Bologna attacker Marko Arnautovic sat down with Serie A ahead of Matchday 16 to speak about his form, adapting to life under Thiago Motta, and former manager Jose Mourinho.
Goalscoring Form
Arnautovic has been a one-man forward line since returning to Serie A in 2021. The Austrian International netted 14 goals for Bologna last season; this term, after 13 games, he’s struck 8 – the 33-year-old is on fire.
“As a forward, you always want to score a goal. But as a modern striker, I also want to give assists, in addition to scoring goals. I like both. If Osimhen is ahead of me as top scorer, or Vlahovic, or Immobile, that doesn’t matter to me. I do my best and give everything for Bologna, and then we’ll see at the end of the season where I stand…”
Thiago Motta
After some early struggles under new coach Thiago Motta, Bologna finally took off in October. Four key wins before the World Cup break lifted them clear of the relegation zone.
“At the start, when Thiago Motta came in, it was a little bit difficult because he wanted to introduce his new tactics. It’s a completely different philosophy to what Mihajlovic had. We had to get used to it, to how he wanted us to implement it. It was just a matter of time before things would work out for us…”
Jose Mourinho
Despite many memorable moments in Inter’s 2009-10 treble-winning campaign, what seems to stick with Arnautovic more is Jose Mourinho’s management style – an archetypal example of the carrot and the stick!
“I was very different. I was a lot younger back then at Inter. I didn’t think very much. I would do whatever came to mind. I was outspoken and that’s different now… When you look back, everything is funny. But when I look back and think, not everything was funny because Mourinho wanted to force a lot of discipline on me. I had always been hotheaded and I always did things my way… We are still in touch. When we see each other, we hug. I respect him a lot…”