Genoa President: ‘Balotelli and Vieira will hug’ and make up after tension | OneFootball

Genoa President Alberto Zangrillo is confident he will get striker Mario Balotelli and new coach Patrick Vieira to ‘hug in front of me’ to put past tension behind them, but fans are furious.

The Grifone took the unpopular decision to sack Alberto Gilardino and this morning formally appointed former Crystal Palace manager Vieira in his place.

This choice raised quite a few eyebrows, especially as Balotelli only just joined Genoa as a free agent and has a rather tense history with Vieira going back to their days as Manchester City teammates and reaching a nadir at OGC Nice.

“Mario is an intelligent person and so is our new coach,” President Zangrillo told LaPresse news agency at an event in Milan.

“They will hug in front of me, I am certain they will happily co-exist.”

Genoa fans furious after Gilardino sacked

epa11668963 Genoa’s coach Alberto Gilardino prior the Italian Serie A soccer match Genoa Cfc vs Bologna Fc, at Luigi Ferraris stadium, Genova, Italy, 19 October 2024. EPA-EFE/LUCA ZENNARO

The supporters are not quite so convinced and are already furious about the sacking of Gilardino, who had taken over in what was meant to be a temporary role in December 2022 and then took them to promotion.

Considering club owners 777 Partners are seeking a rapid sale after bankruptcy proceedings, the ultras have had enough and want some stability.

“Shame on you” and “777 Out” are among the banners left outside the club headquarters in Piazza de Ferrari over the last 24 hours.

They particularly targeted CEO Andres Blazquez, noting it was ‘Game Over’ for him and he was all talk with ‘Blah Blah Blazquez.’

Perhaps the most damaging insult of all was comparison to Enrico Preziosi, the patron who for 20 years was in charge of Genoa and who once had to be ushered out by a police escort when fans realised he was in the stadium.

‘777 Partners like Preziosi’ read one banner.