“We are seeing the light again a bit, we scored 4 points in the last 2 games before the break. We have the need and the thought of being able to recover as many players, so by having more players available my work and that of the staff can be facilitated.” Gilardino’s words released to Sport Mediaset a few hours before learning that he would no longer lead Genoa. Seriously episode? No, the glacial reality of a football that no longer seems to respect any rules or traditions. The American owners of Grifone have decided to get rid of a coach who achieved 119 points in 79 games at the helm of the rossoblù. To get Klopp? No, Vieira. Jokes aside, the rossoblù management thought that the former coach of Nice, Crystal Palace and Strasbourg was needed to give the right shake. Nothing against Vieira who, among other things, I interviewed at Golden Foot a few years ago (in the interview he told me about his great desire to coach in Serie A), but the turnaround seems as exaggerated as it is forced. Gilardino is respected by the team, by the fans and, better to remember, he was creating a new group after losing people like Retegui and Gudmundsson. Maybe there is a curse on the 2006 World Champions. Gattuso, Grosso, Pirlo, Inzaghi (Pippo), Cannavaro, Oddo, De Rossi, Gilardino… Even when they do well, they can’t keep their bench.
Regardless, I struggle to understand this new way of thinking. True, football has now changed and foreign ownership is based on new algorithms but, in some cases, good old common sense should prevail over everything and everyone. In Gilardino’s case, it seems that something else has prevailed…
If Gilardino has been removed, Vlahovic is about to be isolated.
Always, when a player goes on retreat with his national team, he feels free to express himself as he sees fit. The club does not have much control over its membership. It happens, therefore, that someone makes statements that are, so to speak, “out of place”. Well, Vlahovic’s rebounds from Serbia were definitely “out of place”. I’ve read them several times (be careful, then you should also evaluate the context)… “Coach Stojkovic doesn’t give me so many defensive tasks and this way I’m more clear-headed. If I run a lot, then I don’t arrive fresh in front of goal…”. Ok, it can fit. On a technical/tactical level it is a more than respectable thought but, when you are the Juventus striker, you cannot say certain phrases without taking into account the inevitable consequences. If you are the highest paid in Serie A, you cannot underestimate the weight of your every word. If you are Vlahovic, you have to be perfect, both on and off the pitch. And, in this case, Vlahovic wasn’t perfect. By doing so, with someone like Thiago Motta in command, you risk a clash that you can’t win… How should the Juventus coach feel after such declarations? If I were Thiago Motta, I would aim to find a solution but not to prevent Vlahovic from being too tired on the pitch but to replace him directly. I’m exaggerating but, undoubtedly, Vlahovic was rather naive. Sometimes it would be advisable to respond with the usual clichés and speak seriously only one-on-one with your club coach, the one for whom you should run without ever saying a word…