Alberto Malesani has pleaded for Palermo fans to support the team against Genoa tonight, as he takes on the club that fired him twice last season.
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Alberto Malesani has pleaded for Palermo fans to support the team against Genoa tonight, as he takes on the club that fired him twice last season.
Click here for a match preview.
The Sicilians have had a disastrous campaign, as they are bottom of the table with just 19 points from 25 games and already on their third Coach after Giuseppe Sannino and Gian Piero Gasperini.
“When you are in a certain situation, you cannot recover everything in one game. It requires a gradual journey that starts from the work during the week in training, which I am satisfied with,” said Malesani.
“Ours is a race in stages and the finish line is at the end of the season, when we’ll sit down and calculate how far we’ve come.
“During the week I tried to find balance within the side, but not just that. To stop Genoa we need to be versatile, courageous and intense. It’s tough to take on a team like Genoa who don’t give you reference points.”
Malesani does not have fond memories of Genoa, as last season he was hired in June, fired in December, re-hired in April and sacked again 20 days later.
“I know many of the Genoa players, even if they bought numerous new faces. Marco Borriello can run the strike force by himself.
“I thought I did very, very well at Genoa. I was matching the club’s choices, which were also based on the Financial Fair Play rule. We were solid and did pick up points.”
Another former Genoa figure currently at Palermo is striker Mauro Boselli, who scored two goals in just seven games in 2011.
“Boselli could start upfront, but I have to evaluate many things. Andrea Dossena will not start because he’s not 100 per cent fit, while Stefano Sorrentino and Fabrizio Miccoli are available.
“Fans are fundamental for this team. If there is a mistake, please do not jeer. In fact, try to applaud, because we need confidence and people who have faith in us. The 12th man is the crowd, but only if it jeers at the end of the game and not during the 90 minutes.”
Palermo squad for Genoa: Benussi, Brichetto, Sorrentino; Aronica, Dossena, Garcia, Morganella, Munoz, Nelson, Von Bergen; Anselmo, Arevalo Rios, Barreto, Donati, Faurlin, Formica, Ilicic, Kurtic, Viola; Boselli, Dybala, Fabbrini, Miccoli, Sperduti