Genoa holds Andriy Shevchenko responsible for the sporting malaise of recent weeks. The club from the Serie A will announce on Saturday through the official channels that the cooperation with the coach has been terminated with immediate effect. Shevchenko, 45, was barely two months ahead of the selection of the current number nineteen of the Serie A. Given the schedule of the low flyer, the decision of the club from Genoa has been widely criticized.
Genoa was the first club in Shevchenko’s coaching career. He initially started as an assistant to the Ukraine national team in 2016 and was promoted to national team coach after a few months. He reached the European Championship last summer with Ukraine, where the the Dutch was the opponent in the group stage. Shevchenko’s team reached the quarterfinals of the tournament, where England eventually was 0-4 too strong. Shevchenko decided not to renew his contract after the European Championship.
Shevchenko signed a contract with Genoa until mid-2024 on November 7. He succeeded Davide Ballardini, who was appointed in December 2020 and i Grifone last season in Serie A. The start of the season – with one win, six draws and five defeats – ended Ballardini’s fourth term as Genoa coach.
Under Shevchenko’s leadership, however, things did not go much better for Genoa, which only holds Salernitana in the rankings. The last player has two points less, but also two games less than Genoa. The club took only three points under the Ukrainian, thanks to three draws, but in this period it played against Juventus, Lazio, Atalanta, Sassuolo and twice against AC Milan.
In between, Genoa did book a cup victory over Salernitana: 1-0. Last Thursday, however, AC Milan put an end to the adventure in the Coppa Italia: 3-1. The club management nevertheless chooses to show Shevchenko, who caused a furore at AC Milan in his playing career between 1999 and 2006 and in the 2008/09 season.