Cagliari-Genoa

By: Jeremy | March 13th, 2009

For you history buffs, I believe it was this time last year where Robert Acquafresca had his two goal game at home against Genoa and the 2-1 win really ignited the team and continued a run that lead to a miraculous survival and yet another year in Serie A. Lately I am wondering if Robert is still on this team as he has been on vacation the past few weeks despite showing up on the pitch. If you live in the USA and get Fox Soccer Channel, you will get to find out as we get a Saturday match on TV. Always exciting so tune in Cagliari fans.

As we head into this years return home match with Genoa, things are a little different then last year. Genoa has moved up and sits on the fringe of Champions League Football while Cagliari has made a dramatic turnaround and is still in the fight for a european spot. With Cagliari playing badly since the Juve win and Genoa having won only one of their past five matches, both teams will look to begin a new streak this weekend in Sardinia as they cannot expect to stay in touch with their rivals for much longer with such inconsistent performances.

For all that Acquafresca has shown for us this year, his up and down performance and attirude when the ball is not fed to him on a silver platter can cause some frustration for fans, especially as it becomes more clear he will not be with us after this year. With Inter getting knocked out of the Champions League because of the lack of a quality strike partner for Ibra among other things, both Acquafresca and Inter see his return to Milan next year as the solution to the problem. While he no doubt provides typical depth for a big club, he is not ready to be make a difference for them yet. He still needs regular football and must show the ability to be consistent. While he can get playing time in Cagliari, I think he wants a new challenge and will likely return to Inter next year only to be loaned out again to a slightly bigger club. Until then, he should want to show that he is an up and comer and some goals for us in the last part of the season would be nice.

Genoa has Milito, one of the leading scorers in Serie A. His goal scoring ability and maturity is something Acquafresca can strive for and he is the type of player that Inter needs next year if they really want to challenge in Europe. Until the big clubs swoop in for him, he will continue to impress and make us understand how Genoa is so high up in the standings. Gasperini has to be considered along with Allegri as the two leading candidates for coach of the year. This weekend could be tricky for them as they will not have two of their more experienced defenders, Biava and Ferarri, who are out through suspension. If this does not allow the Cagliari offense to create more chances then normal, then I dont know what will.

My frustration with Acquafrescas performance lately aside, his strike partnership with Jeda is still one of the most lethal in Serie A. One or both of them are capable of magical performances anytime, especially at home. Despite the bad performances of late, Allegri surely has the guys understanding that a win this weekend, against a slightly depleted team, puts them right back in the european mix. If they cant be motivated to produce against relegation teams, maybe it takes a team above them to get the players to produce. I do expect Jeda or Acquafresca to do something this weekend that will excite the fans.

This is likely the key match of the year. It is a winnable match against a tough opponent and sets the team up for Bologna and Catania, two other winnable matches in the next two weeks. With a win in this game, another run of wins and Europe is really possible. If we lose this game, the rest of the season will be just to play through the motions, happy at surviving, but accepting that we are not ready to be more then a slightly better then relegation team. If Acquafresca wants to wake up and remind himself of last years game, that would be great. If he wants to be a prima donna and act lethargically because he is leaving at the end of the year, then forget it. Hopefully his pride and wanting to perform for whatever shirt he is wearing will make him play out the year as best he can.

Either way, its going to be a more exciting match then we have seen recently from this team, but a win is going to be tough to get because we simply dont know what offense will show up for us. Genoas will and lets hope we can keep up.

Prediction

Cagliari 2-2 Genoa