think about it from tomorrow, I hope to recover someone like Ndoye, but let's focus on the championship and tomorrow's match."