Fortunately, at San Siro against Milan, Genoa was playing only for prestige and there were no big points up for grabs. Otherwise we would have been beating ourselves up for not having been able to manage a match with a little more attention in which Gilardino’s boys took the lead twice. Let’s be clear, the final 3-3 is more than fine. Liked the attitude. It was a courageous Genoa, at times even bold as demonstrated by the two sensational counterattacks they suffered when they were leading by two to one. The team has grown in terms of play compared to the first round, when the results came through a much more utilitarian and speculative idea of football. Now the ball turns quickly, the maneuver is fluid, the opponent’s penalty area is attacked with three or even four players and therefore Retegui is no longer left alone up front. In short, the famous hand of the coach is there and it shows.
The reconfirmation of Gilardino for next season (two-year contract and therefore also for the 2025-26 season) is therefore only the logical consequence of the results obtained by the rossoblù team since the Biella coach from the Primavera was promoted to the first team. After all, it is what is most useful both to the company, which moves forward in the name of continuity, and to Gilardino himself, who in any other place (including Florence) would have had to start from scratch and rebuild from scratch the credibility that in Genoa was it is built through a promotion and the conquest of the scepter of the best newly promoted team in the five most important European championships.
Tonight’s poll at the Monday Derby asks this question: what should be the objective for next season? TO Still a peaceful salvation, B we need to aim for Europe. Personally I vote for the former. It is obvious that everyone would like to compete in the Cups, but it is always dangerous to skip ahead and growth must take place gradually. And these are precisely the directives coming from Miami. Repeating yourself is never easy, the key word is consolidation. Then with the possibility of operating on the market and the goal of self-sustainability ever closer, Genoa will be able to raise the bar.
But let’s go back to the San Siro match that Genoa faced without five top players: Bani, Messias, Malinowski, Gudmundsson and Vitinha. On high balls (two goals out of three conceded with headers) the rossoblù anti-aircraft went into crisis and therefore it is inevitable to maintain that the absence that had the greatest impact was certainly that of Bani who, having lost Dragusin in January, remained the only tower of the Genoa rearguard. Perhaps this is why the entry of Cittadini had to be brought forward, who after the sale of Dragusin had been hired precisely to guarantee centimeters in case of emergency. But the player that, in this final phase of the season, everyone would like to see played full-time is Vitinha to understand whether to make an important investment in him.
If Gudmunsson, probably destined to leave, is a champion, the Portuguese on the other hand is a potential champion. At least this is what his CV said before the abrupt stop in Marseille and for this reason he must be followed and evaluated with great attention. He has other characteristics than Gudmundsson but with Retegui he could still form an intriguing and effective pairing. As for the Argentine, we understood why he was eager to take penalties. His performance was perfect. After all, the numbers say that in Argentina he had a score of 12 hits on 13 shots.
Sorry for Uncle Balla, but there will be no gifts given to Sassuolo on Sunday. And not only for the black and green club he is considered an upstart by those who, like the Genoa fans, are part of the aristocracy of Italian football. While revenge is a dish best served cold, four years may be more than enough. It’s July 29, 2020, the interminable championship marked by the interruption due to Covid, Nicola’s Genoa absolutely needs points but Berardi and his teammates have no mercy: it ends 5 to 0. And at that point Serie B seemed really close.
“Vae victis”, shouted Brennus, king of the Gauls, after entering Rome. Woe to the vanquished!
