{"id":946360,"date":"2026-03-11T21:48:33","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T21:48:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/football-italia.net\/?p=946360"},"modified":"2026-03-11T21:48:33","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T21:48:33","slug":"freuler-i-know-how-gasperini-plays-by-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/football-italia.net\/freuler-i-know-how-gasperini-plays-by-heart\/","title":{"rendered":"Freuler: ‘I know how Gasperini plays by heart’ after 254 games together","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

Remo Freuler could be Bologna\u2019s secret weapon in the Europa League meeting with Roma. \u2018I know how Gian Piero Gasperini plays off by heart.\u2019<\/p>

The first leg of this Round of 16 tie kicks off at the Stadio Dall\u2019Ara on Thursday at 17.45 GMT (18.45 CET).<\/p>

It is safe to say the two teams have few surprises in store, considering this is an all-Italian derby on the UEFA stage<\/a>, but some are even more tuned in.<\/p>

Gasperini and Freuler are old friends<\/h2>
\"epa11176229
epa11176229 Bologna\u2019s Remo Freuler jubilates after scoring during the Italian Serie A soccer match Bologna FC vs Hellas Verona FC at Renato Dall\u2019Ara stadium in Bologna, Italy, 23 February 2024. EPA-EFE\/ELISABETTA BARACCHI<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Freuler made 254 appearances under Roma coach Gasperini when they worked together at Atalanta from 2016 to 2022, scoring 20 goals and providing 23 assists.<\/p>

\u201cI know how Gasperini plays off by heart, even if he too has changed some things in his style over recent years,\u201d Freuler told Sky Sport Italia.<\/a><\/p>

\u201cThe foundations are still more or less the same, and I will be very happy to see him again tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>

<\/smartframe-embed><\/p>

Gasperini is keeping a few decisions to the last minute, and now uses two players in the trequartista role supporting a centre-forward, especially as there are so many injuries in attack.<\/p>

\u201cI know the adjustments he makes too, whether he plays with three upfront or an extra midfielder, I know the thoughts he has in his mind. We\u2019ll see what happens.\u201d<\/p>

\"TURIN,
TURIN, ITALY \u2013 JANUARY 18: AS Roma head coach Gian Piero Gasperini looks on during the Serie A match between Torino FC and AS Roma at Stadio Olimpico di Torino on January 18, 2026 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Freuler left Atalanta in 2022 for Nottingham Forest, but returned within a year to Serie A, where he is enjoying a new lease of life with Bologna.<\/p>

This means he had already departed by the time Atalanta won the Europa League trophy, but he did experience some European success there.<\/p>

\u201cI remember how we danced after the game against Shakhtar Donetsk, when we qualified for the Champions League Round of 16. I still feel that joy, just as I do our super rapport both on and off the field,\u201d said the Switzerland international.<\/p>

<\/smartframe-embed><\/p>

\u201cThe first leg is always an important result so we can go into the decider with confidence. We want to keep going in the Europa League.<\/p>

\u201cUnfortunately, we picked Roma in the draw, who with all due respect to the others are more difficult to play against than KRC Genk.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Remo Freuler could be Bologna\u2019s secret weapon in the Europa League meeting with Roma. \u2018I…<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":90,"featured_media":888836,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,15,16,40,1,41484,31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-946360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-atalanta","category-bologna","category-europa-league","category-latest","category-newsnow","category-roma"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/icdn.football-italia.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Remo-Freuler-celebrate-Bologna-Juventus.jpg","amp_enabled":true,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"link","format":"url"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/football-italia.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/946360"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/football-italia.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/football-italia.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-italia.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/90"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-italia.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=946360"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/football-italia.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/946360\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":946362,"href":"https:\/\/football-italia.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/946360\/revisions\/946362"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-italia.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/888836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/football-italia.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=946360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-italia.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=946360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-italia.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=946360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}