Serie A outfit Genoa have apparently cooled down their pursuit of Ghana midfielder Kevin Prince-Boateng. Now this may come as a surprise to many, considering the fact that Genoa coach Gian Piero Gasperini had singled out the Portsmouth player as one of his prime targets this summer after the 23 year old inspired his adopted nation to a historic quartefinal berth.

Prince (as he is commonly referred to), Scored his first goal for the Black Stars  in their 2-1 win over the USA and continued to impress right up to their quarter final exist. Gasperini was quoted as saying a move for Boateng was highly unlikely.

“For me, Boateng is not at the top of the list,” Gasperini said.

“The important thing is that whoever arrives has the right requirements. I have seen a load of names doing the rounds, it’s a role that isn’t easy to identify in the market.

“Whether it takes a day or a month doesn’t matter. Remember the example of Thiago Motta who arrived as the market was closing.”

Genoa finished the season in 9th position with 51 points. Although very strong when playing at home, Genoa lost 12 of their away games, drawing 4 and winning only 3. This is what Gasperini is hoping to reverse in the new season.

With a very talented squad that includes: Luca Toni, Rodrigo Palacio, Guiseppe Sculli, Marco Rossi among others, The Rossoblu, have what it takes to fight for a top four finish.

To be honest, i really don’t think we would  see the best of Boateng if he moves to the Serie A. Prince’s style of play is more suited to the EPL and should he move, then a transfer within the league would be the perfect solution.

With Portsmouth already relegated to the first division, Boateng’s transfer ordeals are far from over.

Photo credit: from prismatico

Previously there were reports from Italy stating that there has been an illegal approach regarding the transfer done by Inter Milan and Genoa regarding two Inter new players’ last season, Diego Milito and Thiago Motta. The news revealed that the Nerazzuri’s boss, Massimo Moratti and the Grifone’s president, Enrico Preziosi have committed an irregular transfer method that allows those two players switch sides.

After the investigation and hearing, the FIGC has finally made a decision that probably a bit disappointing for those justice seekers out there as the sanction decided for both clubs’ behaviour is only a fine and a ban for Moratti and Preziosi. Genoa as the players’ previous owner will be forced to cash out 90,000 Euro and their president will face a six month ban of involvement in the transfer market, while the Nerazzuri gets a lighter punishment by receiving 30,000 Euro fine and a three months away from the market involvement for the club’s patron.

Surely it is the lightest punishment that the scenario had in store as previous speculation stated about the possibilities that might be a cancellation over Motta and Milito’s deal or a point deduction for both clubs, especially knowing the fact of how crucial was the latter in Inter’s treble winning achievement. Having an illegally bought players, especially if one is responsible of winning important games for the club would obviously raise the eyebrows of some people, especially after the Calciopoli thing happens not long ago.

This punishment is also being consider very light because, even though both Inter and Genoa receive a fine and their presidents is ban from making negotiations in the transfer market, it won’t stop the club from buying or selling players. In general the sanction didn’t mean a great deal for both teams as that amount of money won’t be a problem for both clubs, and their presidents involvement on the transfer market isn’t actually a highly important factors for the teams’ success in acquiring new players as professional clubs do have their own people on that department.

photo credit: alemaxale

An interesting development regarding the future keeper for Juventus, who are keen in looking for Buffon’s deputy, is getting into an advanced stage as they reportedly will indeed sign Milan’s Marco Storari after the Italian press stated that both parties have agreed on the fee around 5 million Euro. With Storari leaving, surely the Rossoneri will need a new keeper and the latest rumors about this immediately emerged suggesting that the red and black squad is preparing to take Genoa’s Marco Amelia as their new keeper.

Although there hasn’t been any official confirmation from the clubs involved regarding all of those transfer news, but Italian press are pretty much certain that the moves are in cards and only lack some final details about contract before it will be officially confirmed. I believe both of the deals would be a very good options for Juve and Milan, the Bianconeri need someone trustworthy to guard their post incase Buffon fail to play regularly while for the Rossoneri, Amelia is an interesting prospect not to mention they will probably have him on loan with an option to buy.

For some of you that maybe wondering why would Juve pick Storari as their new keeper, well the answer is because their new director Beppe Marotta and coach Luigi Del Neri were at Sampdoria last season, the club where the 33-years-old shot stopper was being loaned out last summer. The fact that the keeper impressed and help Sampdoria gets the last Champions League spot, pretty much ensured Bianconeri’s management in choosing him as the temporary replacement for Buffon should the Italian number one keeper needs an operation after the World Cup and sidelined for a while.

As for Amelia, despite of his inconsistent form in the last two season, the 28-years-old keeper is still being regarded as one of the talented keepers in serie A and Milan have been scouting him since his time at Livorno. Getting him as Storari’s replacement on a free loan option would be a nice and smart move as not only he is still young, with his talent he could still turn his form back to his best if he gets a shot next summer. However, since there hasn’t been anything official yet I wouldn’t want to give too much of prediction of what Amelia could bring to the club, the only thing that I can assure Milan fans that if the news turns out to be true, it would not be a bad deal at all.

AC Milan still hold onto 3rd place in the Serie A despite losing 1-0 to fierce rivals Genoa at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris yesterday. The Rossoneri were lucky that their nearest challenger Sampdoria played out a 1-1 draw with Palermo at the Renzo Barbera stadium to keep them 3 points clear in 3rd place with 1 game left to end the season.

This only makes it harder for Milan as they now have to win next weekend’s game against Juventus at the San Siro if they are to keep their pride intact.  Milan’s Rookie coach Leonardo has been an integral part of their success this season however, a falling out with club president and owner Silvio Berlusconi means that next weekend’s game against the Bianconeri will be his last in charge. Former Milan great Marco Van Basten has been tipped to take over as coach although nothing has been made official yet.

I honestly thought that Milan would win some silverware this season and i know i speak for a majority of the club’s fans when i say that they are losing their status as a competitive club. Even Ronaldinho‘s ingenuity has not been enough to turn their fortunes around. After providing brilliant displays to keep his side in the title hunt, Milan has fizzled out these last few weeks to leave them battling for a spot to represent the nation in top flight European football next season.

Moreover, the future of a number of their stars hangs in the balance. Brazilian play maker Ronaldinho is yet to sign a new contract and club veteran Filipo “Super Pipo” Inzaghi is determined to renew his contract in spite of fan protests. This has not gone down well with a majority of die hard fans who think that his contract renewal will deny younger stars like Ghanaian striker Dominic Adiyiah the opportunity to sharpen his skills. Although grateful for his contribution to Milan, many think that ‘Pipo’ is past his prime.

Milan definitely have to win their last fixture against Juventus next Sunday to keep their pride and end the season on a positive note.

Photo credit: from Franky T @ acmilanblog.net

If you are a Milan fan then you must really be worried about their upcoming league fixtures. With two games remaining until the end of the season, the Rossoneri face  a tricky trip away to fierce rivals Genoa on Sunday before wrapping up their campaign at the San Siro against Juventus on May the 16th.

Genoa’s hatred of Milan dates back to January 1995 when one of their fans Vicenzo Spagnolo was stabbed to death by a Milan supporter. Ever since then il Grifane has had a fierce rivalry with the Rossoneri.

This makes Sunday’s match at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris all the more exciting. Genoa are coming out of a terrible run where they have won only 1 of their last five matches. The Rossoneri aren’t fairing any better either after managing only 2 victories in their last 5 outings.

Moreover, there is much uncertainty over the future of a number of their  star players and coach. Rookie coach Leonardo has apparently fallen out with his employer Silvio Berlusconi and he is expected to quit the club at the end of the season. If that is not enough, Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho is also yet to reach an agreement concerning his future at the club.

Failure to win this match will add pressure to the Rossoneri ahead of their showdown with Juventus next Sunday. These side shows might steal the limelight from this otherwise very important clash that has the potential to ignite passions that have rarely been seen for most of the season.

Rodrigo Palacio and David Suazo are the people to keep an eye on in the Genoa side while Ronaldinho and Borriello are the dangermen for Milan. Considering the stakes at hand, both these sides will want to win this game however, Milan need to win it more than Genoa.

My prediction; a 2-0 win in favour of the Rossoneri.

Photo credit: from ILL_Natured_gr

After a rather short break, the Italian Serie A resumes today with a round of entertaining fixtures. In my opinion, the highlight of these fixtures will be the Parma vs Juventus Fixture. 5th place Parma host 2nd place Juvenus at the Stadio Ennio Tardini at 2145hrs local time tonight in a match that Juve have to win to keep up with both the Milan teams.

Juventus have a slim 2 point advantage over Parma and another negative result will leave club president Jean Claude Blanc with no  option other than sacking head coach Ciro Ferrara. Ferrara has had a run of bad luck ever since Bayern Munich thrashed them 4-1 in Turin to bundle them out of the Champions League.

Two more subsequent loses in the Serie A to minnows Bari and Catania have hugely dented their hopes of lifting the scudetto this season. As Juve look to put their house in order, another potentially entertaining fixture will be at the San Siro where AC Milan will host mid table Genoa. David Beckham is expected to feature in this match with Leonardo hinting that the England International could play at right-back.

Milan need to keep wining if they are to seriously contest for the scudetto. A loss tonight will give their arch rivals Inter Milan a massive advantage in the title race and probably send them into disarray. Inter have an easy fixture away to Chievo Verona. Even in the absence of their top Striker Samuel Eto’o, the Nerazzurri still have enough fire power in Balotelli and Milito to get all the 3 points.

4th place Roma who are 11 points off the title race pace set by Inter Milan are away to Cagliari. Totti is expected to marshal his troops to a victory. Being the clubs top scorer, he will be under a lot of pressure to get the win and hope that 3rd place Juventus drop points at Parma. All the top four teams know a win will bring them closer to wining the scudetto if not then it will at least help them maintain their status as Italy’s finest.

Saturday proved to be an important day for local rivals Genoa and Sampdoria in the Serie A. After the final whistle, the score line was 3-0 in favor of Genoa and yet this was not to be a precise reflection of the match. Three red cards and two penalties later, Genoa gained the victory that propelled them into position 5 in the table standings.

Although Genoa beat Sampdoria, they are still trailing their rivals albeit with a slim margin. Sampdoria are currently in 4th place just a point above Genoa. You can now understand just how important this game was to both these teams.

Genoa took the lead in the 10th minute when Omar Milanetto sent the ball past Luca Castellazzi after his team-mate Rodrigo Palacio had been brought done in the area. Genoa proved to be a thorn in the flesh of the Sampdoria defense as they hit the post twice from attacks that should have resulted in goals.

However, their momentum was significantly reduced when Guiseppe Biava foolishly handled a Sampdoria assault that was marshalled by Antonio Cassano. The referee handed him a second yellow that eventually led to his sending off.

After the break, Genoa seemed to pick up from where they left. Just 8 minutes into the 2nd half and  Marco Rossi doubled the home teams advantage when he beat the offside trap to beat Castellazzi with a right-footed shot. The second player to be sent off was  Sampdoria’s Marco Rossi – not to be confused with Genoa’s player who bears the same name.

Again it was the case of a second yellow card and the teams were now even player for player. In the 75th minute, Sampdoria were put out of their misery when Milanetto beat Castellazzi from the penalty spot after substitute Sekratis Papastathopolous (wow aint that a mouthful) was brought down by Reto Ziegler. In the 88th minute Sampdoria’s Fabrizio Cacciatore was sent off after a horrific tackle on Ivan Juri. However, by this time Sampdoria could not reverse the result.

Nickname(s): The Red-Blues, The Griffin

All-Time Ranking: 12th

2007/2008 Finish: 10th

2008/2009 Position (as of 04/07): 4th

Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini

Key Players: Marco Rossi, Rubinho, Alberto Diego Milito

History:

Genoa is the oldest active soccer club in Italy, having been founded in 1897. The squad established the first dynasty of Italian soccer prior to the formation of Serie A by winning nine national championships against a small handfull of teams. Since 1911, the team has played in the historic Stadio Luigi Ferrais, one of Italy’s best fields. 

Genoa has never been a powerhouse side since Serie A was founded and ended up in Italy’s third tier in 2005 after a match-fixing scandal rocked the team. Genoa has fought back though and is now on the brink of earning a place in next year’s UEFA Champions League. They need to keep winning though to hold on to their spot in that tourney.

American Sports Doppleganger:

Genoa is the oldest squad in Italy, but it has actually never won a Serie A title because its best days came before the league came into existence. Therefore, I will compare them to the NFL’s Cleveland Browns, who won many past national championships prior to the formation of the NFL, but have never hoisted a Super Bowl trophy.

Genoa, this season’s Serie A surprise, can all but end the Italian title race if they beat Juventus at home on Saturday.

Gian Piero Gasperini’s side only arrived back in the top flight last term but shrewd signings such as striker Diego Milito and Brazilian Thiago Motta have propelled them to the fourth Champions League qualifying spot with eight games left.

Second-placed Juve were held 3-3 at home by a resurgent Chievo last weekend, dropping them nine points behind leaders Internazionale, and need a win to keep their slim hopes alive.

“It’s a fundamental game for us,” said Gasperini. ”If we manage to do well against (Juve) it would be like passing the ultimate test. If it’s our day, on our home turf we can manage the right result.”

Genoa have lost just once at home this season but Argentine Milito, the team’s top scorer with 16 league goals, looks likely to miss out with a leg injury.

Juve will be without winger Hasan Salihamidzic after he suffered a knee problem which is threatening to end his season.