Bologna, 24 February 2025 – “I am charged and moved”, admits Thiago after the ninetieth. Charged, moved and even swaying in the first ten seconds of words in front of Dazn’s microphones, when the adrenaline of another dream night is still circulating. The fifth victory in a rowthe banner and the Bulgarelli choir calling him under the curve and him thanking everyone but indicating his boys as legitimate recipients of such affection.
“Hearing my name shouted is beautiful – says Thiago – because they are things which are not always experienced. I can only thank the fans, but I repeat: I am here to give, not to receive, and sometimes I think I don’t deserve all this affection. So I thank our people but it’s not right that I should be the one to take the spotlight: my players should take the spotlight.”
He clarifies the concept: “Football exists for two components, fans and players. My staff and I know that without these guys we are nobody. And even without the fans, football would be played at an amateur level. Seeing this alchemy between fans and players from the outside is beautiful and I feel privileged to experience these emotions.”
I would be nothing without the players, says Motta, with an act of generosity that consciously ignores the fact that without a coach in the summer you don’t even leave for training camp. And Bologna has a coach. Or rather: the Coach. To get where?
“I don’t have any expectations – explains Thiago –. I try to live my days to the fullest and I only have the good of Bologna in my head. What if I’m more excited or moved? It’s both things together. Of course, sometimes I sleep little to dedicate all the time to my boys: but then I get repaid from these beautiful evenings“.
Motta’s eyes smile in the press room. And he smiles too when they ask him if he doesn’t feel like, at certain times, returning to being a footballer to be on the pitch with this wonderful Bologna.
“No – he replies – I have no regrets about the choices I made. Today I am happy to coach this group of splendid boys and it doesn’t even bother me for the head of being on the field with them. I’m forty-one years old, others would pass me by like arrows and I don’t want to make a fool of myself…”.
There is one more thought for his boys: “Today the match was complicated, because Verona is a tough team: but eleven warriors took to the field. He who entered at the end is also a warrior.”
And a special mention for Skorupski: “His save at the end, with the whole team coming back to defend the counterattack, counted like a goal.”
Praise also for Orsolini: “He could have fallen in the area and looked for the penalty, but he remained standing“.
Long live football and long live this Bologna which is the emblem of the best football.
