"Genoa CFC announces that Alberto Gilardino has been relieved of his duties." The official announcement from the Ligurian club comes after the late morning previews , with the sensational decision to fire the coach five days before the resumption of Serie A against Cagliari (Sunday at 12:30 at the Ferraris). An unusual timing, because Gilardino had resumed training during the break and was preparing for the championship match without there being any signs of his imminent farewell . "The club thanks mister Gilardino for the goals achieved together over the years and wishes him the best for his career," is the conclusion of the brief press release from Genoa.

The only thing missing is the official announcement, expected in these hours, but Patrick Vieira is Gilardino's successor on the Genoa bench. He has already had three different experiences in Serie A, but all as a player : at Milan as a youngster in 95-96 (just 5 appearances, but won a championship), at Juventus in 2005-2006 after nine brilliant years at Arsenal and at Inter from the summer of 2006 (after the Calciopoli scandal) to January 2010, before ending his career with eighteen months at Manchester City. It was with the Citizens that he began his experience as a coach, in the youth teams, continuing with New York City FC (a team of the same ownership), Nice, Crystal Palace and last season Strasbourg.

For Vieira, the debut will be in Genoa-Cagliari . He is expected between tonight and tomorrow morning in the Ligurian capital, for the signing of the contract and the first training session with his new team. Gilardino leaves Genoa after almost two years: he took the team in Serie B in December 2022, leading it to promotion, and then finished in eleventh place last season. In this season the score was 10 points with 2 wins, 4 draws and 6 defeats: before the break the 1-1 in the 92nd minute against Como, with the fourth-last place tied with Cagliari .

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