Genoa’s first victory of the season arrived with the relief of a side that had waited too long for a result, but also with the substance of a performance that gave Daniele De Rossi reason to look beyond one afternoon. After an impressive first half and a tense closing spell against Fiorentina, the Rossoblu held their ground to claim three points and begin again from a total of four after six matches.
The final minutes carried familiar anxiety. Fiorentina pushed to recover the game and De Rossi admitted he had hoped for a third goal, aware of the quality available to the visitors. Genoa nevertheless resisted, avoiding the late collapse that had threatened to turn another encouraging display into another disappointment.
For De Rossi, that resilience mattered as much as the result. He said the victory should mark the true beginning of Genoa’s league campaign, while insisting that the team must become more reliable over the long term.
“From today our championship starts,” De Rossi said. “We have to be much more solid and, if we continue to improve over time, the results will come. Fiorentina could certainly have equalised, but the important thing is that the team stayed in the match.”
Trust after the Parma setback
The Genoa coach made clear how difficult the previous weeks had been. After the defeat at Parma, he said, many people had assumed he would lose his job. Instead, he felt the backing of the club throughout the uncertain spell.
“I want to thank the club for its patience, trust and sensitivity,” De Rossi said. “After Parma, everyone thought I had been dismissed, but the club was always there. I was emotionally exhausted after that match. I received many messages and a great deal of affection.”
He also pointed to the atmosphere at the Pegli training centre, where he said staff continued to show a desire to work with him despite outside speculation over his future. Genoa’s players, including those adapting after arrivals from countries with very different time zones, have maintained their commitment in training, he added.
De Rossi stressed that the work has not radically changed from the weeks before the Fiorentina win. “We always work in the same way,” he said. “Then sometimes things begin to turn.”
El Shaarawy, Traore and Osmajic earn praise
The coach reserved particular praise for El Shaarawy and Traore, describing them as players whose value is clearest when the league match arrives rather than in data or friendly fixtures.
“We see the numbers and the friendly games, but the reality is that they are Sunday players,” De Rossi said. “You have to take them and put them on the pitch. We have important players we can rely on, and I tell them that all the time.”
He also spoke warmly about Osmajic, who had not been the first target in Genoa’s recruitment plans. With hindsight, De Rossi said he was pleased other options had not materialised.
“A sporting director once told me that you do not need strong players, you need the right players,” he said. “He is exactly the right one.”
Even amid the satisfaction, De Rossi kept the result in perspective. Genoa remain on four points from six Serie A matches, and the task now is to turn a first success into a more stable run of form.
Roma await at the Olimpico
Genoa’s next appointment comes on Saturday at the Olimpico against Roma, De Rossi’s former club. Asked about the emotional weight of returning to face the Giallorossi, he preferred not to allow the storyline to take over the preparation.
“Let us not start with that, because last year it did not go particularly well,” he said with a smile. “Roma are the strongest team in the league, or perhaps the second strongest. We will prepare for it as we prepared for the second meeting last season: as a match against a very strong side. We will think about it from tomorrow.”
The club also found time for a brief response off the pitch. After Ryanair had posted, “Bad news for Genoa supporters: Serie A returns this weekend,” Genoa’s social media account replied: “Bad news for Ryanair’s social media manager.”
For De Rossi and his squad, though, the more important answer came on the field: a composed first half, a hard-fought finish and a result that gives their season a different starting point.
