Category: Transfers

Five years after the start of this website it was nescessary to have an update. In the meanwhile Genoa played the first 2 matches in Serie A:

Sunday 26th August Genoa – Cagliari: 2-0

Genoa started the season with a 2-0 victory at home against Cagliari. Both goals were scored in the second half: Alexander Merkel (returned from A.C. Milan and now 100% a player of Genoa) scored in the 51st minute our first goal of the season after a good offensive action of Andreas Granqvist. The match was decided in the 85th minute by our new striker: Ciro Immobile (last year topscorer of Serie B with Pescara). A good match of the team of Gigi de Canio, 5 days before the end of the transferperiod.

Sunday 2nd September Catania – Genoa: 3-2

In the last 2 days of the transferperiod Genoa sold 5 players (Gilardino, Mesto, Zé Eduardo, Birsa and Tomovic) and bought 4 players (Borriello, Vargas, Ferronetti and Melazzi) which made the announced revolution of the team complete. On Sunday 2nd September Vargas immideately started in the line-up while Borriello played the last 15 minutes in Catania. In the first half Catania was the strongest team in the field, but the only goal was scored by Juraj Kucka in the 26th minute after a perfect assist of Immobile. In the 67th and 69th minute Catania changed the score into 2-1 and the match seemed over. But this year the team is different comparing to last year and our vice-captain Bosko Jankovic scored with a very hard shot the 2-2 equalizer in the 82nd minute. Unfortunately Catania got a free kick in the 84th minute which was perfectly scored by Lodi: 3-2. Match over? No, in the last minutes Borriello was closed to the equalizer, but stopped by goalkeeper Andujar, Sampirisi headed a corner on the crossbar and Borriello was fouled in the penaltyarea. The refereee refused to give us a penalty, so we returned in Liguria without points but with a good feeling.

This morning Gigi de Canio left Genova with the following 28 players:

PORTIERI: Sebastien Frey (1980), Mattia Perin (1992), Eugenio Lamanna(1989), Lukas Zima (1994)

DIFENSORI: Gian Domenico Mesto (1982), Emiliano Moretti (1981), Mario Sampirisi (1992), Alberto Marchiori (1993),Cesare Bovo (1983), Luca Antonelli (1987),Diego Polenta (1992),Steve Von Bergen (1983), Nenad Tomovic (1987), Masahudu Alhassan (1992)

CENTROCAMPISTI: Juraj Kucka (1987), Marco Rossi (1978), Davide Biondini (1983), Alexander Merkel (1992), Daniel Tozser (1985), Stefano Sturaro (1993), Felipe Seymour (1987),Cristobal Jorquera (1988)

ATTACCANTI: Bosko Jankovic (1984), Alberto Gilardino (1982), Ciro Immobile (1990), Dejan Lazarevic (1990),José Zè Eduardo (1987), Antonino Ragusa (1990)

In the next days Genoa expects alo some new players (the rumours say Bertolacci (Lecce), Martinez (Velez Sarsfield), Velazquez (Independiente), Martinez (Racing Avellaneda) and Vargas (Fiorentina). The team stays in Bormio till Saturday 28th July and plays the first friendly match on Saturday 21st July against a local team.

This week the new jerseysponsor of Genoa till 2016: Lotto presented the new home and away-outfit. World-champion waterskiing Thomas de Gasperi presented the new outfit in a very spectacular way.

Exactly 365 days after his transfer towards Lazio our wingstriker Giuseppe Sculli returned to Genoa. Mr. Marino wants to play with 3 strikers, so we needed besides Palacio and Jankovic at least one other player to help Alberto Gilardino in the attack of Genoa. Sculli already played 4,5 years with Genoa from 2006 till the winter of last season. We still remember him as the “supporter” who ran into the field during the last minutes of Genoa-Napoli at the day both teams promoted to Serie A and the player who scored the great goal in the last minute against Lille in the Europa League. Welcome back Beppe!

Tonight the substitutes of Genoa lost 2-1 in the 1/8 finals of the Coppa Italia in Giuseppe Meazza against Inter. The black and blue of Ranieri first scored twice by Maicon and Poli before Valter Birsa scored his first official Genoa-goal in the 91st minute. Only 2 minutes of injury-time were left, which was too short to score the equalizer. Now we can fully concentrate on Serie A and try to reach the first 7 places to return in the Europa League. The next match is Sunday at 15.00 hours in Palermo.

The biggest problems of Genoa of the last weeks are in the midfield and the forwards. In the summer of 2011 our President Preziosi said that Genoa probably had the best midfield in Serie A with Kucka, Veloso, Merkel, Birsa and Constant. Especially Kucka and Costant don’t play like we all expected. The whole summer Genoa tried to buy central-forward Alberto Gilardino but Fiorentina refused the fantastic offer of €12 million, so at the end Genoa bought Andrea Caracciolo, after we first bought Pratto, Ribas and Zé Eduardo. Except Rodrigo Palacio none of the strikers scored the number of goals we all hoped, so Mr. Preziosi returned to Fiorentina 2 weeks ago and now bought Gilardino with a reduction of €4 million comparing to last summer. In midfield we now hope to find the solution with Davide Biondini the red haired “Gattuso” of Cagliari. The nearly 29 years old midfieldplayer has an experience of 7 years in Serie A and probably will be already in the line-up against Udinese (nr. 3 of the standings).

Our new trainer Pasquale Marino likes the “Dutch way” of playing football: 4-3-3. In this system with 3 strikers you need good players at the wings, but with Palacio we only have 1 good wingplayer to assist central forward Alberto Gilardino. To play at the left wing we need a new player which probably will be Giuseppe Sculli. “Beppe” already played 4,5 years with Genoa before he was transferred to Lazio in the summer of 2010. After the arrival of Gilardino and Biondini we wait for more transfernews the next days, but first we play against Udinese tomorrow at 15.00 hours. A very important match because of the terrible defeats against Napoli and Cagliari. The only problem: we only have 2 defenders (Mesto and Granqvist) healthy for the match.

The whole summer the newspapers told us that Alberto Gilardino the famous striker of Fiorentina and the Italian National team would come in Genova, but at the end we had to be happy with Andrea Caracciolo of Brescia. Andrea gave us a fantastic point in the new Juventus-stadium to score the late equalizer but unhappily this was his only golden moment. Today Caracciolo was hired to Novara and at the end of the morning Alberto Gilardino arrived at the medical centre in Albaro, one of the best areas of Genova. Monday or Tuesday we expect ‘Gila’ for the first training with our new trainer: Pasquale Marino who substitutes Alberto Malesani who was fired one day after the horrible match in Napoli: 6-1 defeat. Marino is born 49 years ago in Marsala on the island Sicily. He trained several teams like Foggia, Arezzo, Catania, Udinese and Parma. With Udinese he reached the Europa League, the same result we like at the end of this season. Lots of success Alberto and Pasquale!

The whole summer it seemed that Alberto Gilardino of Fiorentina would be our new central-forward. Mr. Preziosi already had an agreement with the player and because of the bad relation between Gilardino and Fiorentina the transfer for everybody was only a matter of time. Unless an offer of € 10 million and Houssine Kharja Fiorentina refused to let Gilardino go to Genova, so Mr. Preziosi at the end of the transferperiod had to buy another central-striker: the 29 years old Andrea Caracciolo of Brescia who scored 12 times in Serie A last season unless the relegation of Brescia. The 1.94 meters tall player with the nickname: Heron has to battle with Pratto and Zé Eduardo to be in the line-up.

During the handover of the trophy Genoa Club Amsterdam Genoano of the year we heard that Rodrigo Palacio would stay the rest of his contract that ended in June 2013 with Genoa and afterwards he would return to Argentina. This summer Inter did everything to buy Rodrigo Palacio and at the last day of the transferperiod they offered € 10 million to Mr. Preziosi who refused. Rodrigo Palacio stays with Genoa and last week he enlarged his contract with 1 extra year till June 2014.

The strike of the players in the Serie A is over. Lega Calcio and the players union made a temporarely deal to the summer of 2012 which means that the new season start at Friday 9th September with Milan-Lazio. Two days later on Sunday 11th September Genoa starts in Luigi Ferraris against promoted Atalanta. The first half the stadium will be completely silent to protest against the players-strike 2 weeks ago at the 1st round of Serie A.

Genoa has passed the 3rd round of the Coppa Italia by beating Nocerina (Serie B). After only 16 minutes the match seemed already played when Genoa leaded by goals of Palacio and Pratto by 2-0. Just before halftime Nocerina-defender Di Maio brought the team of South-Italy back in the match: 2-1. Only 3 minutes after the break Rodrigo Palacio scored his 2nd goal and Genoa started to play spectacular football, but forgot to score more goals. Nocerina came back in the match and scored 2-3 and in the 87th minute even 3-3. Extra time was nearby, but in the 91st minute Kakhaber Kladze headed Genoa in the 4th round of Coppa Italia against Bari: 4-3.

Central-defender Cesare Bovo is back with Genoa. Three years ago he moved to Palermo (in which deal Giuseppe Biava came to Genoa) and now the 28 years old defender returns in the red and blue shirt. Together with Dainelli, Granqvist and Kaladze we now have 4 central-defenders in the team that have to play for 2 positions in the field.