“How nice it is to support you, on Sundays at three.” Thus goes a song from the North Stairs. And the desire, at least for this season, remained unexpressed. Of the 19 matches that Genoa played at the “Ferraris”, only one – the one against Sassuolo and won 2-1 – was played in the canonical Sunday time at 3pm. Advances, postponements, weekday evenings. It’s not important. The fans have always responded by being present and despite the times, certainly not idyllic to put it mildly, they have always occupied their seats to support their team. An average of 31,167 which places the Grifone behind the big Milanese, Roman, Naples and Juventus teams. An important result, thanks to the attachment to the colors but also to the work of Alberto Gilardino and his boys capable of fanning the fire of a flame that has never died down.
A season without suffering
And this evening the rossoblù season will go to the archives with another full house. Opposite there will be the Bologna of miracles led by Thiago Motta, former matchday player and protagonist of the last Ligurian European qualification with a certain Gian Piero Gasperini on the bench. A championship will be consigned to history, a year full of satisfactions such as the victories against Roma and Lazio or the draws against Milan, Inter, Juventus, Naples and the Emilians in the first leg. Without forgetting the convincing performances always against the Nerazzurri, Rossoneri and Giallorossi when a knockout occurred. In between, valuable points were collected and some slip-ups which were however healthy. In the end, salvation was obtained with five rounds to spare, managing to “keep their heads above water”, as the coach said in the conference, underlining that his team has never been sucked into the bottom of the table.
End on a high note
A growing path also for the coach himself who underlined how he grew “thanks to everyday life, to continuous communication with my staff. I grew up with my boys, from all points of view”. Now, however, it is too early to draw conclusions. There is one last game to play. “The team must reflect the season we had – concluded Gilardino -. It must be a strong team at a competitive level, on second balls, knowing how to play and being careful”.