Thijs Dalling and Samuel Iling-Junior scored the goals in the 2-1 win on Tuesday evening.
“It was my first Champions League victory as a coach, when I was a child sitting on the bench watching those who wrote the history of this competition, it is so emotional,” Italiano told Sky Italia.
“We've been eliminated, but it feels like we've won a quarter-final or semi-final. These guys wanted this victory at any cost, what they said in the locker room before the game, how much they needed to give this gift to the fans. It's a dream come true and I'm so happy, it's indescribable.”
He continued: “The penalty at the start could have jeopardized the whole match strategy because they are so quick on the counter-attack and could have made it completely different. Holm received a yellow card, but was very good to avoid further mistakes.
“We attacked their very high line, which is what we had prepared for the second half, and the boys knew they could rush forward with this long ball to surprise them. Everyone deserves praise for his performance against a very strong opponent.
“We saw that Borussia Dortmund often kept a high line and had difficulty with a ball over the top. Odgaard is much more attacking than Ferguson, so we tried to create those situations and make the best of them.
“The boys prepared for this competition with one training session and one video lecture, so the focus they put into it was extraordinary.”
Comments