Bologna

Juventus will have to shell out a transfer fee of at least €70 million (£59 million) if they want to re-sign Riccardo Orsolini, according to Bologna sporting director Walter Sabatini. 

Orsolini, 23, signed for Juve from Italian second-tier side Ascoli in 2017 but never made a first-team appearance for the Old Lady.

Instead, he spent six months on loan at Atalanta before another 18-month loan at Bologna, a move which became permanent last June.

The winger has thrived with the Rossoblu, most recently netting the opener for Bologna in their 3-2 victory at Roma on Friday:

As a result, talk has surfaced that Juve could be interested in re-signing him and may have a €25 million (£21 million) buyback clause, but Sabatini has now said nothing of the sort was negotiated, per ETV (h/t Goal's Dejan Kalinic):

"In the negotiation process, we talked to Juventus about a possible buyback option, but it was never written down, so it remained only verbal.

"At the moment, it is unthinkable that he could be sold for the figures that have been mentioned in the media. We would discuss it with Juventus to ensure that everyone was happy with the situation. We are a strong club and, if the player were to leave, we would require compensation. In any case, we're not thinking about his departure at the moment and he is not on the market.

"I give Orsolini a value of not less than €70 million. I repeat that he will not leave. He is followed by the national team like so many others, and I think good news is coming to Coverciano [Italy's headquarters]. I hope he can go to the European Championship, but [Italy coach Roberto] Mancini doesn't need my advice."

Orsolini was handed his senior Italy debut in November when he scored a goal and provided an assist in a 9-1 drubbing of Armenia after coming on as a half-time substitute.

That was Italy's last international fixture of 2019, and Orsolini will hope to be in the running for their first game of 2020, a friendly against England at Wembley Stadium on March 27.

Italy have four friendlies organised—the others are against Germany, San Marino and Czech Republic—before their opening group-stage game of UEFA Euro 2020 against Turkey in Rome on June 12.

If Orsolini can break into Roberto Mancini's squad and impress on the international stage, Juve are unlikely to be the only club interested in him come the summer.

As a left-footed player who prefers to play on the right flank, he is an archetypal modern wide player who can contribute both goals and assists.

Orsolini also has huge potential for improvement, so it is no surprise Sabatini is making it clear he will not be allowed to leave for cheap. 

Bologna sporting director Riccardo Bigon has confirmed Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been in contact with manager Sinisa Mihajlovic amid talk he could move to the Serie A club.

Mihajlovic, who worked as an assistant coach at Inter Milan during Ibrahimovic's first two years at the club, was diagnosed with leukaemia in July.

Bigon told Radio Anch'io Sport (h/t Football-Italia):

"Over the last few months, Ibra and Mihajlovic have been in touch, also because of a difficult period for Sinisa.

"They have been sharing opinions about the Swedish player's future, and he is the only one who will be able to decide where it lies.

"Over the next few months, we will get to know where his future lies, we still don't know where he will go.

"The idea of [him joining Bologna] is fascinating, the phone calls between the coach and Ibra are there, and if he wants to return to Italy, we're ready."

Bigon added that Bologna hope to qualify for European competition in the near future, which will require a "highly competitive squad."

Ibrahimovic is set to leave L.A. Galaxy after two years in Major League Soccer when his contract expires at the end of this year.

Galaxy's season came to an end in October when they lost to rivals Los Angeles FC 5-3 in the quarter-finals of MLS' playoffs.

Bologna director Walter Sabatini has confirmed the club have made an offer to the 38-year-old, per football journalist Fabrizio Romano:

Football writer Kaustubh Pandey would enjoy seeing him make the move:

Despite his age, the striker has remained a prolific goalscorer wherever he's gone.

He notched 22 goals and seven assists in 27 appearances in his debut season with the Galaxy, while in this campaign, he scored 31 times in as many games and offered eight assists.

The Swede has spent his career at some of Europe's top clubs, including Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United.

He's enjoyed several successful spells in Italy along the way at Juventus, Inter and AC Milan, so a return to Serie A might appeal.

Although Bologna are not the profile of club he typically moves to, his desire to help out Mihajlovic could aid them in their bid to land his signature.

The Rossoblu are 13th in Serie A after 11 games. Scoring goals has been less of a problem for them than conceding—they've netted 15 and shipped 17—but a match-winner like Ibrahimovic could take them into the top half.  

Sinisa Mihajlovic has said he will "fight" after the Bologna coach learned he has leukaemia.

The 50-year-old held a press conference on Saturday alongside a club doctor to explain the diagnosis, per Football Italia. Mihajlovic said he underwent examination while suffering from a fever, and tests "showed leukaemia."

"When I got the news, it was a real blow," he said. "I sat there for days crying, your life passes by your eyes. These are not tears of fear. I respect the illness, I will face it, with chest puffed out, looking it in the eyes, the way I always have done. I cannot wait to go to hospital and start the fight. It is aggressive, but it is beatable."

News of the Serb's illness was broken by Corriere dello Sport (h/t Football Italia). Mihajlovic, who had asked for privacy after the diagnosis, wasn't happy about the way the story was revealed: "Unfortunately, [privacy] did not happen, not everyone respected it and in order to sell a few more hundred copies, they ruined a long-term friendship."

The former Lazio defender explained how he had spoken to his players about the news:

"I explained to them we have to attack and go to win. If we sit back and try to defend, we'll get knocked down straight away. I have to use my tactics in this battle and I am sure, without any doubts, that I will win this battle. I'll win it for my family, for my children, for all those who love me."

Mihajlovic hasn't been short of well-wishers and said he had received as many as 700 messages of support. He also expressed his gratitude for Bologna's support, referencing club president Joey Saputo and the "family" environment.

Mihajlovic also noted how his father passed away from cancer, something that's encouraged him to get tested regularly.

The club doctor identified the illness as "acute Leukemia" While combatting the symptoms would have been next to impossible two decades ago, the doctor described how "we have the tools to ensure a complete cure, we can talk about a coach who can work, can train, can affect what happens on the field and in the dressing room."

Mihajlovic will be absent from the team at points during his treatment, with stays in hospital necessary. He took charge of Bologna in January in his second spell at the club, following a brief stint that ended in 2009. Tenures with Fiorentina, Sampdoria, Milan, Torino and Sporting followed.

Former Manchester City chief Roberto Mancini, who played with Mihajlovic for two clubs and later made the Serbian his assistant manager at Inter Milan, posted this message of support on Instagram (h/t Football Italia): "You're too strong, this won't scare you and besides we need to go play paddleboard afterwards."

A highly successful playing career, during which he was known for versatility, a wand of a left foot and spectacular free-kicks, saw Mihajlovic win the European Cup with Red Star Belgrade in 1991. He also played for Sampdoria, Roma and Inter.

Four members of the Bologna technical team have been suspended after it emerged that a new transfer signing was left without a welcome wagon upon his arrival in Italy.

Reuters (h/t Yahoo!) reports that the staff were meant to greet the newly acquired Ibson, who completed a late move to the Serie A outfit from Corinthians, but they simply forgot their duties.

An excerpt from the report reads: "Club president Albano Guaraldi was reportedly furious after the Brazilian arrived on Sunday, only to find there was nobody to greet him or pick him up."

Paul Watson of Here Is The City says that technical director Adriano Polenta, secretary general Luca Befani, communication chief Carlo Caliceti and marketing man Andrea Battacchi are the four men currently being held accountable for the mix-up.

Ibson was one of just two January transfers made by the Italian outfit during the winter window, with former Malmo midfielder Erik Friberg being the other piece of business.

The Brazilian made 18 appearances for Corinthians in their 2013 Brasileiro Serie A campaign, according to Transfermarkt, and he holds previous European experience from his time spent at Spartak Moscow and Porto respectively.

Having now come back to the continent, however, things haven't exactly gotten off on the best of notes for the attacking midfield veteran.

As things stand, Bologna are just one point clear of the Italian top flight's relegation spots, and they face the very real possibility of becoming further embroiled in the fight against the drop.

However, the Greyhounds will be hoping that it's the impact of players such as Ibson that can turn their fortunes around. That being said, it might have been a logical move to give the 30-year-old a morale boost instead of leaving him in wait at the airport.

Sky Sports' South American correspondent Paulo Freitas suggests that the journeyman is well on his decline, though:

Perhaps it's due to lapses in concentration such as this that Bologna find themselves in their current relegation mire, with matters in need of attention within their own camp.

Petteri Koponen has taken his boldest step yet to prove that he will fit in perfectly with the Blazers: he got injured. Hippo's words after the totally related video clip.

The last couple of weeks have been very good for Petteri Koponen and Virtus Bologna. The storied Italian powerhouse has been fighting for playoff home court advantage furiously since February, winning seven out of their last nine while their Finnish floor general has been improving every game, even catching the attention of NBA and Euroleague scouts.

That run is over for now.

According to this release by the Finnish Basketball Federation (FBF for LIFE-Ed. ), Koponen will be out for the next three months because of a stress fracture in his leg. Here's what the man himself has to say:

"For last a couple of months I've felt pain in my foot and have received proper treatment here in Italy. Earlier this week, the medical staff of Virtus Bologna talked with Finnish national team medical staff and made me wear a cast."

Since the fracture was noticed early, Koponen should be able to play rather quickly. He will for sure miss the Italian league playoffs, but it's possible that he will play August 5, when Finnish national team meets Montenegro in the Eurobasket Qualifications opener.

"Hopefully the healing process starts quickly and I will be able to get back on track quickly and represent my country in the Eurobasket qualifications. Now I have no opinion but to rest, gather energy into my body, and come back stronger than ever."

Koponen will most likely return from Italy to Finland in May. Virtus Bologna lost their first game without Koponen on the road against Scavolini Pesaro 73-90.

In his second season with Virtus Bologna, Koponen averaged 11.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.5 turnovers in 27.7 minutes per game with shooting percentages of 63.9 percent (2pt fg), 39.8 percent (3pt fg) and 77.8 percent (ft).

-Hippo

There is only one way to prepare for Hippo's latest update. DINOSHARK! His words after the shark.

Last three weeks have gone by quietly in the Blazers' Italian front. While Blazers have turned their slump into a winning streak, Petteri Koponen has been performing steadily for his Serie A team, Virtus Bologna.

After the Italian cup final loss against Montepaschi Siena, Virtus has defeated Banca Tercas Teramo (77-67) and Cimberio Varese (80-67) at home, and lost a nail-biter on the road against Armani Jeans Milano (71-73).

Koponen's performances and stat-lines have been, well, steady. No shooting sprees, but no slumps. The Finnish point guard prospect only had two points with 0/4 field goals against Teramo, but had a +/- rating of +20, ultimately the best in his team.

Koponen also had 11 points against Milano, and 13 against Varese. While the opposing defenses have become aware of his skills, he doesn't get his shot off as easily as before the Christmas break, but in a team with so much firepower as Bologna, he doesn't need to be the one centerpiece of team offense.

Like mentioned in earlier International Watches, the recovery of point guard Andre Collins has helped Koponen quite a lot. In 11 games without Collins, Koponen averaged 1,6 assists and 1,6 steals while committing 2,2 turnovers a game.

After Collins arrived, Koponen has cut his turnovers down to 0,9 a game while increasing his assist and steals totals a bit (Ast: 1,8 Stl: 1,7).

It is also clear that Collins creates better shot opportunities for Koponen; while Koponen's field goal percentages were good before the break (2p .529%, 3p .410%), they have boosted up to excellent in the games played with Collins (2p .711%, 3p .472%).

While Montepaschi Siena is still destroying all the opponents in Italian league play with a 21-0 W-L-record, everything is open between the second and seventh spot. Montegranaro and Caserta have snatched 14 victories, Milano and Bologna stand tall with 13, and Cantu and Avellino have gathered 12 W's.

Bologna has two road games against playoff contenders these upcoming weekends; Dee Brown's Air Avellino at 21st of March, and Jumaine Jones's Pepsi Caserta at 28th of March.

It can be said that the next two games will determine whether Virtus will fight for home court advantage for the playoffs, or if they will have to settle to playoff spot hunt.

Since Virtus' roster is deep and talented, Koponen's numbers are unlikely to boost, but then again he has shown his ability to step up in the big games.

Here's a recap of Koponen's averages in Serie A season 2009/10 so far:

Games 20
Started 17
Minutes 26,5
Points 10,8
Rebounds 2,0
Assists 1,7
Steals 1,5
Turnovers 1,5
Personal fouls 2,3
2pt field goals 64,9% (not enough attempts to qualify for Top 20)
3pt field goals 43,8% (9th in the league)
Free throws 76,3%
Plus-minus +6,45 (15th in the league)


-Hipposaurus