Di Vaio: ‘Historic Bologna, but we respect Empoli’ in Coppa Italia semi final 1st leg

BOLOGNA, ITALY – FEBRUARY 01: Bologna players celebrate victory following during the Serie A match between Bologna and Como at Stadio Renato Dall’Ara on February 01, 2025 in Bologna, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)

Bologna director Marco Di Vaio assures they ‘respect Empoli a great deal’ in tonight’s Coppa Italia semi-final, but want to focus on both this tournament and Serie A.

It kicks off at the Stadio Castellani at 20.00 UK time (19.00 GMT).

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens on the Liveblog.

The second leg of this semi-final will be on April 24, while tomorrow Inter and Milan go head-to-head.

“We drew both our games against Empoli in Serie A, so that proves we struggle against them, not to mention the strong results they achieved in the Coppa Italia. We respect Empoli a great deal,” Di Vaio told Sport Mediaset.

Empoli have already knocked Torino, Fiorentina and Juventus out of the competition to reach their first ever semi-final.

Bologna want it all this season

There has been practically no squad rotation for Bologna, as only the injured Santiago Castro misses out, starting Riccardo Orsolini and Dan Ndoye.

Are they putting their focus on reaching the Coppa Italia Final against either Inter or Milan, more than securing that top four Serie A finish?

“We are focused on this evening, as this is a game that could mark the history of this club. We hadn’t reached the semi-final for a long time, we are fortunate to have a large squad and our priority is always the next match,” assured Di Vaio.

The Rossoblu finished fifth in Serie A last season with coach Thiago Motta, but seem to have done even better under Vincenzo Italiano and are on track to qualify for the Champions League without the bonus spot.

“It is always difficult to confirm the results made the previous season, even more so when we changed coach and several players in the summer.

“At this moment, we are calm, we are playing many matches and these lads are having an extraordinary campaign, but there is a long way to go yet.”