Genoa’s captain could have left for Toronto but stayed to battle relegation, which made his penalty miss all the more painfulDomenico Criscito could have been 4,000 miles away. Everything was agreed for the defender to join Toronto FC at the start of March, swapping a relegation battle at Genoa for an adventure in Canada. It sounded like the perfect way to wind down a career: playing alongside Lorenzo Insigne, an old friend with whom he has shared family holidays.As the moment of departure neared, however, the thought of abandoning Genoa in such a perilous state gnawed away at him. The Grifone were the first professional club to take a chance on Criscito, signing him from Sporting Volla in Naples and...
Seven straight draws have marked a turnaround, but the manager is yet to find the right formula up front to escape Serie A’s relegation placesGenoa needed someone to steady the ship. By mid-January, the Rossoblù seemed to be disappearing beneath the waves of the Ligurian Riviera, having collected more managers than wins through the first 22 games of this Serie A season. Davide Ballardini was fired in November with the team in 17th in the table. In two months under Andriy Shevchenko, they sunk a further two places.Alexander Blessin arrived promising “high velocity” football, “made of pressing and mentality”. Supporters did not know what to expect. The newspapers promised a disciple of Ralf Rangnick – one who had coached youth...
As the city reconnects two years after tragedy, Genoa and Sampdoria played a Derby della Lanterna unlike any other“Can happiness be sad?” The question was posed by Fabio Quagliarella in an open letter published this week by Gazzetta dello Sport. The Sampdoria captain was looking ahead to Wednesday’s derby against Genoa, but also to the imminent inauguration of the Saint George bridge, built to reconnect a city divided since the Morandi bridge collapsed two years ago.As Quagliarella observed, the new construction will benefit everyone who lives in Genoa. Designed by the renowned architect Renzo Piano, its lights and supporting pillars have been shaped to evoke sailing vessels and reflect the city’s maritime traditions. Yet its existence will always be a...
Inspired substitutions gave Thiago Motta a dream start in the dugout while Atalanta enjoyed a 10-goal swing from midweekStudies tell us school bullies have often been victims of bullying themselves. Watching Atalanta humiliate Udinese on Sunday afternoon, it was tempting to wonder whether something similar might apply to football teams.Beaten 5-1 by Manchester City in midweek, the Bergamo club returned home to thrash their next opponent 7-1. They even allowed Udinese the illusory joy of scoring the first goal, just as they had experienced at the Etihad.⚽ It's a second for Luis Muriel, and Atalanta are running riot against Udinese!4⃣-1⃣ to Gasperini's men pic.twitter.com/mnEE9k1VYV Related: Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1 top scorers 2019-20 Atalanta 7-1...
The 16-year-old, who has similar qualities to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, lived up to the hype with two goals against Lazio to become the league’s youngest scorerMarco Pellegri decided to go on living. Genoa’s team administrator had warned us that he might not, telling reporters: “The day [my son] Pietro steps out at Marassi wearing a Genoa shirt I can go ahead and die, because it will mean that I have seen everything.”Nope, not even close. Pietro Pellegri would make his home debut in April, a three-minute cameo at the end of a defeat to Chievo. It was a beautiful moment: father and son stood side by side on the touchline at Marassi as the board went up announcing the latter’s introduction...