Putting aside fitness concerns, the conservative approach of the former Italy tactician is affecting the Rossoblu’s form and a more daring approach might be the way to bring the best out the squad.
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Roberto Donadoni needs his Bologna team to becoming a more potent attacking threat if they want to improve their position in the Serie A table.
Currently the Felsinei are in 16th place in the league with 16 points and they have scored a paltry 14 goals in 15 rounds, with the four teams below them being the only sides to have scored less.
In their last five Serie A matches, Bologna have lost on four occasions including Monday’s 1-0 defeat to a resurgent Udinese and have scored just three goals, all of them coming in the 3-1 victory against relegation-battlers Palermo in Week 13.
Donadoni is missing a couple of players in attack such as Simone Verdi, who is unavailable until January due to an ankle ligament injury and Umar Sadiq, who has been battling with ankle problems since arriving on loan from Roma.
Star striker Mattia Destro could be doubt for Sunday’s match against Empoli with a shoulder injury and back in October he had missed four games because an injury. With three forwards potentially out for the next game, it makes it hard for Donadoni to have an attack performing in peak condition.
Destro has scored four goals in 10 Serie A games this season while Verdi had also scored just as many in 11 matches. Unfortunately for the Felsinei the duo are the only players in the team to have found the back of the net on multiple occasions in the league.
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Sadiq was a prolific scorer in the Spezia youth system and showed flashes of brilliance at Roma during the 2015-16 season. Perhaps if he was fit, he might be able to put more pressure on his teammates to score.
While attacking injury woes have been a concern for the Rossoblu, Donadoni’s conservative approach is also holding his team back. Bologna finished 14th in Serie A last season, but they scored fewer goals than anyone else, finding the back of the net just 33 times.
This season he has a stronger squad than what he had when he arrived in October 2015 but he prefers midfielders who are more defensive-minded such as Erick Pulgar and Adam Nagy.
Surprisingly, he has only played Ghanaian starlet Godfred Donsah four times in all competitions so far and playmaker Federico Viviani has rarely featured because of Donadoni’s preference for defensive steel over creative spark.
Another player that the Bologna tactician should utilise more is right-winger Federico Di Francesco, who arrived in the summer from Virtus Lanciano. The son of Sassuolo coach Eusebio couldn’t prevent Lanciano from being relegated from Serie B but he scored eight goals in 36 matches and broke into the Italy Under-21 squad.
Like the aforementioned Simone Verdi, Di Francesco is a player who can score goals out of nothing and provide a stale Rossoblu side with some flair.
Bologna did play in a more offensive manner last Thursday in the Coppa Italia and they triumphed 4-0 against Serie B side Hellas Verona. French winger Anthony Mounier collected a brace while Destro and Di Francesco added to the scoreline.
Although they faced a weaker side in the cup, the Felsinei showed that they are capable of scoring goals, and perhaps Donadoni needs his team to play regularly with an attacking intent.
Source: forzaitalianfootball.com