'Extraordinary' Lewis Ferguson drives Bologna to brink of first Coppa Italia Final in 50 years
The Scotland star has been lavished with praise by a coach who says is getting better by the week
Scotland star Lewis Ferguson has been told he is playing out of his skin and is poised to take Bologna to the next level.
The 25-year-old midfielder was again a key figure for his team as he helped drive them to the brink of the Coppa Italia Final after a convincing 3-0 win over Empoli.
Head coach Vincenzo Italiano was full of praise for Ferguson who, along with midfield sidekick Remo Freuler, made Bologna tick.
And Italiano – who believes playing in the Champions League this season is a big reason for his side improving – says the pair want to create something 'extraordinary' at Rossoblu.
The manager said: “The midfield is often where games are won and lost. Remo and Lewis were fantastic, so aggressive and had quality too, it was one of their best performances.
"They’ve been here many years, Lewis is the captain, and they really want Bologna to achieve something extraordinary.
“The club hasn’t been in the Coppa Italia Final for a long time, so we all have this dream and the lads gave their all to help it happen.”
Italiano insists being in the Champions League was a turning point in Bologna's season after a sluggish start.
He added: “We said many times that the Champions League participation taught us so much, as we faced some of the best teams in Europe with a different level of tempo and intensity.
"We took all those lessons, especially the mental boost of beating Borussia Dortmund on a magical night, and carried it on to the other competitions.
“It let us climb back up the Serie A standings and reach the Coppa Italia semi-final. I do feel the Champions League marked a turning point for this team.”
Bologna are one leg away from the Final – their first since 1974 – sit fourth in the Serie A standings and Italiano said: “We wanted to give ourselves a good chance of going through in the second leg.
“We had the right approach from the start, scoring early and then going into the break at 2-0.
We managed to score a third too, but I think the approach and attitude was key, including our fans coming to the training ground yesterday and the hunger in my lads to put in this performance.
“Now we go into the second leg with a 3-0 advantage, we won the first ‘half’ of the tie and will try to do the same in the second.”
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