If Davide Ballardini can keep this up, his name will feature on a lot of ballots when the votes for Manager of the Year are cast.
Genoa were expecting another nerve-shredding season in the relegation battle when Enrico Preziosi brought the 54-year-old back to the club at the start of November. They had just lost the Derby della Lanterna. Watching Samp outplay them was a painful experience for fans of the Rossoblu and worse still was where the defeat left their side in the table. Only pointless Benevento, the worst team in top-flight history, had an inferior record.
No stranger to saving this team, Ballardini has come to the rescue again. He immediately set minds to rest in the Gradinata Nord. The fortnight Ballardini had with the team while Italy prepared for their World Cup play-off against Sweden was used wisely. There were no distractions, thanks in part to Ballardini not speaking to his Swedish wife Anna after the first leg defeat in Solna. Two of his first three games were against Crotone and Verona, teams many anticipated Genoa to be scrapping for survival with from then until the end season. Ballardini ensured the Grifone won them both.
The storm clouds looming over the team started to dissipate. Flash forward three months and Genoa are now practically safe. There are 13 points between them and the drop zone.
We’ve seen other clubs enjoy new manager bounces this season. Udinese and Sassuolo spring to mind, although it now looks as though the effect that Massimo Oddo and, particularly, Beppe Iachini had on those sides is starting to wear off. Walter Mazzarri suffered his first defeat since taking over Torino last weekend and you have to say Rino Gattuso is proving the doubters wrong after a tough start to life at AC Milan. The Rossoneri are now 11 games unbeaten in all competitions.
Relatively speaking, though, what Ballardini has been able to extract from this randomly assembled and frankly average bunch of Genoa players is pretty remarkable. In his time in charge, only Napoli and Juventus have better records in Serie A. We’re talking 24 points from 13 games. Genoa have won three on the spin, a run that includes a trip to Lazio and a visit from Inter to the Luigi Ferraris.
Whether they can sustain it and ward off the complacency that comes when top-flight survival is no longer in jeopardy and European qualification is too far away remains to be seen.
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So far injuries have had less of a disruptive influence on them than on Udinese and Sassuolo, whose momentum was checked by casualties to some of their major difference makers. Take, for instance, the absences of their best defender Armando Izzo, midfield metronome Miguel Veloso, and the likes of Adel Taarabt and January freebie Giuseppe Rossi up front. The club doctor has been far from idle but we have seen no sudden downturn in form.
It’s indicative of the organisation and spirit Ballardini has been able to create in such a short space of time. On the face of it, he hasn’t changed much. Genoa still play with a back three and some of the principles Ivan Juric introduced remain intact. It’s a case of small adjustments. But these little things add up to a lot. Naturally there are some happy coincidences with Ballardini's appointment, like Nicola Spolli’s timely return from injury. Being able to count on a more mobile centre-back than Luca Rossettini has definitely helped the defence.
However, Ballardini has also reassessed players who ended up on the margins under Juric. Players like the veteran striker Goran Pandev, who is now the terminal through which a lot of their attacking play goes through. His ability to come short, hold the ball up when played into feet and activate Genoa’s midfield runners is causing opponents real problems. The Macedonian’s knack for regularly scoring against his former clubs is also coming in handy, as we saw against Inter and Lazio.
Goals still aren’t easy to come by for this team, though. Genoa are scoring more or less the same number of goals as they were in Juric’s time at the club. The big difference is the effectiveness with which they are defending.
Genoa’s system is definitely a 5-3-2 rather than a 3-5-2. They now defend with a mix of zonal and man-marking rather than just man-to-man. And, no longer getting dragged out of position as much as they were in the past, Genoa are now more difficult to play through. They're frustrating the hell out of teams.
The Grifone strung together four consecutive clean sheets over Christmas and New Year. Only Juventus have conceded fewer goals than Genoa in Ballardini’s time back at Marassi. Part of that is down to goalkeeper Mattia Perin. The 25-year-old has been the best Italian keeper in Serie A this season and deserves to start one of Italy’s next friendlies against England and Argentina. But that’s a debate for another day.
Reflecting on Ballardini’s career, it’s odd that one so seasoned has never started and finished an entire season in Serie A. Either sacked early, which isn’t unusual for someone who has worked under Maurizio Zamparini and Massimo Cellino, or a go-to caretaker-cum-ferryboatman-cum-firefighter, this reputation as a specialist has perhaps counted against him.
Ballardini and Genoa just seem like such a great fit. An option for another year activates once survival is mathematically assured. But if I were Preziosi I’d be offering Ballardini a longer contract.
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