Genoa have nine match days and 27 points to save their season following the team’s 3-2 loss to Fiorentina last weekend.
Coach Davide Ballardini will have an extra week to prepare his charges for the run-in to the end of the Serie A season. A season that is coming down to a two horse race for the final spot in Serie for 2013/14. That race is now being run by Genoa and Siena.
Again thank the Serie A Gods for the six point penalty Siena incurred to begin the season. Without that points penalty, Genoa’s shot at survival would surely be an afterthought.
A massive sorry has to go to Siena chairman Massimo Mezzaroma who sacked beloved calcio coach Serse Cosmi back in December, and put former Sampdoria coach Giuseppe Iachini in his place. Numerous pundits and writers (myself included) were critical of Mezzaroma sacking Cosmi and his caps.
However, Iachini has quietly kept the black and white in contention for top-flight survival. Though the team has only nabbed 14 out of 36 possible points, Iachini has been able to get the Siena team playing well enough against direct rivals.
When Genoa host Siena on March 30, it won’t determine who stays up and who goes down. But it can give one of the two teams important momentum in the final stretch of the season. Siena will have the more difficult matches remaining of the two relegation rivals. The Tuscan team must still play Roma, Fiorentina, Napoli and Milan. Three teams that are currently in form and a Napoli side that is hoping to finish strong and capture one of the two remaining Champions League places.
Bertolacci will miss out on Genoa’s next match after being sent off against Fiorentina.
Genoa on the other hand, will play Napoli, Sampdoria in the Derby della Lanterna and Inter in their must difficult games on paper. But the Grifone have the likes of Chievo and Torino lurking to trip up the Marassi outfit. Two teams that took points off the Grifone earlier this season. Points Genoa shouldn’t have dropped.
As stated in recent Genoa Club Focus articles, the Grifone have been struggling of late. Though the team netted twice against Fiorentina, the players seem to have lost the fire provided by Ballardini when he arrived in late January. Since Genoa’s draw with Palermo at the Renzo Barbera, the players have looked increasingly sluggish. A by-product of the relegation fight and the injuries that have piled up since January. The week off should give key players like Marco Borriello, Juraj Kucka and Andreas Granqvist – three of the club’s best this season – a deserved rest.
Meanwhile, some of Ballardini’s tactics do not seem to be benefiting the team as they did a month ago. In recent games left winger Juan Manual Vargas has played a more central role. This has limited the Peruvian’s impact on games as he is more suited to a wide role, using his pace and crossing abilities to put defences under pressure. Ballardini is obviously trying to accommodate Vargas in the team’s 3-5-2 formation, but trying the tricky winger as a wing-back may be more beneficial for the team.
Or perhaps, starting the on loan midfielder on the bench would help. In all fairness, Vargas was one of the few bright sparks in the darkest days of this season and if Genoa can buy the Fiorentina owned player this summer – for a fair price – they should. Unfortunately, Genoa will be without breakout attacking midfielder Andrea Bertolacci for Siena’s trip to the Marassi. Bertolacci was sent off against Fiorentina for second yellow card. His absence will leave a big hole in the Genoa attack. Though it is a hole that can be filled by the slumping Ciro Immobile.
Since coach Davide Ballardini’s arrival Ciro Immobile has seen his game time shrink.
When Genoa met Siena last November, the Genovese squad failed to show up; losing 1-0 in a dire affair. This time around both clubs have different coaches and in Genoa’s case, a plethora of different players. Last weekend’s defeat to Fiorentina saw six of Genoa’s starting XI being different than the team that last faced Siena. Expect the same at the end of March.
These two teams will play a massive six-pointer. The result won’t determine who survives and who will play Serie B football next season. Rather, it may give one of the two clubs the momentum they need for the remaining eight games in 2012/13.
Twitter: @CalcioFarmer. Drew Farmer is the Forza Italian Football Genoa correspondent and hosts the Forza Italian Football Club Focus Podcast.
