Bologna travel to Lecce for Sunday’s sixth-round Serie A fixture with Raffaele Palladino using the international break to address more than training-ground details. The coach has placed renewed confidence at the centre of his work, arguing that the squad’s response over the past three weeks has shown a willingness to move beyond its difficult spell.
Confidence work before the Lecce trip
Palladino said the pause from competitive matches allowed Bologna to increase the intensity of their work and focus on areas that required improvement. For him, the task is also personal: understanding which players need reassurance and which require direct advice.
“It is my responsibility to help them recover their confidence through individual conversations,” Palladino said. “The more time I spend with the players, the better I understand them and recognise who needs support or guidance. Giving them confidence and courage depends on me.”
He believes the players have already offered the right response during the break.
- Bologna have had three weeks without official fixtures to work on their game.
- Palladino said the group have shown a clear desire to emerge from the current situation.
- The coach feels the team already possess the mentality needed to improve.
Conversations across the squad
The goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski was among the players Palladino spoke with during the break. The Bologna coach also held talks with Pessina upon his return from international duty, as well as with the rest of the group.
Palladino sees those exchanges as part of the management of a squad in which every player must feel involved, while recognising that the final decisions remain with the head coach.
“I spoke to Skorupski, absolutely,” he explained. “I also spoke with Pessina when he came back from the national team, and with all the other players. The more I speak to them, the more information I receive. Everyone must feel important and know they are being assessed by me, because I am the one who makes the choices in the end.”
Darmian offers experience after Holm injury
Bologna have also completed the arrival of Matteo Darmian to strengthen their defensive options following Holm’s serious injury. Palladino described the move as a club decision that he fully supported, and sent Holm his wishes for a swift recovery.
The coach said discussions with the board led them towards Darmian, a player he knows from previous meetings as an opponent. In Palladino’s view, the new signing brings the authority of an experienced winner and can cover more than one role in the defensive line.
- Darmian was recruited after Holm suffered a serious injury.
- Palladino said the defender can operate either as part of a back three or as a wing-back.
- He is available for the Lecce match on Sunday.
- The coach noted that Darmian arrived in Bologna in good condition despite training alone while without a club.
For Bologna, the Lecce match is therefore not merely the return of league football after the break. It is the first opportunity to turn Palladino’s work on trust, communication and defensive reinforcement into a more convincing Serie A afternoon.
