Author: Hans

Today it is exactly 20 years since Genoa-Ajax, the first meeting with Genoa. This birthday deserved a victory today, but also a 5-4 defeat against Inter is memorable. The love of Genoa started with the fans and the atmosphere in Luigi Ferraris, which still is the most important aspect in the relationship with Genoa. Below the article I wrote about the remarkable match 20 years ago in the semifinals of the Uefacup in the season 91-92.

 

The history of Genoa Club Amsterdam starts at thursday 5th March 1992 when I see on Dutch televison the Genoa-fans clapping their hands to welcome the Liverpool-supporters that come out of their coaches. The Dutch commentator tells me that everybody expected a war between the Italian and English fans because of the Heysel-disaster in 1985. Liverpool plays for the first time after Heysel in Italy and whole of Europe waits for a battle between the fans, but everybody was wrong, so totally wrong ..

At friday 20th March 1992 I hear that in the semi-finals of Uefa-cup my favorite team Ajax Amsterdam has to play against Genoa 1893, indeed the team with the fantastic supporters. My wife and I decide immediately to book the trip to Italy. We follwed Ajax for years in Europa and went to many matches outside Holland including the finals in Athens in 1987 (Ajax wins Cupwinners Cup against Lokomotive Leipzig by a goal of Marco van Basten) and Strassbourg in 1988 (Ajax loose the final of Cupwinners Cup against KV Mechelen) but this will be our first match in football-country Italy.

After a long trip by coach with lots of snow in Switzerland we reach Genova around 12 o’clock on Wednesday-morning, 6 hours before the match. The police leads our coach to the special sector for away-supporters and we have to stay around the stadium till the match begins, but we don’t care because the football-atmosphere is perfect. All of the city is coloured by the flags of Genoa (the most) and Sampdoria (less) and the people are, like we expected after seeing the welcome for Liverpool fans, very friendly. Two hours before the match it starts to rain, so we decide to enter the stadium.

After the check by the police the dream begins: a fantastic completely red and blue coloured English-style stadium with a big yellow bird in front of the opposite site of the stadium (now I know it’s the Griffin) and all the people are constantly singing and very enthusiastic. Of course we don’t understand a word of them, but for the first time in my life I agree with changing my scarve with a supporter of the other team. This is real football-fever ….

The match is fantastic and both teams want to attack, something which is surely not common in modern football. Ajax wins in the last minute and steals the victory and we all are waiting for a battle with Genoa-fans after the match because they lost such an important match at home in the last minute. But the battle never starts, people stay friendly and we do not keep an eye on the 50 Sampdoria-fans that are outside our sector to try to thank us for the victory. No thanks !

Two weeks later at the day of the return in Amsterdam, my wife that works in an office in city-centre calls me several times that there are constantly canal-boats with hundreds of enthusiastic singing Genoa-fans on the canal in front of here office. A fantastic view and she feels sorry that she does not have a fotocamera to make some pictures. Later that evening the match ends in 1-1 and Ajax goes to the final against Torino. The Genoa-dream is over, but already at that moment we are sure that we will never forget those crazy enthusiastic red and blue fans.

 

The most important result this afternoon: Lecce-Cesena 0-0. Unless the defeat of Genoa in Milano with 5-4 we are still 6 points ahead of Lecce and we now have 2 matches against the last 2 in the standings: Novara (Saturday 15.00 hours) and Cesena (Luigi Ferraris, 11th April 20.45 hours) in which we have to put Lecce on a bigger distance and save ourselves definitively in this crazy season.

Today after 45 minutes Genoa was 3-0 down by goals of Milito (2x) and Samuel. In the extra time of the first half referee Valeri refused to give us a penalty, but 1 minute later a bycicle kick of Sculli touched Moretti and the halftime score was 3-1. In the second half Palacio realized a penalty: 3-2, but when Zarate scored 4-2 everything seemed over. In the 80th minute Inter goalkeeper Julio Cesar fouled Palacio and got a red card of referee Valerie. Alberto Gilardino scored from the penaltypoint (4-3) and Genoa played with 11 against 10. This was the moment to referee Valeri to help the hometeam: Belluschi touched the ball in the arms of Frey, but Valeri whistled a penalty to Inter and gave Belluschi a red card. Diego Milito scored the penalty: 5-3, game over ? Not yet because on the other side Lucio fouled Sculli in the penaltyarea and the last penalty was (again) scored by Gilardino: 5-4. In the second half Genoa played a good match which gives us hope for the next weeks.

Again a spectacular match full of goals in Marassi. Genoa took the lead by a header (!) of Belluschi in the first half after a perfect cross of Mesto. A few times we were close to the second goal, but Italian international Montolivo scored the equalizer after a mistake of Marco Rossi. Halfway the second half Fiorentina scored their second goal by a header of Natali out of a corner. As many times this season it was Rodrigo Palacio with his fifteenth (!) goal who saved us for a defeat in the 89th minute. Because also Lecce draw we still have an advantage of 7 points to the 18th position in the standings.

Already in the third minute Osvaldo scored the only goal of the match. To be honest Roma deserved the 3 points unless the ball on the crossbar of Palacio 15 minutes before the end. It was the only time in the 2nd half that Genoa was close to the equalizer, while Roma was many times close to 2-0. Sunday we play in Luigi Feraris aginst Fiorentina that has 32 points, 1 less than us.

After 10 seconds the openinggoal was very close when Rodrigo Palacio almost beat goalkeeper Buffon of Juventus with a fantastic shot. In the second half Juventus hit the crossbar and twice the post, but the scoreboard still was empty. In the last minutes Genoa probably deserved a penalty when Marco Rossi was fouled in the penaltyarea, but the referee gave us a corner. To be honest: Juventus mostly deserved the 3 points, so after all we can be happy with a draw, but 1-1 or 2-2 would be a more usual score for this spectacular match. Genoa now has 33 points in 27 matches.

 

Next monday Genoa plays in the Olimpic Stadium of Rome at 20.45 hours. In this match we miss 6 players: the defenders Antonelli, Bovo and Granqvist and the midfieldplayers Constant, Kucka and Sculli. Maybe we now finally can see more of our technical midfieldplayers: Veloso, Belluschi and Jorquera. The last victory against A.S. Roma in the capital of Italy was in 1990, so it’s time to a new victory.

Genoa returns home from the far South with a golden point, which means that the advantage on Lecce stays 7 points. At halftime Genoa leaded by 0-1, the goal was scored by Giuseppe Sculli after a fantastic combination with Palacio and Jankovic. In the 16th minute of the 2nd half Muriel scored the equalizer after he beat Marco Rossi in the run. After this goal it was time for the long distance free-kicks: Jankovic two times was close to a goal but Lecce goalkeeper Benacci saved his team. In the 80th minute it was Brivio who shot his free-kick behind Sebastien Frey: 2-1 to Lecce. Genoa did not accept another away-defeat so the players of Pasquale Marino went forward. In the 86th minute the reward came. Referee Russo refused to give us a penalty, but the corner that followed was headed in by Sculli: 2-2. In the 94th and last minute 3 players of Genoa ran towards goalkeeper Benassi of Lecce, but Sculli’s shot was blocked by the goalkeeper. We could have won this match, but a draw is also a good result. Next week we try to beat Juventus for the first time this season. Probably with Alberto Gilardino back in the team and hopefully also with Andreas Granqvist who looked heavily injured today.

Sometimes a match can completely change your opinion. Before Genoa-Parma all fans of Genoa were only happy with a victory, now after the match we are all very happy with the 2-2 draw. Till the 78th minute Parma leaded by 0-2 in Luigi Ferraris by goals of Gobbi and Floccari. In the 78th minute Rodrigo Palacio scored a penalty in two times and gave new hope to the Genoa-fans. In the 96th minute the important second goal arrived: substitute Jorquera gave a perfect assist to Rodrigo Palacio who scored already his 14th goal this season. The fourth defeat in a row did not arrive and Pasquale Marino saved his job for at least another week. Sunday we play in Lecce against the hometeam that now only has 7 points less than us after their victory in Cagliari. A defeat is forbidden!

We can surely say: Genoa misses Alberto Gilardino. The central-forward is essential in our 4-3-3 system. Before Gila arrived we had problems to score and since his injury after the match against Lazio we did not score any goal. Against Chievo the team of Pasquale Marino had 3 big chances, but Kucka, Jankovic and Palacio missed them all. In the 30th minute Théréau of Chievo did score the only goal when Marco Rossi only watched the ball and forgot his French opponent. The 0-1 defeat was a shock to the fans, coach Marino and also president Preziosi who celebrated his birthday.

Tomorrow Genoa plays again at home in Marassi and the 3 points are nescessary to avoid a crisis and to keep the distance with number 18 in the standings Lecce. We now have an advantage of 9 points and have to beat Parma to travel with confidence to Lecce next week, in which match probably Gilardino will return in the team.

Last Wednesday Genoa lost by 1-0 in Bergamo against Atalanta. It probably was the worst match of Genoa since the return in Serie A in the summer of 2007. The team played without any confidence after the big defeats outside Ferraris the last matches. Halfway the 2nd half Juraj Kucka headed the ball on the crossbar and a few minutes later Atalanta striker Denis did the same at the other side above Sebastien Frey. With both teams hitting the crossbar once it seemed a typical 0-0 match, till Marilungo scored the only goal 12 minutes before the end. Genoa stays 10th in the standings with 30 points.

Tomorrow Chievo arrives in Marassi, so we hope again to see a completely different Genoa. Our coach Pasquale Marino misses the injured Alberto Gilardino and the defenders: Antonelli, Bovo, Mesto and Moretti.

Again a big defeat of Genoa in an away match after a great game in Luigi Ferraris. Coach Pasquale Marino don’t understand the big difference between Genoa at home and outside mama Ferraris. In our own stadium we create many chances and have an average of 3 goals the last matches, in awaymatches the opponent has an average of 4 goals the last weeks. In Catania midfielder Valter Birsa already in the 7th minute made a stupid and unnecessary foul in our penaltyarea which gave the hometeam a penalty: 1-0. In the second half Barrientos of Catania scored twice in the first 7 minutes: 3-0. Ten minutes later the final score of 4-0 was already on the scorebord. Besides the 4-0 defeat we also lost Kaladze and Mesto with a yellow card, so they can’t play in Bergamo Wednesday.