La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) talks about the four faces in the midfield that can break the boredom of what could be a very cagey game between two sides with so much on the line, and can provide that spark.
On one side Youssouf Fofana and Tijjani Reijnders, on the other Lewis Ferguson and Jens Odgaard: technical skills that come from all over Europe and that will converge in the final act tomorrow night at the Stadio Olimpico.
Reijnders and Fofana are perfectly integrated as a duo and Sergio Conceiçao is very happy to use them again. The Dutchman takes care of distributing the ball and launching himself into free spaces, Fofana takes care of recovering and watching the back of his team-mate who ventures into attack.
Tijji has become the second-top scorer in the team with 15 goals, behind Christian Pulisic (17) but ahead of all the forwards in the squad. A goalscoring midfielder, with a contribution of fifteen goals divided between the league (10), Champions League (three) and Coppa Italia (two).
However, none in 360 minutes played against Bologna, four games as a starter in Serie A between last season and the current season. So, there is an opportunity to break the duck in a game that could lead to playing in Europe.
Manchester City’s interest in the Dutchman was well known and could become even more concrete in the coming months. Reijnders has renewed his Rossoneri contract until 2030 and beyond the written constraints there is a feeling that ties him to Milan: he and his family are happy i nthe city.
Milan have made him a top-level midfielder, also thanks to the collaboration with Fofana. The former Monaco man remains guarding the area when Reijnders goes off to strike. After the pain in his left foot that forced him to change to Genoa, Fofana has worked to be there and will be there.
The pairing is so solid that it is difficult to break up: Reijnders is second among Rossoneri players for minutes played this season (4,321, behind only Mike Maignan), while Fofana is fourth with 3,767.
Vincenzo Italiano’s midfield duo is all about harmony, personality and game management skills. Everything the Bologna coach has done this year has been built without Joshua Zirkzee and Riccardo Calafiori but also too often without Lewis Ferguson.
He returned in November after knee surgery and was the protagonist of some ups and downs which are natural after a long absence. The Scotsman was used by Italiano as Remo Freuler’s assistant and they built an almost elastic relationship, knowing when to drop and when to push.
Ferguson, this year, has played only 14 games in Serie A as the rehabilitation after the rupture of his ligaments in April of last year created delays. When he is there, the Scot shows his intelligence and management, searching for space and having an eye goal.
Like Jens Odgaard, another ‘invention’ by Italiano. One day, duyring Genoa 2-2 Bologna, the coach took the Dane aside and began to shape him as an attacking midfielder, when he was formerly a centre-forward or winger.
Bologna changed after that because his six goals and his spirit of sacrifice give a perfectly mixed contribution. In the triangle of dreams, Italiano has the Scotsman, the Swiss and the Dane: with them, the best is more achievable.
