Saputo: “The training ground is the foundation for the club’s growth”

Club Chairman Joey Saputo spoke with reporters as the new wing was opened at the Niccolò Galli training centre. “When I arrived here at Bologna, I said that I wanted to bring the glory back,” he began. “If you look at the big sides in Europe or the United States, you see that the training ground is part of that. For me, it’s a starting point for us and then it will be the stadium as we slowly move in the direction that we want to go in. You have to know that we have a technical staff here that I have a lot of faith in. I’m not just talking about the manager and his staff but also the sporting director and Fenucci. We’re working together for the Bologna project. Donadoni has a contract for another year but we’re talking about the future. We don’t just talk when I come and I’m always in contact with Bigon. With Blerim [Dzemaili], as you know that the idea was for him to spend a year here before going to Montreal. We could have moved him earlier. If we take him earlier he’ll miss three games for Bologna against Pescara, Milan and the final match against Juventus. If we take him later, he’ll miss eight games with Montreal. We have to see if we can achieve our objective before the end of the season and then he can move earlier. Our objective is always to improve every year. As I’ve said, this is what we’ve done and I never want to harm Bologna for the benefit of Montreal or vice versa. It’s obvious that if we move Blerim we can bring in a new player who we can develop or another player who is more established. I’ll always be transparent and tell the truth and we’re doing the things that we think will help Bologna to advance and the fans have to be patient.”