Gian Piero Gasperini « mCalcio.com

Posts Tagged ‘Gian Piero Gasperini’

Sampdoria 0-1 Genoa: Diego Milito Rising Above the Foul-Fest, Rossoblu Win Derby della Lanterna (Serie A Matchday 15)

Monday, December 8th, 2008

11 yellow cards and 58 fouls committed. Derbies can be a hard-fought affair, but one has to wonder after how many fouls a game stops being a soccer match and turns into a boxing competition.

The 99^th edition of the Derby della Lanterna, opposing the two main teams from Liguria and one which had been eluding the Rossoblu for 7 years, went to Genoa on Sunday. It was set to be a battle between Diego Milito and Antonio Cassano, the two ex-Liga players and the real protagonists of their respective teams so far this season. Talentino put all his heart into it, but in the end El Principe prevailed.

In the fifth minute of the second half, Genoa took a free kick on the right side of the pitch, and centered the ball towards the penalty box. On the receiving end, Diego Milito sent the Genoa supporters into ecstasy, a fantastic header ending right into Castellazzi’s top corner. And while Genoa triumphed, Sampdoria can have many regrets on the two disallowed goals for their side (in particular Fornaroli’s).

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Tags: Diego Milito, Genoa, Gian Piero Gasperini, Sampdoria, Serie A, Walter Mazzarri
Posted in Genoa, Sampdoria, Serie A | 1 Comment »

Juventus 4-1 Genoa: Bianconeri On Top of the Serie A Mountain Again (Serie A Matchday 12)

Friday, November 14th, 2008

915 days, aka two years and a half since May 14, 2006: that’s how long Juventus had to wait to breathe top-ranking air in the Serie A again. Granted, it’s an ex-aequo lead for now, and too bad if those sharing 1^st place with the Bianconeri are eternal rivals Inter Milan (set to clash at San Siro on November 22). This, and Juve’s seventh consecutive win (the fifth in Serie A) must sure feel good for Claudio Ranieri, who not even one month ago was seriously linked with the backside of the president’s boot.

On Thursday (for Serie A’s early matchday 12 encounter) Juve’s victims were Genoa, beaten with a (perhaps too) severe score of 4-1, goals courtesy of Grygera, Amauri, Iaquinta, and an own goal by Papastathopoulos. Genoa played well in the first half despite ending 2-0 down, but their wastefulness in front of Alex Manninger’s goal cost them dearly: after the break the Rossoblu lost whatever grip they had, worn down by the combativeness of an omnipresent Giorgio Chiellini and the talent of the ever-present Alessandro Del Piero (who may have not put his name on the scorers, but was capital in pulling the strings of well-directed passes for his teammates). Diego Milito saved face for the visitors, thanks to a penalty shot after a Legrottaglie handball.

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Tags: Amauri, Claudio Ranieri, Diego Milito, Genoa, Gian Piero Gasperini, Juventus, Serie A, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Vincenzo Iaquinta, Zdenek Grygera
Posted in Genoa, Juventus, Serie A | 1 Comment »

Fiorentina 1-0 Genoa: Gilardino Rebirth Continues, Viola Fly (Serie A Matchday 5)

Sunday, September 28th, 2008

Reverse engines, full 180º, nitro boost. After his team’s brutal mid-week loss to Lazio, Cesare Prandelli must have found the right words to remotivate his men Saturday. A battling and determined Fiorentina side, led by the continued moment of form of a reborn Alberto Gilardino, brushed their Genoa visitors aside and went on to take a vital three points in the Serie A.

And speaking of Gilardino, that’s his third goal in five matches. For someone who the previous season could only score 7 in 30 with AC Milan, goal averages are definitely on the rise. Music to Della Valle’s ears…

(From Gazzetta dello Sport): La Viola started the match with great intensity, looking to pressure their opponents high up the field, aided in no small part by the home crowd support (immediately willing to forget the mid-week 0-3 Lazio debacle). It was only natural then, to see Fiorentina get the first scoring chances in this one: first Mutu (header narrowly wide) then Montolivo (cracking shot from mid-range parried away by the keeper) gave Gasperini’s team the first scares. Then of course there was a certain Gilardino, seemingly back to his “good Parma days”: playing as a real target-man, the ex-Milan striker was shielding the ball, allowing his teammates to overlap (Semioli, Felipe Melo, and Gobbi notably), and providing an otherwise constant danger to the Rossoblu defense.

On the other end, Genoa were having some problems getting “into” the game, especially because their coach had chosen to leave Diego Milito on the side. All that changed in the second half though, when the Argentine striker was inserted into the mix. Well served by a Marco Rossi pass, Milito was given a one-on-one chance with Sebastien Frey almost right away, but the French goalie demonstrated (yet again) why he still is one of Serie A’s best keepers around. Just a few minutes earlier, Ruben Olivera had a good mid-range effort saved by Viola’s nº1.

Alas for the visitors, the two Genoan chances were a prelude to Fiorentina’s goal. The provider? Who else but Alberto Gilardino, La Viola’s man-of-the-moment. Controlling a looping ball inside the Genoa box, the Azzurri striker managed to shield it from three nearby defenders, turn around with a few touches, and send an unstoppable diagonal half-volley straight into the bottom right corner. A pure striker’s goal, the kind Viola supporters had not seen since Luca Toni’s departure to Bavaria. 1-0 Fiorentina

At this point, Prandelli decided to play it safe by inserting Pazzini & Santana for Semioli & Gilardino, just to keep his troops fresh on the field. Fiorentina had a few more chances on goal through Mutu (wide) and Osvaldo (well saved by Rubinho), while Frey dominated his box on the other end and kept his team safe. It was thus a well-deserved win for Prandelli’s side, who can look at Tuesday’s UCL fixture against Steaua Bucharest with renewed optimism.

	FIORENTINA-GENOA 1-0 [Match Highlights]
GOALSCORERS: 61’ Gilardino (F).
FIORENTINA (4-3-3): Frey – Jorgensen, Dainelli, Kroldrup, Gobbi – Montolivo, Melo, Donadel – Semioli (66’ Santana), Gilardino (66’ Pazzini), Mutu (83’ Osvaldo). (bench: Storari, Gamberini, Zauri, Kuzmanovic). Coach: Prandelli.
GENOA (3-4-3): Rubinho – Papastathopoulos, Ferrari, Criscito – M.Rossi, Milanetto (41′ Juric), Vanden Borre (60’ Modesto), Bocchetti – Olivera, Palladino, Mesto (51’ D.Milito). (bench: Scarpi, Sculli, Jankovic, Biava). Coach: Gasperini.

Tags: Alberto Gilardino, Cesare Prandelli, Fiorentina, Genoa, Gian Piero Gasperini
Posted in Fiorentina, Genoa | Comments Off

Genoa 2-0 Milan: When It Rains, It Pours for Ancelotti (Serie A Matchday 2)

Monday, September 15th, 2008

Three Golden Balls on the field: Kaká, Ronaldinho, Shevchenko. Was it enough for AC Milan to turn their catastrophic pre-season and Serie A debut around?

Alas, all Rossoneri supporters already know the answer to that question. Once again, Ancelotti’s team blanked out against “moderate” (on paper) opposition, and notice I say “on paper” because on the field Genoa was anything but. Lead by the technical brilliance of prodigal son Diego Milito, Il Grifone sank the Rossoneri with two goals conceding none, and put a serious question mark (despite what Galliani might say) on Carlo Ancelotti’s tenure at the club. 0 points after two matchdays, and team that isn’t working: some heads gotta fall at Milanello soon…

(From Gazzetta dello Sport): So, according to Galliani no Sword of Damocles is currently hanging over Carlo Ancelotti. Over that one at least, the Milan manager should not be losing any sleep (mmhh… cough). But who could blame the coach, when even seasoned veterans like Maldini and Zambrotta (not to mention the Golden Ball trio up front) starting making elementary mistakes, stuff you would normally only see in Primavera matches. Therein lies the problem perhaps: the “seasoned” part. There’s a point when the distinction between “experience” and “over-ripeness” gets kinda blurry, and for some AC Milan players that point has arrived…

Such a shame too, because the Rossoneri had started the match fairly well. Ronaldinho may still be struggling to find perfect form, but it’s still someone named “Ronaldinho”, the kind of guy whose one-touch pass or shot can transform a game. A message the Genoa defenders got very early on, constantly doubling man-marking on him and his two striking partners (Kaká and Shevchenko). Thus after a timid start, the home team shifted into second gear and started getting close to Abbiati’s goal, thanks in part to the blatant lack of defensive efforts in Milan’s midfield (Flamini was playing? Was he really?). In minute 30, the first goal of the game was a mix of precision (Gasbarroni’s aerial through ball), technique (Milito’s lovely chest-pass) and finishing (Sculli‘s daisy-cutter from 10 yards out). A well-deserved goal for Gasperini’s team, and yet another alarming wake-up call for Milan. 1-0 Genoa.

At this point, Ancelotti decided to push his men forward: Gianluca Zambrotta was given “license to ~~kill~~ move forward”, thereby reducing the Milan backline to three men. (Maldini, Bonera, Favalli). Then, he continued his line-up revolution by getting rid of Sheva and Ronnie at half-time, inserting Clarence Seedorf and Marco Borriello: radical changes designed to effect radical results. Alas with little success: Matteo Ferrari (you know, the guy deemed surplus by Roma) was following Borriello around like a shadow, and Kaká’s best efforts (even from long-range) were being far too predictable.

On the other end, Andrea Gasbarroni was acting as perfect playmaking & assist-man: the ex-Parma midfielder was litterally on fire, serving up a perfect ball for Giuseppe Sculli (saved by Abbiati) and then almost getting a goal of his own with a chipped shot saved by Zambrotta on the line. Ancelotti made his last change with Alexandre Pato (on for Flamini), trying also to boost his aerial attacks: the “Duck” got his noggin to a few crosses (shortly imitated by Ambrosini), coming close to the equalizer. This was however Genoa’s day: in stoppage time, Diego Milito turned with the ball and made a fool out of Maldini, forcing the Rossoneri captain to an uncharacteristic yet significant trip inside the box. The ex-Zaragoza striker did the penalty kick honors himself, giving his team a historical 92^nd-minute “icing on the cake” victory. 2-0 Genoa and game over.

	GENOA-MILAN 2-0 [Match Highlights]
GOALSCORERS: 30’ Sculli (G), 91’ pen. Milito (G).
GENOA (3-4-3): Rubinho – Biava, Ferrari, Criscito – Mesto (M.Rossi), Milanetto, Juric (66’ Vanden Borre), Modesto – Sculli, G.Milito, Gasbarroni (85’ Palladino). (bench: Scarpi, Sokratis, Bocchetti, Olivera). Coach: Gasperini.
MILAN (4-3-2-1): Abbiati – Zambrotta, Bonera, Maldini, Favalli – Flamini (69’ Pato), Pirlo, Ambrosini – Kaká, Ronaldinho (46’ Seedorf) – Shevchenko (46’ Borriello). (bench: Dida, Kaladze, Jankulovski, Emerson). Coach: Ancelotti.