Genoa Cricket and Football Club

[taz]

Genoa confirmed Eduardo heading to Benfica “to protect him from being bombarded by criticism.”

There were big question marks over the error-prone shot-stopper and he seems to be on the way out.

Eduardo is not even on the list of players leaving for a pre-season training camp on July 17 in Neustift, Austria.

“Benfica have asked for Eduardo and we’re ready to send him there on loan for a year,” said President Enrico Preziosi.

“There will be no players in exchange from the Portuguese side. I am convinced Eduardo is a good goalkeeper, but I decided he’d be best somewhere else for a year to avoid being bombarded with criticism at the slightest mistake.

“We are looking for a new goalkeeper, but there is no rush, as don’t forget we’ve got Alessio Scarpi and Cristiano Lupatelli too.”

Genoa have been heavily linked with Emiliano Viviano and could offer Rodrigo Palacio to Inter in exchange.

“We do like the Inter goalkeeper and he is our first choice, but we won’t make such a swap deal. They are different players.

“We also like Marco Storari and I’ve already talked it over with Juventus, just as I find Amauri interesting, but before any decisions I have to discuss the matter with our Coach, Alberto Malesani.”

Preziosi confirmed Genoa have agreed a deal with Bologna for Robert Acquafresca, so now he must sort out personal terms with the Stadio Dall’Ara side.

[taz]

Sokratis Papastathopoulos has left Genoa after accepting a loan move to German giants Werder Bremen.

The 23-year-old only returned to Marassi this summer after spending last season with Italian champions Milan.

The Bundesliga outfit have netted the player on a temporary basis for the 2011-12 campaign, with the option to buy outright next summer.

"After initial discussions with the club, it was immediately clear to me that I would accept the offer from Werder,” the player noted.

Werder director Klaus Allofs said: "He's a young player who has already gained some experience at Genoa and in the Greek national team.

“With his speed, his strength and tackling game, he will certainly be of help to us. "

[taz]

Genoa have officially sold Omar Milanetto to Swiss side FC Luzern after a furious row with fans.

The midfielder had been a very popular figure in the club, but his rapport with the ultras was damaged when he hurled an insult at the Curva Nord during the Genoa derby against Sampdoria.

Graffiti appeared on the walls outside the training ground urging Milanetto to leave.

Genoa had tried to convince him to stay, but it seems he has opted to walk away.

This evening the club announced Milanetto has joined Swiss team FC Luzern.

He had been at Marassi since 2006, helping Genoa to promotion from Serie B.

[taz]

Genoa have confirmed that they will soon complete their capture of Fiorentina ‘keeper Sebastien Frey.

“President Enrico Preziosi has reached an agreement with Fiorentina over the signing of the French goalkeeper,” a club note read.

“The transfer will be ratified next week after Frey has completed his medical.

“Frey, who seemed very motivated in his meeting with the Preziosi family, strongly wanted the Grifone by also accepting a pay cut.”

[RomaShield27]

Frey to Genoa is official:

Frey seals move to Genoa
– August 3, 2011

Former France goalkeeper Sebastien Frey has completed his switch to Genoa from Fiorentina. Fiorentina revealed the finishing touches on a five-year contract have been completed, after the deal had been revealed last week.

"ACF Fiorentina announces that it has sold, on a permanent basis, Sebastien Frey to Genoa CFC,'' a statement on the club's official website read. "The company thanks him for the seasons spent together and wish him the best achievements of success for the rest of his career.''

Frey spent six seasons with La Viola but had fallen down the pecking order at the club after a knee injury ruled him out for most of last season.

The 31-year-old, who made the last of his two France caps in 2008, is looking forward to resuming his career with Genoa.

"I can't wait to get started,'' he told Genoa's official website. "On Tuesday, I'll start house-hunting. I have already spoken to Dario (Dainelli, Genoa defender) and he's told me the club is like a big family.''

[RomaShield27]

Ecco la lista dei numeri di maglia per la stagione 2011/2012.
http://www.genoacfc.it/index.php?option ... &Itemid=31

1 Frey
2 Pratto
3 Dainelli
4 Veloso
5 Granqvist
7 Rossi
8 Palacio
9 Ze' Eduardo
10 Birsa
13 Kaladze
14 Seymour
17 Rudolf
18 Masahudu
19 Jorquera
20 Mesto
22 Lupatelli
23 Antonelli
24 Moretti
27 Constant
33 Kucka
39 Ribas
52 Merkel
73 Scarpi
93 Sturaro

[maro]

Incidentally, what is Genoa's cricket team like?

[DavidP]

so Kaladze's injury-time winner saves Genoa from a possibly early Coppa Italia elimination by Nocerina...

http://www.sportmediaset.mediaset.it/ca ... uori.shtml

[taz]

Genoa have confirmed the signing of Andrea Caracciolo from Brescia on loan with the view to a permanent deal for 1.6million euros.

The 29-year-old has a prolific record for Brescia and his rich goalscoring ability should bolster the Genoa attack.

Genoa will be expected to sign the player permanently next term providing there are no hiccups.

And they have confirmed they will not be signing any more players this window.

[taz]

Genoa have confirmed that they have agreed to loan Sebastian Ribas to Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon.

The 23-year-old only joined the Italian outfit in the summer, but he didn’t make an appearance for the club.

Ribas, an Uruguayan, caught the eye of Rossoblu scouts last season thanks to his scoring form at French Ligue 2 club Dijon.

Sporting have the option to buy him outright at the end of the campaign should he prove to be a success.

Ribas, a striker, has also played for Inter and Spezia in his career to date.

[RomaShield27]

http://www.thefootballexpress.co.uk/201 ... nsistency/?

Good article here on Genoa. I've been saying for a long time now that they must be the most frustrating team to follow in Serie A – even more so than Roma. They have a madcap approach to the mercato. Its not that they're not active and don't spend money, quiet the opposite in fact: they spend lots, they were evening amongst the biggest spenders in Serie A the last few years (spending €68m on incoming players in one season alone). But they buy and sell far too often, without settling down with a team or allowing time for it to develop. A "scattergun approach", like the piece says. At least Preziosi has acknowledged these mistakes and said he will try to improve them. This current Genoa team, as always, looks like a good one and has some good players, but they're just very imbalanced, very weak and disorganised at the back, and Marino has a bit of work on his hands to get them back on track.

[DavidP]

disorganized in the back? that's impossible. my guy kakha is back there leading his shit.

i think gila just arrived at genoa though. could possibly be someone who will make a difference.

[taz]

Genoa have confirmed that striker Lucas Pratto has joined Velez Sarsfield on loan until the end of 2012.

The Serie A outfit have also announced that the Argentine outfit have the option to retain the 23-year-old on a permanent basis at the end of the loan stint if he impresses sufficiently.

Pratto was snapped up by Genoa on the back of his prolific displays in the Copa Libertadores for Chilean side Universidad Catolica, but he failed to adapt to Italian football as he netted just the solitary strike for the Grifoni in 14 league outings.

The striker will initially be available only for the Fortin's upcoming Libertadores campaign, due to the club already making the two transfers permitted over the Argentine summer for the Clausura. He will then be eligible to resume league action in August when the Apertura begins.

His poor form in front of goal also forced new coach Pasquale Marino to bolster his frontline over January, with the winter arrivals of Alberto Gilardino and Giuseppe Sculli pushing Pratto down the pecking order.

The hitman will now undergo a medical on Wednesday, before being presented to the media prior to the end of the week.

[RomaShield27]

The merry-go-round continues. They should have never sacked Malesani in the first-place. The constant turnover of players in/out every mercato is ridiculous, how do the club expect any manager to build a team?

---------------------------

Genoa sack Marino, recall Malesani
/ Monday April 2 2012

As expected, Genoa have dispensed with the services of Coach Pasquale Marino and brought back Alberto Malesani in his place. Marino has been removed from his position of office after 14 games in charge of the Grifone. In that time he picked up 13 points, his team scored 22 goals, but conceded 34.

Week 30’s 5-4 defeat at Inter proved to be the final straw, with the team dropping down in 16th position and taking the League’s worst defensive record so far. President Enrico Preziosi’s decision to replace him with former Coach Alberto Malesani was confirmed at the same time as Marino’s departure was announced.

“Genoa announces that they have called to the helm Coach Alberto Malesani and his staff,” read a statement on the club’s website. “The club is grateful for the work done by Coach Pasquale Marino, his deputy Massimo Mezzini and assistant Catello Senatore, who have all been removed from their positions.”

Genoa picked up 21 points from 16 games played under Malesani this season, before he was originally sacked for losing 6-1 away to Napoli in December.

[RomaShield27]

Genoa ultras:

http://www.twitvid.com/8BL69

[juventino_italiano]

Preziosi’s misguided Genoa blame


Genoa’s disastrous season took another twist on Sunday and Luca Cetta believes Enrico Preziosi is a chief cause for the current unrest.







“I think this is one of the best group of players assembled during my footballing life. It is a well balanced squad in all departments of the team. There is physicality, youthfulness, experience and quality. Taking a look at the competition and the value of our players, I won’t be happy if we only finish in ninth or tenth place. There is everything we need to have a say in the championship, even if it is clear that the top teams will be in a race of their own.”

These were the optimistic words last September of a President whose club now sits on the cusp of relegation after a shocking run of 11 matches without a win. Genoa’s season went from bad to worse on Sunday as it was thrust into the spotlight by the actions of some frustrated fans – who should never have thrown flares on to the pitch – during the 4-1 loss to Siena.

President Enrico Preziosi was visibly angry and upset at the events which unfolded at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris and laid blame at the feet of the fans at the centre of the storm. And while accepting his reign has not been perfect – “I have made many mistakes in my time here” – Preziosi should be held accountable for his part in driving Genoa to such a position.

Since buying the club in 2003, the toy magnate has treated the Grifoni as such. His constant desire for instant success or a quick-fix has only hurt them. The club is wracked with instability and cannot grow when upheaval occurs every 12 months. For such a proud club – sitting fourth on the all-time Scudetto winners’ list – the manner in which tacticians are hired and fired, or players bought and sold, is unacceptable and simply taking the fans for a ride.

This season alone the Rossoblu have been under the control of Alberto Malesani, Pasquale Marino, Malesani again and now Luigi De Canio – for the second time in his career. This is not an irregular occurrence. Beside Gian Piero Gasperini’s reign from 2006-07 to 2009-10, a number of mid-season changes have occurred and 13 different tacticians called-upon.

On the transfer market Genoa are never at rest. In just the past three seasons, the Grifoni have signed 85 players whilst saying goodbye to 64. The massive turnover does not allow for squad development, nor does much for team harmony and player morale.

Some players signed never made an appearance for Genoa, such as Kevin-Prince Boateng, who was immediately loaned to Milan. Along with making a quick Euro, at times it appears Preziosi is more concerned with assisting Milan rather than Genoa, as evidenced by the Alexander Merkel scenario. His Rossoblu loan was cut short in January, to which Preziosi remarked: “We did Milan a favour seeing as we have a relationship of collaboration with them and that they do have a few problems in midfield.”

The UEFA Cup qualifiers under Gasperini in 2008-09, that free-flowing 3-4-3 outfit which captivated Italy, was broken up after a year in which it was adapting to the rigours of Europe. To go back even further, Genoa were denied a place in Serie A in 2005-06 after the President conspired to fix the last match of the season against already relegated Venezia. His side only required a draw for promotion but were subsequently relegated to Serie C1.

During his nine-year spell Preziosi has helped Genoa climb from mid-table mediocrity in Serie B to Serie A and beyond, whilst acquiring players such as Diego Milito, Thiago Motta and Rodrigo Palacio. Yet those days look far removed as the club sits just a point above the relegation zone. The President claimed Genoa were being held hostage by the minority on Sunday, but perhaps he should look in the mirror and see what his actions are doing to the Grifoni. Ninth doesn’t sound so bad now.

[RomaShield27]

Genoa caution for next term
Sunday July 8 2012 / By Football Italia staff / http://www.football-italia.net/20915/ge ... -next-term

Genoa’s Gigi De Canio and Pietro Lo Monaco are cautiously looking ahead to the Grifone’s chances next season of forgetting 2011-12’s nightmare. The Rossoblu became surprise relegation candidates in the final stages of the season, with De Canio eventually pulling them out of contention in a disastrous campaign.

Confirmed as Coach to lead the squad into the start of 2012-13, De Canio has reflected that it will be important that the team’s biggest changes are psychological, rather than in the transfer window.

“I have not prepared a shopping list. The club knows how to move, we are on the same page,” reflected the Coach to reporters. “I will knowingly exploit the material that I will have in the best possible way, but above all we aim to experience nothing like the year last year. These days I have watched a lot of players - the veterans from last season are traumatised but I know that there will be much motivation and that will transmit to the new guys.

“What’s important is that change occurs in the head because, of all the reasons, it is because of the difference that it makes. “We are thinking about attitude and mentality. We want to have a precise and defined tactical identity, creating a project that will progress into the future.”

CEO Pietro Lo Monaco then took questions on the market rumours, ones that yesterday forced him to deny suggestions of a quick re-sale of Alberto Gilardino to Fiorentina. “We are keeping Gilardino,” he reiterated. “ We are planning to bring in players of the right vintage.

“That is starting, however, after a difficult year and we know that. The technical level of the League has also risen considerably with the arrival of Torino and Sampdoria, as too has the balance.

“Our objectives? To cut back the squad, limit the purchases made and create a team. We begin by trying out many youngsters and some of those will be sent out to gain experience. “For sure there will be some additions to our defence.”

[RomaShield27]

http://swissramble.blogspot.ch/2012/09/ ... nship.html

[RomaShield27]

By Eurosport | Pitchside Europe – 5 hours ago
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/pit ... 11512.html

At the presentation of Gigi Delneri in late October, Genoa president Enrico Preziosi expressed his opinion that "rationality doesn't belong" to supporters of the club. To give him his due, there was some justification for the statement. For instance, memories of how Genoa ultras had temporarily stopped a game with Siena last April and demanded that the players hand over their shirts because, being battered 4-0 at the time, they were apparently "unworthy" of them, were fresh in the mind.

Still, it's a wonder that those in the press room didn't laugh. Coming from Preziosi, this was particularly rich. Because if over the years Genoa fans have taken on this characteristic, he holds a certain responsibility for it. For instance, imagine learning shortly after your team has won promotion back to Serie A, ending a decade of suffering in 2005, that instead they are to be relegated to Serie C1 because your president panicked, got involved in a match-fixing scandal only for the result of the game in question to turn out to be irrelevant as others went Genoa's way elsewhere. It would drive you to despair, wouldn't it?

But anyway. Rant over. For now at least. Let's get back to the appointment of Delneri. He'd been brought in to replace another Gigi, surname De Canio, who'd lasted only six months at the club. His dismissal, prompted by a 4-2 defeat to Roma, a scoreline that Fiorentina and Milan no less would also suffer at the hands of Zdenek Zeman later in the season, felt, shall we say, a little harsh.

De Canio had saved Genoa last season just when they appeared to have gone to the devil. Out of the darkness, he somehow led them back into the light. They finished fourth from bottom, a single place outside the relegation zone, albeit with a six-point cushion.

It was a small miracle. Genoa's defence had looked likely to damn them. It was the worst in Serie A. They'd conceded 69 goals - a sexy number, sure - but one that had left the team in a most uncomfortable position. De Canio, Genoa's fourth coaching change that season - Alberto Malesani had been sacked and replaced by Pasquale Marino only to be brought back and then sacked again - was confronted with a seemingly hopeless situation, because in addition to a backline with no backbone, Genoa's best players, deep-lying playmaker Miguel Veloso and striker Alberto Gilardino were out of sorts.

Still, he got behind the wheel and, though all at sea, taking on water in a storm and under duress, managed to steer the good ship Genoa safe and sound back into port. And it was while moored up there in the summer that another refit was planned, a comprehensive overhaul, the kind the club insists upon every year in good or in bad. Out goes the old new team. In comes the new soon-to-be old team. Bye bye Dario Dainelli, Veloso, Gilardino et al. Hello again Marco Borriello, Ciro Immobile, Juan Vargas and more.

Too much change - and at Genoa it's nearly always wholesale - is a bad thing. Players don't know whether they're coming or going. There's little or no continuity and identity, only uncertainty about the future and the here and now. Between them, Genoa's players often don't know who will be playing and how they'll be playing from one week to another.

This season didn't start too badly even if they were knocked out at the third round stage of the Coppa Italia on penalties by Hellas Verona. A 2-0 win on the opening day against Cagliari promised much. And although Genoa then lost away to Catania - as many teams do - before also going down 3-1 at home to champions Juventus, having taken the lead and missed several chances to extend it, they followed up those disappointments by beating Lazio at the Olimpico, which no one else has done this season, drawing with Parma [a game they might have won had Borriello not missed a penalty], and also holding Udinese and Palermo.

De Canio had the team in ninth place ahead of the Roma game. Defeat saw them drop to 10th, hardly a disastrous turn of events by any means. However, Preziosi, a toymaker by trade, once again threw his out the pram. He wanted Delneri. He claimed he had for at least a year.

In some respects, if only from a tribal perspective, it was an odd choice. Aside from his work at Chievo, the success with which Delneri was most associated, the one that had got him the Juventus job, was leading rivals Sampdoria to a fourth place finish in 2010 and qualifying the club for the preliminaries of the Champions League. He had played for Samp in the early `80s too.

If the fans in the Gradinata Nord were reluctant to back Delneri, Preziosi wasn't. He got right behind him. This was supposedly the beginning of a new project. And once January came around, he'd bring in five new players and give the new coach the team that he wanted. Alas, no sooner had the transfer window opened than Delneri was out, a calamitous 2-0 defeat to an understrength Catania side at Marassi on Sunday persuading Preziosi to write out his 16th P45 in 10 years at the club.

How predictable, eh? Except there was a time when Preziosi wasn't a mangia-allenatori or a coach-eater like Palermo's Maurizio Zamparini and Cagliari's Massimo Cellino. Remember the four years he had with Gian Piero Gasperini between 2006 and 2010? Gasperini got Genoa their long overdue promotion and had them playing the best football in Italy, narrowly missing out on the Champions League in 2009. He was so long in the job that he was described in relative terms as Genoa's Sir tender Alex Ferguson, hence the nickname Gasperson. Since his dismissal in 2010, however, things have never been the same. There's been no stability. The coaches change, the players change. The results and the president are all that stay the same...

"When you lose all the games Delneri lost, there's little to say," Preziosi said by way of justification. In truth, it was hard to support an argument for retaining Delneri. Of his 13 games at the helm he'd lost nine, including the Derby della Lanterna, billed the Derby dei Disperati - the Derby of the Desperate - after Genoa and Samp both went into it on losing streaks of five and seven matches respectively. Genoa, it was revealed shortly before Christmas, hadn't been in such dire straits in 52 years.

Delneri has his faults, true. His absolute unyielding faith in 4-4-2 when there are players at his disposal better suited to other systems is frustrating. "On arriving at Juventus [in 2010]," wrote Gabriele Romagnoli in La Repubblica, "he distanced himself [from the No.10] Diego as though he were a threat to his health and counted on players that were so lateral [Jorge Martinez, Marco Motta and Milos Krasic] that as soon as Antonio Conte came in they went straight out the team."

This, it might be said, is another failure to add to that one and the short spells he had at Porto, where, after inheriting Jose Mourinho's Champions League-winning side, he lasted only 69 days, 20 fewer than he did at Genoa, to say nothing of Roma. And yet, what chance did he really have at Genoa? Was Delneri not doomed to fail? His first games were away to Milan and at home to Fiorentina. Genoa lost both, heads dropped, as did the morale in the camp. It was a baptism of fire and the wings of the Grifone were well and truly burnt.

Davide Ballardini, the bald, bespectacled Sacchi convert and lookalike, once said to be close to replacing Steve Kean at Blackburn Rovers, has since been brought back for a second stint at the club. He has 'rescued' Genoa before, parachuting in during the 2010-11 campaign when he rallied a struggling team, guiding them to 10th. The question is: can he do it again? Or better: how long will he last this time?

Genoa are third from bottom and travel to Juventus on Saturday, another tough debut for an incoming coach. "It isn't a problem," insists Ballardini. "We have another 17 games." But they'll fly by. And in the meantime, we'll discover whether the Grifone will rise or fall.

James Horncastle will be blogging for us on all matters Serie A throughout the season. He contributes to the Guardian, FourFourTwo, The Blizzard and Champions magazine amongst others.

------------------


Posted by Paolo Bandini under Genoa, Serie A on Jan 22, 2013
http://blogs.thescore.com/counterattack ... fans-fume/

Apparently, forever has a shorter shelf-life in Genoa than some other parts of the world. “If Del Neri still has his job after all these losses, it must mean that our faith in him is eternal,” said the Genoa owner Enrico Preziosi last Friday. Two days later, Del Neri was fired.

Preziosi is not the first Serie A president to perform such a volte-face, of course, and nor is it likely to be his last. This was the toy magnate’s seventh coaching change in the two-and-a-half years since he parted ways with Gian Piero Gasperini, a pace to rival that of Italian football’s great self-professed “manager-eater”, Maurizio Zamparini. On this occasion, the decision felt justified. Del Neri had collected just eight points from 13 games since taking over in late October.

“I am terrified of Serie B,” confessed Preziosi, whose team sits in 18th, three points adrift of safety. “If we get relegated it will be because we deserved it, but I am convinced that won’t happen…It would also be wrong to put the blame all on Del Neri. I am wholly responsible.”
He would certainly find plenty of support for the latter viewpoint among the club’s fans. Preziosi might be the least popular team president in all of Serie A, a stark contrast with the late Riccardo Garrone, owner of Genoa’s city rivals Sampdoria, whose passing last night was mourned by fans on both sides of the divide.

Where Garrone was perceived as a great servant to the city lauded for the substantial support he lent—both financially and otherwise—to public causes such as the renovation and re-opening of the city’s famous Carlo Felice Theatre, Preziosi stands accused by his club’s fans of treating the team like just another one of those toys that he produces.

Those fans’ grievances are many, but the greatest of them relates to the club’s transfer policy. Like several other clubs in Serie A, Genoa’s business model relies on bringing in young (and typically foreign) players at a low price before selling them on to bigger clubs once they have established themselves in the division. But unlike teams such as Udinese, Genoa have struggled to apply that strategy while still putting a successful team on the field.

That is in large part because Preziosi refuses to do anything by halves. Where Udinese’s policy relies on selling two or three players per season, retaining the core of the squad to ensure continuity, Genoa’s summer routine is more akin to total rebuilding project. In the last summer alone they bid farewell to Rodrigo Palacio, Alberto Gilardino, Giandomenico Mesto, Miguel Veloso and Davide Biondini, to name just a few of the most regular starters. Gilardino and Biondini had each only arrived in January.

Perhaps even more frustrating for fans is to see some players sold before they even have the chance to contribute. Stephan El Shaarawy played three games for Genoa as a teenager between 2008 and 2010, and then was loaned to Padova. As soon as he returned, the player was sold to Milan. Witnessing his performances this season for the Rossoneri, fans are livid that the club did not at least get to benefit from one good year of the forward’s talent.

Now they fear the same will happen with Mattia Perin, the 20-year-old goalkeeper who has been performing minor miracles for Pescara since being loaned to the newly-promoted club in the summer. Perin has played just a single game for Genoa back in May 2011 and is now reportedly being sought by clubs as big as Milan. As if that were not galling enough, with Pescara in 17th place, he may yet help to get Genoa relegated.

The managerial instability is plainly not helping. Where Udinese have been able to rely on the brilliant Francesco Guidolin to consistently put out a competitive side, Genoa have struggled to replace Gasperini. Gasperini, now manager at Palermo, had steered them to fifth and a place in the Europa League in 2008-09 but was fired just over a year later following a difficult start to the 2010-11 campaign.

Gasperini’s replacement, Davide Ballardini, did well to finish 10th that season, but was nevertheless replaced in the summer. The following year Genoa finished 17th, changing managers twice along the way. Luigi De Canio was appointed over the summer to replace Alberto Malesani, but lasted only till October when Del Neri came in, ostensibly to revive a team which had collected just nine points from eight games. Instead he did even worse.

Perhaps that is why Preziosi has now turned back to Ballardini, naming the manager as Del Neri’s successor. The club’s transfer activity so far in the January window might also appear to have been geared towards the returning manager, with the club adding Matuzalem, who played under Ballardini at Lazio, and Antonio Floro Flores, a forward who was at Genoa the last time the manager was in charge.

A manager who models himself after his former mentor Arrigo Sacchi—and we are not just referring to the bald-head-and-aviators look—Ballardini has already stated his belief that the only way to turn things round will be through a commitment to attacking and defending as a team. His successes both at Genoa last time out, and in steering Palermo to eighth in 2008-09 suggest that he might be up to the task.

And certainly there is more than enough talent in this squad for them to be higher up the table than they are now. Ciro Immobile and Marco Borriello have the potential to be a potent partnership up front (notwithstanding the latter’s comedic miss at the weekend), while others such as Juan Vargas and Sebastien Frey are capable of much more than they have shown this season.

Nevertheless, it will be an uphill struggle to win over a disaffected fan-base, one whose fury was piqued earlier this month when a story was broken about players enjoying a mid-week night out at Genoa nightclub Albikokka. The players, in their defence, were reported to have behaved perfectly responsibly (though a few did break team rules about staying out past 10.30pm) at what was to serve as a welcome home party for Floro Flores. Complaints that the players must not have fun at any time because the team is struggling come off a little unrealistic.

It is the extreme fringe of the fanbase, one which infamously broke out of their end and into the family section at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris during a loss to Siena last year before quite literally demanding the shirts off the players’ backs, which attracts most attention, but even the more moderate supporters are out of patience.

Not all supporters would express their displeasure, as one group did last month, by breaking into the team’s practice facility mid-training session to hurl abuse at the owner. But certainly most would like to believe that this team had a coherent long- or even medium-term vision of where it is supposed to be headed.

Instead the appointment of Ballardini, currently on a contract which only runs to the end of the season, just looks like yet another stop-gap measure before next, inevitable, summer rebuilding project.

[forzaitalia]