Genoa Club Amsterdam

Matteo Ferrari last year came home from A.S. Roma towards his former club of the beginning of his career: Genoa. This week Matteo received a financial offer you hardly can’t refuse of Besiktas in Turkey. Because he did not sign the contract there is still a little hope that Matteo Ferrari stays with us, but as a good President mr. Preziosi already is bussy to think about a new experienced central defender. Rumours in the media say that Genoa is close to buy 2 experienced Italian defenders: Christian Panucci of A.S. Roma who started his career with Genoa, just as Ferrari, and Emiliano Moretti of Valencia who played before he went to Spain with Fiorentina and Juventus.

  

Genoa already sold nearly 17.000 season-tickets in the first 2 weeks of the reserved period to present holders and planned 7 friendly matches in the next weeks:

18th July: Stubaital-Genoa (17.30)
22nd July: Rodengo Saiano-Genoa (17.30)
24th July: Anderlecht (Belgium)-Genoa (20.00)
30th July: Acqui-Genoa (18.00)
2nd August: Alessandria-Genoa (18.00)
9th August: Pro Vercelli-Genoa (18.00)
13th August: Villareal (Spain)-Genoa (evening)

 

The new season starts in just more than 2 weeks at Monday 13th July in Neustift. Genoa stays in Austria till Friday-morning 24th July when the team of Mr. Gasperini goes by plane towards Brussels to play in the evening against Belgium topteam Anderlecht, the former club of Anthony Vanden Borre. Maybe some of our members in Belgium and in the South of Holland have the opportunity to watch this preparingmatch to the first matches in Europa League at 20th and 27th August. 

Yesterday it was only hope, but today it becames true: Genoa bought the missing 50% of Bosko Jankovic of Palermo (€ 3,5 million) and enlarged the stay of Raffaele Palladino in our team with another year. Mr. Gasperini said 2 weeks ago that he wants a maximum of 22 line-up players in his selection. At this moment he can use the following 21 players:

Goalkeepers: Scarpi (and probably Rubinho or Sorrentino)

Defenders: Biava, Bocchetti, Criscito, Ferrari, Sokratis and Tomovic

Midfielders: Juric, Kharja, Mesto, Milanetto, Modesto, Paro, Pelé, Rossi and Vanden Borre

Strikers: Crespo, Floccari, Jankovic, Palladino and Sculli (and probably Dembélé)

 

The great season 2008-2009 was also the season that our 22 years old defenders Salvatore Bocchetti and Mimmo Criscrito definitively changed from talents into complete Serie A-players. Both players are at the moment in Sweden to play with Italy the European Championship for players below 21 years and are also close to the National team of Mr. Lippi. Today Genoa bought the last 50% of Criscito and paid Juventus € 5,5 million for that and last week the same deal was made with Frosinone (Serie B) about Bocchetti which costed around € 2 million. Tomorrow Mr. Preziosi also tries to keep the strikers Jankovic and Palladino with us and he probably also buys Moussa Dembélé of AZ Alkmaar. Besides all the good news it look likes our goalkeeper Rubinho leaves us.

The best moment of the season 2008-2009: the 3rd and deciding goal of Diego Milito in the derby against Sampdoria at Sunday-night 3rd May 2009. At that moment Genoa played with only 9 players after the red cards of Matteo Ferrari and Thiago Motta and 2 of our players are alone in front of the goalkeeper: never seen before !!

After the 10 new players tonight Mr. Blondet of Genoa told on the radio that the Belgium player Moussa Dembélé of AZ or the Dutch player Royston Drenthe of Real Madrid arrives. Personally I think Dembélé is the best of these 2, but as official supportersclub in Holland and Belgium we can be happy that a player of our countries arrives !

Our loved President Enrico Preziosi already bought 10 players to substitute Diego Milito and Thiago Motta that leave Genoa to Inter. After the central strikers Sergio Floccari (Atalanta Bergamo, 27 years) and Hernan Crespo (Inter, 33 years) also arrived central defender Nedan Tomovic (Red Star Belgrado, 21 years), midfielder Vítor Hugo Gomes Passos (nickname Pelé; Porto, 21 years) and playmaker Houssine Kharja (Siena, 27 years). To have Milito and Motta Inter paid Genoa around € 25 million and 5 young players which were owned by the black and blue of Milano: central strikers Robert Acquafresca (21 years, last year with Cagliari) and Riccardo Meggiorini (23, Cittadella), midfielder Francesco Bolzoni (20, Inter) and the defenders Ivan Fatic (20, Salernitana) and Leonardo Bonucci (22, Pisa). Probably most of the ”Inter-youngsters” will be rent next season to get more experienced because Mr. Gasperini wants a maximum of 22 players in his selection that starts the season at 13th July in Austria.

   

Today was also the last match of our hero: Diego Alberto Milito:

mille grazie to Adam for preparing this great video !

What a party !! Today over 29.000 fans celebrated in Luigi Ferraris the return of Genoa in Europe, while also outside the stadium the people changed the city completely into red and blue. Before the match the historical team of Genoa that reached the last qualification to Europe in May 1991 against Juventus was on the field and then the stars of today started their celebration show against Lecce that relegated to Serie B last week.  

Genoa scored 4 times today: Jankovic opened the score before halftime, but 10 minutes after him Tiribocchi scored the equalizer: 1-1. After the tea Criscito and 2 times Milito scored the last 3 goals of the season. Yesterday our topscorer with 24 goals (1 less than Ibrahimovic) wrote an open letter to all Genoa-fans to say that after his adventure with Inter our Diego wants to finish his career in his city Genova with his red and blue family ! Hopefully Diego Milito takes Thiago Motta with him when he returns to Genova.

Genoa finished the season with 68 points, a record ! Because of the goal-difference Genoa should be 4th in the standings and qualificated in Champions League, but because of the results against Fiorentina (3-3 and 0-1) that also has 68 points we have to leave the 4th place to them. No problem, it is better to win Europa League in May 2010 then to be out of Champions League in the 1st round, like Fiorentina this season !

 

After Barak Obama conquered the world with “Yes we can”, now it is time to Genoa that celebrates the return in Europe with the slogan: “Yes we go”. Only 3 years ago at 28th May 2006 Genoa lost the first match of the play-offs in Serie C-1 against Salernitana and now we reached the fifth place in Serie A and return in Europe after 17 years.

Unfortunately we lost Diego Milito and Thiago Motta to Inter, but Diego already has 2 substitutes: the 27 years old striker of Atalanta: Sergio Floccari and the famous 34 years old central-forward of Inter: Hernan Crespo. Mr. Preziosi also promised 4 other new arrivals to build a team that is as least as good as this dreamyear: 2008-2009.

 

This afternoon Genoa did win the match against our friends of Torino. Diego Milito scored twice (0-1 in 32nd minute by penalty and 2-3 in 89th minute with a header), while Ruben Olivera scored the other goal (1-2 in 48th minute by free-kick).

The match ended with a big fight immediately after the last whistle of referee Saccani between a lot of players. Hopefully the victory of Genoa in the last minute don’t lead to the relagation of Torino or remarks the end of a very long friendship since 1973 between the fans. On the other hand: since Genoa-Venezia 11th June 2005 we know that you always have to play a regular match and always must try to win it. If another team can’t stand us because we beat them, it is their problem not ours ! 

 

After the transfernews today it is time to play the 37th round of Serie A, so for Genoa to save the 5th place which means we don’t have to play in the preround of Europa League. Genoa plays today with the support of 1400 fans in Stadio Olimpico of Turin against our friends of A.C. Torino who are in danger to fall down to Serie B.

Mr. Gasperini and his staff only have to miss the longtime injured Paro, Biava and Palladino while nobody is banned after the match last week against Chievo Verona. The following 19 players are selected:

Goalkeepers: Rubinho, Scarpi

Defenders: Bocchetti, Criscito, D’Alessandro, Ferrari, Signorini, Sokratis

Midfielders: Juric, Mesto, Modesto, Milanetto, Rossi, Thiago Motta, Vanden Borre

Forwards: Jankovic, Milito, Olivera, Sculli

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