Claudio Fenucci, CEO of Bologna, spoke to Sky Sport 24 about the team`s successful season and the potential for reaching the Champions League, as well as the club`s future plans.
“We continue to compete in the league because there are two matches left, and there is still a small opportunity to reach the Champions League, which must be seized,” Fenucci stated. “Afterwards, we will take a moment, after some celebrations that the team, staff, and city deserve. As happens every year.”
When asked about Bologna`s project, Fenucci added: “The project is to continue growing and be competitive. This also means continuously improving things; if some players were to leave, as can happen for any team, there is work being done behind the scenes that will allow us to reinforce adequately. However, it`s too early to discuss this. The desire is to be competitive in Europe as well, should we manage to return to that level.”
Regarding the challenges during the ten years of the Saputo era, including the stadium, Fenucci replied: “There are different challenges. The primary one is maintaining these levels of competitiveness. We are not a `big` club by numbers, but we want to be by ambition. The stadium is one piece of this, but it`s not just a problem for Bologna; it`s for Italian football as a whole. If we want to improve this sport, also industrially, we are far behind our European competitors. I`m not just talking about revenue, but about how the sport is experienced and how new generations are attracted.”