Genoa, there is a Retegui to find

Genoa – A shock. This is what Genoa expects from Mateo Retegui. After a very, very convincing start with the first Italian goal arriving just 32 seconds after the debut (in the end it was a brace in the first match in the Italian Cup against Modena) the Tiger King got a little lost along the way. And to think that after the first match in the Cup there were other performances from a true number 9 with goals, assists and a great desire to do well. Retegui was the protagonist of the rossoblù's first championship victory with the decisive goal at the Olimpico against Lazio. Then came the goals against Napoli at Ferraris and then the one against Roma, again at Marassi, in the 4-1 with which Gilardino's team eliminated Mourinho's team. It was September 28th, more than three months had passed. Not just goals, but also aggression, high pressing and a lot of work for the team.

From Udine onwards, however, the problems began. The Italian-Argentine striker, who in the meantime has not been able to respond to the latest call-ups from Spalletti's national team, suffered an injury on 1 October to the collateral of his left knee caused by a clash with Kristensen. From that moment on, the Tiger King no longer looked like himself. First the return against Salernitana, aborted after a post and just 45 minutes of play due to a flare-up of the knee problem, then another three matches away, the not very brilliant return against Empoli, Lazio in the Italian Cup and Monza where a goal was missed practically done, before the new stop due to a muscle problem in the left adductor which caused him to miss Juventus and Sassuolo.

Let's say that luck wasn't the case either on the side of the center forward who, inevitably, has also suffered the blow from a mental point of view and the last two tests as a substitute, with Inter and Bologna, have certified that Retegui, at this moment, is absolutely not the player admired at the beginning of the season. “It's normal to expect much more from him due to his characteristics and qualities, everyone's desire is to see the Retegui of the first part of the championship – explained Gilardino after the match against Bologna – it's essential to bring him at those levels and on our part there is the desire to do so”. Just in the last match at Dall'Ara, the attacker's introduction was not positive. Having received a yellow card after just a few minutes didn't help but even when he had the opportunity to kick towards goal, Retegui appeared a little slow, awkward. “On his part there must be awareness, will and sacrifice to get to that type of condition – added Gila – so positive episodes can be created, especially when a player comes on and the team is ahead one-nil: you have to do important things , hold the ball and run.”

For Gilardino, however, “it's just a moment” so in the next few days Retegui will have to “think only about staying calm and working hard during the week”. The center forward, among other things, is coming off a somewhat particular season because he moved from the Argentine league to the Italian one without taking a break. In fact, as soon as he arrived at Genoa, he immediately joined the group without ever stopping. So far Gilardino has been good at finding alternative solutions and revitalizing Ekuban who, even against Bologna, had a good performance. And even if Gudmundsson is proving to be an infallible sniper (he has already scored 10 goals between the championship and the Italian Cup) the Grifone needs the Tiger King seen at the beginning of the season to continue doing well. Sometimes a small episode is enough to unlock the situation and the rossoblù fans hope that it will arrive as soon as possible, starting from the next match on Saturday when Torino arrives at the Ferraris.