Di Vaio on Bologna success and ‘gem’ Castro | OneFootball

Bologna director Marco Di Vaio is glad to see Juventus coach Thiago Motta again after last season’s success and calls Santiago Castro ‘a gem who still needs to be fully discovered.’

It kicks off at the Allianz Juventus Stadium at 17.00 GMT.

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from this game and Roma-Lecce on the Liveblog.

It has been a busy time for the Rossoblu, who won four of their last five Serie A matches and crushed Monza 4-0 midweek in the Coppa Italia Round of 16.

However, that result came at a price, as Riccardo Orsolini was ruled out for three weeks by a thigh strain, with Michel Aebischer, Charalampos Lykogiannis, Oussama El Azzouzi and Nicolò Cambiaghi also on the treatment table.

Di Vaio from Bologna captain to director

Santiago Castro of Bologna celebrates with teammate Benjamin Dominguez after scoring his team’s fourth goal during the Coppa Italia match between Bologna FC and AC Monza at Renato Dall’Ara Stadium on December 03, 2024 in Bologna, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)

The last time Bologna won in Turin was 2-0 in 2010-11 with Di Vaio on target.

“It was an incredible night for me and for the club, as I think Bologna hadn’t won here for 30-35 years,” Di Vaio told DAZN.

“It is a dream for me to go from captain to director, I’ve been at Bologna for 11 years and took all those steps to learn along the way. Working with Giovanni Sartori was incredible and to qualify for the Champions League as a director of sport was remarkable.”

Thiago Motta was the coach of Bologna last season and took them to fifth place, then walked away for a new experience at Juventus.

“I haven’t met him yet today, but seeing him is always emotional for us, as he wrote two incredible years in the history of Bologna, brought a special style of football to the team and got us back into the European Cup for the first time in over 60 years,” continued Di Vaio.

“We can only thank him for two incredible years.”

Santiago Castro has impressed for the Rossoblu so far this season and earned reports of transfer interest from Inter.

“He is a gem who could sparkle in the future, but still needs to be fully discovered. He is working hard, has great mentality, is eager to learn and challenge himself every day, which are the foundations to reach a high level,” concluded Di Vaio.