It was relief more than anything in the end for Genoa as a season of two halves threatened to end in complete disaster. Former player Ivan Juric was brought in as manager having lead Crotone to a historic first promotion to the top flight and he did a respectable enough job leading into the Christmas period. There were some massive highs, especially at home, in those early months including a 3-0 win over Milan and a stunning 3-1 victory over champions Juventus who they blew away within the opening half an hour of the game. Giovanni Simeone, son of the famous Diego, scored twice in that match and was the breakout star for the Grifone with 12 league goals to end the season. Genoa actually remained unbeaten at home in the league until mid-Decemeber but then the wheels really started to come off, starting with a chaotic 4-3 defeat to Palermo at the Marassi. That started a sequence of just two points from their next ten league matches which ended with an utterly humiliating 5-0 away defeat by bottom club Pescara which cost Juric his job. Andrea Mandorlini was brought in as the man to steady the ship but he only rocked the boat further and lasted just six matches having only picked up one victory and four defeats in that sequence. The club swallowed their pride and brought back Juric but Genoa remained mostly in free-fall and got themselves dragged into the relegation mire. An important and unexpected win over Inter Milan gave them some respite and they only managed to confirm their safety on the penultimate weekend of the season. It was a huge collective sigh of relief for everyone involved with the club and they'll hope to have learned lessons for next season.
