Bologna head coach Vincenzo Italiano acknowledged that booking their place in the Coppa Italia final represented a dream for the city.

The Rossoblu beat Empoli 2-1 at home in the semi-final second leg, having already won 3-0 in the first leg, with Italiano reaching his fourth final in the last three seasons after twice getting to the Conference League final with Fiorentina alongside the Coppa Italia final in 2023.

“It was an objective, a dream of this city and the club. We achieved something wonderful, honouring the Coppa Italia since the start, because when you get to the final sprint, everyone wants to reach the Final,” Italiano told Sport Mediaset, as quoted by Football Italia.

“We dedicate this achievement to the crowd in this incredible stadium, who push the lads on from start to finish. We dedicate it to the people of Bologna with all our heart.”

Italiano arrived at Bologna at the start of the season with the club facing significantly lowered expectations following the departures of head coach Thiago Motta and key players Riccardo Calafiori and Joshua Zirkzee.

But with Bologna now fourth in Serie A and in their first Coppa Italia final since 1974, it is hard to argue that he has been anything other than brilliant in his debut season in charge.

“I am happy to be in the final. When I met with the owners, they said that they wanted to go all the way in a tournament, now there is one more step to take, but we are already in history by taking all these people with us to Rome,” said Italiano.

“It was only normal there would be some initial hesitation, as after what the team achieved last season, they changed the coach and several key players.

"I think participating in the Champions League really helped us to improve in our mentality, intensity and strength, so we took those lessons with us into Serie A and the Coppa Italia.

“The biggest difficulty was to get into the minds of a squad that achieved something fantastic and try to bring something different, to build on those foundations. Fortunately, this is a hard-working group, these lads are intelligent and care about the club."

For Empoli, meanwhile, there was a sense of pride following their 5-1 aggregate defeat according to head coach Roberto D'Aversa.

Empoli eliminated Torino, Fiorentina and Juventus to reach the first ever Coppa Italia semi-final in the club's history and, despite falling just before the final, their coach was proud of their achievement.

“We leave this historic semi-final with our heads held high,” said D'Aversa.

“The regret is the first leg, where we made unforced errors against one of the best teams in Italy right now. The lads played with focus this evening. If we have this same spirit in the remaining Serie A matches, then we can fight and prove that we deserve to stay in the top flight.”

Next up for Empoli is a trip to Fiorentina in Serie A on Sunday, with them one point from safety. For Bologna, meanwhile, they face Udinese on Monday and will play AC Milan in the Coppa Italia final.