Unai Emery full of praise for Italian football ahead of Aston Villa’s Europa League clash with Bologna | OneFootball

Bologna kick off their Europa League campaign tonight as they face Aston Villa for the second consecutive season. The Premier League outfit won 2-0 in last year’s Champions League clash, but now welcome their Serie A opponents into this rematch following a poor start to the new campaign.

The day before the game, Aston Villa manager Unai Emery spoke highly of the visiting Rossoblu to club media. “Bologna, a very good team. Last year, they were playing in the Champions League with us. They played here, we won, but it was a difficult match. (They have) The same coach, a lot of the same players, the style, the idea they are more or less doing is the same. Very aggressive, man-to-man, it’s a difficult team.”

Adding to these comments, the Spanish boss later had more positive things to say about the broader topic of the Italian game.

Speaking with Sky, the Basque native said, “I really like the idea of ​​Italian football. There are lots of duels, one-on-one. An idea that comes from (Gian Piero) Gasperini, or even now from (Vincenzo) Italiano. They play good football, like Inter. Then there’s the solidity of Milan, Roma, and Sarri’s Lazio. In Italy, they play good football and there are tough matches.”

“I have a lot of respect for all Italian coaches,” the coach added. “With Conte, all the teams he’s coached have been successful. In Italy, football is something very powerful. Beyond the coaches and the players, football is experienced with passion by the fans.”

While the respect is there, Bologna will be hoping to add to the Villans’ early-season struggles. However, the Emilia-Romagna team will be looking to turn their own fortunes on the continent. The Rossoblu are winless (having drawn one and lost four) in their last five European games against English opponents. Their last victory came with a 1-0 against Leeds United in March 1967 in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.

GIFN | Max Bradfield