Genoa need stability not Zdenek Zeman

On Friday it was reported Genoa are considering the appointment of Zdenek Zeman for next season.

This is a very ambitious consideration for the club and something that the Grifone should at all costs resist. Of course, in my weekly Genoa article I previously pondered Zeman being at the club’s helm. However, that was in the early part of the season and since then, much has changed with both the coach and the club.

Genoa started the season in decent form, though they were never setting Serie A alight. At the time, it looked like the club’s three fantastic youngsters Andrea Bertolacci, Ciro Immobile and Alexander Merkel would not only lead the club to a fine season, but it looked as if the three were destined to become the next generation of calcio stars.

Six months on and only Bertolacci has succeed with Genoa. Immobile has failed to rekindle the early season form that made him so desirable, and perhaps a January move that never materialised to Juventus has mentally hurt the player.

Merkel on the other hand was shipped to Udinese in January after a second successive autumn in and out of the team’s line-up. Despite all of his promise, Genoa seemed to continually drop the ball on his development.

These three players bring me back to Zeman, because they are the type of players the Czech coach could bring the best out of and did with similar players at Pescara. As a matter of fact, Immobile was Zeman’s star man at Pescara – along with Marco Veratti –  a season ago, scoring an outrageous 28 goals in 37 matches.

Despite my inclination that Zeman could do wonders with the Grifone six months ago, neither the club nor coach seem a good fit in the current climate.

For starters, current coach Davide Ballardini has done an outstanding job with Genoa since taking over in late January. The Italian has hauled the club off the foot of the table and placed them in their current 17th place – four points above 18th place Palermo. He has mended the club’s back line, helping the team keep five clean sheets since he took the hot seat prior to the Juventus game on January 22.

Zeman, love him or loathe him, has never been known as a defensive minded coach. His Pescara still gave up 55 goals despite scoring 90 on their way to the Serie B title in 2011/12. Though his former club Roma are much improved defensively, they are still second in Serie A with 53 goals allowed, second most to Pescara’s unbelievable 78.

Ciro Immobile excelled under Zeman at Pescara scoring 28 goals for the Delfini.

So with Genoa giving up 52 this season, which is good enough for joint fourth place, why weaken a defence that has been improved in the past four months? Genoa were even worse a defence a year ago, giving up the most goals in the league at 69 and once again barely avoiding relegation. A change in coach will only be a regression for the club.

Not only would the defence be more porous than it currently is, Genoa would once again shake up the team. In the past two seasons president Enrico Preziosi has changed coaches on seven occasions. Obviously, that is not as bad as Palermo, however, the club need stability to improve.

Under Gian Piero Gasperini the team had a golden age, though he was sacked in favour of Ballardini in his first tenure, the club have gone through a continued spell of mediocrity thanks to the instability at the helm. Not only have the changing tactics hurt the players, but each coach has been given free reign at signing “their players.”

Just as the club have found enough quality in the January mercato, Preziosi is ready to once again throw the bathwater out and bring in a new coach. To bring in players good enough for Zeman’s style of attacking football Genoa would need a near overhaul of attacking options. It’s safe to say leading scorer Marco Borriello would not have a place in the side, just like he didn’t have a place at Roma this season.

If the club decide to bring in a new coach, which right now looks likely to this writer and fan, there are better options than Zeman. His Roma tenure is all the evidence needed to show he is not the man for the job. With the season ending in a couple weeks it’s hard to pinpoint one man, other than Ballardini, that should be given the job and time to put Genoa back amongst the upper crust of Serie A.

Unfortunately, Zeman is one of the few men on the unemployment list that has the potential to make a difference at the Marassi. Whether that difference is positive or negative will only be known this time next year, if he is given the job.

Due to his name and his past in football, Zeman will find another head coaching job. It should not, however, be at Ballardini’s expense. Unfortunately, it may be.

Follow Drew Farmer on Twitter: @CalcioFarmer. Drew is a Forza Italian Football senior writer and Genoa correspondent. He also hosts the Forza Italian Football Club Focus Podcast.