He is the man of the turning point: technique and tactics. He is the man you don’t expect: for the simple fact that he has always represented an alternative to the first striker or the wingers, instead as a second striker he has changed the skin of the Italian team. Jens Odgaard took over Bologna. Well done Italian for understanding it, reinventing it, giving a new identity to the rossoblù, well done for seizing the opportunity: in the aftermath of the return to victory, these are the opinions and moods in Casteldebole regarding the winning move.
Two goals in two games: and with Odgaard in the lead, two 4 goals have arrived in the last two outings. Two clues prove it: ‘Jens We can’, with Jens we can, Bologna has found an answer to the goal problem that gripped them in the first part of the season. Having found goals again, Bologna has found victory and smiles: those offered by the Dane, someone who loves to keep to himself, they say, but capable of dispensing good humor with jokes you don’t expect and a mimicry all his own. In short: a character, albeit not in an expansive way like Orsolini. If anything, the opposite: yet they bonded on the pitch and with the entry of Odgaard the number 7 also came to the fore, also scoring two goals in two games. The reason? To be found precisely in the entrance of the former Az. It ties up the game, offers central outlets that weren’t there before, freeing up the wingers more. He offers physicality and the ability to work and recycle balls in depth. And then he has that outside shot, a solution that has remained almost unexplored up until now: dry and powerful left-footed player. But above all precise: goal post in Genoa, from the edge, on corner developments, with first intention, in Cagliari and ball in the corner pocket. Indeed, off-screen: his exultation in fact mimics the gesture of the left-handed serve in baseball, with his hand then covering his forehead to see how far he has gone.
How far Odgaard and Bologna will go remains to be seen, because the hope is that the journey began at the Unipol Domus: with Lecce, however, confirmation is needed to understand if it is a real turning point.
Italian fell in love with him, they tell Casteldebole: because Odgaard, he is 190 centimeters of seriousness, dedication to his work: where you put him is, with the mentality of trying to understand how to help the team. With hindsight, 4 million well spent: already because the Dane arrived on loan with the right to buy (for 4 million plus a bonus) in January from Az Alkmaar, as a change for Zirkzee and the wingers, to be able to wait the Castro investment. He reunited with Beukema and Karlsson, old friends, and then bonded with Ndoye, Posch, Aebischer and Freuler. He was the first player to be redeemed. And now he has found a new, more central dimension, thanks to which Italiano has given a very similar look to Fiorentina last season, with Beltran behind Belotti or Nzola. Odgaard is Bologna’s new equalizer. And also the man of the turning point, the one who solved the goal problem.
