HORNCASTLE The Serie A Divine Comedy: Who is in hell after Matchday 18?
James Horncastle returns with a Heaven and Hell feature for Matchday 18. Who has come back from the Christmas holidays without skipping a beat, and who is in as much trouble as they were before, if not worse? From an angel with a dirty face who has risen from the ashes, to, er, the Diavolo, we have it all. We begin with Hell, because bad behaviour is always more entertaining, especially when Maurizio Zamparini is involved.
Genoa
If the Derby della Lanterna was one of the games of the season in Serie A, it was because Genoa and in particular Pavoletti made it so. But that was of scant consolation for the Genoani. This defeat leaves them just a point above the relegation zone. It was their fifth in a row, six if you include being eliminated from the Coppa Italia by third division Alessandria, and for it to come at the hands of Samp burns.
In the stands the tide is turning against Gian Piero Gasperini who, after nine years at the club, has been emboldened on occasion in criticising the Gradinata Nord. His substitutions particularly against Bologna drew ire. But owner Enrico Preziosi isn’t for turning. Not at the moment and in truth the blame should fall squarely on his shoulders. Genoa were supposed to be in Europe this season but didn’t get a license because of financial irregularities. Samp [briefly] took their place instead. The club’s scattergun recruitment is a smokescreen for the absence of a project. The academy has produced Stephan El Shaarawy, Stefano Sturaro and Rolando Mandragora. All are gone or going. Stars of last season’s team Andrea Bertolacci, Juraj Kucka, M’Baye Niang and Iago Falque weren’t retained. Diego Perotti, the team’s most talented player, is on his way to Roma. Gasperini is owed some sympathy.
Sheepish Mihajlovic
Reacting to journalists’ reporting that he won’t be charge of Milan next season, Mihajlovic came out with a proverb. “A lion doesn’t lose sleep for the opinion of sheep. He eats the sheep.” Defeat to Bologna was hard to swallow and left Mihajlovic looking very sheepish indeed. In his defence, it was an even game. Milan created chances but didn’t finish them, and when they went looking for the win in the final stages, Bologna counterpunched. It can happen. Supposedly not at risk of the sack in the immediate term, an explanation is being sought, however, for his substitutions.
Alessio Cerci
Would have been at Genoa if the third party with whom Atletico Madrid bought him from Torino agreed terms. Alas, Cerci is still at Milan, and it boggled the mind to see him feature in the second half. Yet again, selfishness was his undoing. Moments before Giaccherini put Bologna in front, he blew Milan’s biggest chance of getting something out of this game, choosing to go alone and around the excellent Mirante rather than square it to Carlos Bacca in a better position. Cerci has only ever been good under Giampiero Ventura at Pisa and Torino.
Riccardo Montolivo
Can’t play in a 4-4-2. Needs protecting like Andrea Pirlo did with snarling midfielders either side if he is express himself best and even then he isn’t close to the player il Maestro was for Milan. No wonder fans are perplexed at reports that he is close to a new three-year deal. Didn’t Milan explain Pirlo’s exit in terms that they don’t give more than rolling one-year contracts to players over 30? How old is Montolivo after all? 31 this month… Tried to get the team to go under the Curva and apologise on Wednesday. Many headed to the dressing room instead, prompting Montolivo to run and shout at them to follow him.
New Year. Same Roma
Managing games is clearly an issue for this team, and Roma now risk losing touch with the leaders. If you score three goals away from home and still don’t win, you’re entitled to scratch your head. But not with Roma. In their case it is nearly always because they needed to defend better. Regularly asked about this, Rudi Garcia never pins the blame exclusively on the defence. It’s young - Lucas Digne and Antonio Rudiger are 22 - and he sees improvement in their performances.
On Wednesday, Roma were undone by one of their most reliable players, Kostas Manolas, having a rare bad day at the office. Two of Chievo’s three goals were also set-pieces, which Garcia again cites as evidence that in open-play Roma actually defended OK. He’s got a point. Roma can defend as a team - see at home to Barça and away to Fiorentina and Napoli - but often they don’t. In mitigation, Roma were missing six players but really instead of going for Diego Perotti or Stephan El Shaarawy the priority for this team needs to be another centre-back and a right-back.
Felipe Anderson
Subbed at half-time, it’s fair to wonder if reported interest from Manchester United is affecting his performances. Based on this season, it’s a wonder why there is any interest at all. A revelation last term, he has been one of the biggest disappointments of this campaign.
Maurizio Zamparini
The Palermo owner’s New Year’s resolution, as posted on Twitter, was a “2016 without firing anyone.” He almost broke it after defeat to Fiorentina on Wednesday. Zamparini picked up the phone with the intention of bringing Beppe Iachini back only for things to get quite heated when new signings were demanded. Franco Vazquez aside, Zamparini has almost got rid of all the players - Enzo Maresca, Daprela and Luca Rigoni - who went public with their disapproval of Iachini’s dismissal in November. By default Davide Ballardini stays for now.
