The Stadio Communale Luigi Ferraris, more commonly called
the Marassi, is different than many stadiums. Not only is it a tough stadium
for opposing fans to come to and win, but in a way, it’s haunted. In December
of 2011, when
we played there, tear gas delayed the match. Last year, I wrote about it on
another
blog after Genoa fans stopped a match and demanded their players’ shirts,
saying they weren’t worthy to wear them. Fan violence for Serie A and
International teams alike is not at all uncommon at the Marassi. But
technically, it could be considered haunted. You may or may not have heard of a
Genoa fan called Vincenzo Spagnolo. In a clash of fans in 1995, a Milan fan
stabbed Spagnolo to death near the stadium. So not only could it literally be
haunted, but Genoa fans are not exactly thrilled when Milan fans come to town.
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| There are always strange things brewing at this stadium |
Our encounter in Genoa will be filled with many ghosts, too.
Amelia, Constant, Nocerino, and El Shaarawy have each played for Genoa for at
least one season and so will be familiar with the horrors awaiting us there. As
for Genoa, their Milan ghosts include a couple of former Milan youth sector
players in Donnarumma and Antonelli as well as one big Milan ghost, who is
always willing to haunt us: Borriello.
But who even needs ghosts when your team are playing well?
Davide Ballardino, having replaced Gigi
Del Neri in January, has returned to the club he managed the year we won
the Scudetto, with a spell at Cagliari in between for good measure. Genoa are
coming off of a 3-1 defeat away to Roma last weekend. But prior to that, they
had an impressive 5 game undefeated streak, including a big draw with Juve, a
victory over Lazio, a draw with Parma, win over Udinese, and a scoreless draw
vs. Palermo. However their earlier season failures have them just one place
above the relegation zone, so they will be fighting for their lives.
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| Ballardini has Genoa in great form and fighting for their Serie A lives |
Against Roma, Ballardini lined up Frey; Bovo, Moretti,
Portanova; Vargas, Antonelli, Tözsér, Kucka, Pisano; Borriello, and Bertolacci.
Kucka was sent off in that match, and thus will be suspended tomorrow. Also reportedly
not available due to injury are Matuzalém, Rubén, M. Rossi, Floro Flores, and
Nadarevic. While missing the injured players is something Ballardini should be
comfortable with by now, the loss of Kucka is probably a big blow. However, do
not put it past this tenacious Genoa side to be able to punish us regardless.
Allegri has a bizarre conundrum in that I believe he is only
missing De Jong and Didac Vila to injury. Constant, Balotelli, Antonini, and
Bonera all returned to training in the last day or two and should be available
to him tomorrow. Balotelli’s contusion could keep him from starting, but I
would expect him to sub on if he does not get the start. I would like to think
that Allegri would consider resting some players for Tuesday’s Champions League
game, but when was the last time you saw him do that?
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| Let's hope these ghosts come back to haunt Genoa |
So, out of being completely clueless as to what Allegri will
do with basically an entire squad at his disposal, I’m going to let you guess
the lineup for tomorrow. You will undoubtedly be better than me, anyway. This
may be one week Allegri uses his unorthodox methods to select the lineup
anyway.
This match will be a tough one. Not just for going to the
Haunted House that is the Marassi, but especially because Genoa are fighting
for their Serie A lives. Sure, we may be friendly with Preziosi and he may set
us up with some great transfer deals, but on the pitch we are a hated enemy,
and there will be no favors. It’s going to be up to our boys to shake off the
ghosts and strike fear and terror into il
Grifone. And to prove to us and everyone else that our run of form
is not just some fluke, but the Rossoneri
quality shining through. Maybe the Marassi is haunted, but it doesn’t stop
us from storming the place and rightfully taking 3 points to help us stay on
track for Champions League qualification next year. Who’s afraid of a spooky
old stadium? Not Milan.
This post inspired by the Psychedelic
Furs “The Ghost in You”
Genoa vs. Milan
Friday, March 8 20:45 CET (2:45
EST)
This match is being shown LIVE on BeIn Sport and RAI in the U.S.
(check comments for stream links prior to the match)