Cultured Football #137

Genoa's Tax Problems. Norway Achieve Impossible. Sacking a Manager is Hard. Like a Bosz. Fall of Siena.

Nov 25, 2023

By Philippe Auclair and Paul Brown for Josimar

Prospective Everton owners 777 Partners will likely point anyone questioning their credentials to Genoa CFC, the club they got promoted last season and is enjoying a comfortable return to the Serie A. Even so, all is not well there either, with huge debts putting doubts over the club’s ability to survive. Lest anyone is still in doubt: these are not good football club owners.

Bonus Pick: The number of Italian clubs acquired by American owners in constantly increasing. Ben Rosenzweig is the latest to do so, taking over Triestina who have all that an ambitious owner might ask for: good catchment area, great stadium and local support. [By Emmet Gates for Forbes]

How Norway have messed up qualifying for another major tournament

By Mark Doyle for Goal

If you’ve been reading Cultured Football for some time, you’ll probably be aware of my lack of enthusiasm for international football. Indeed, the past fifteen days have been virtually football free for me. Even I, however, found myself wondering how come Norway managed to miss out on Euro 2024 despite have two of the best attacking players of European and World football.

Sacking a manager is the hardest call, but the evidence will speak for itself

By Jason Stockwood for The Guardian

“Unless you are a sociopath, it should always be hard to fire someone. It is even harder if you enjoy working with, and have had success with, those people.” Many people comment whenever a coach is sacked but rarely do you get to hear the thoughts of the person making the ultimately decision. That makes Jason Stockwood, the chair of Grimsby Town, talking about the dismissal of Paul Hurst particularly interesting. Poignant, insightful and filled with emotion.

Every Saturday, Cultured Football brings you five great football articles you should be reading.

Like a Bosz

By Joost Berger for The Analyst

With twelve wins out of twelve, PSV Eindhoven are blowing away the competition in the Eredivisie. Much of the credit has to go to manager Peter Bosz who has had the courage to change the playing style of a team who finished second last year. A fantastic start that is made all the more sweeter by Ajax’s troubles at the other end of the league table.

Bonus Pick: Albert Capellas was once an assistant to Peter Bosz and still speaks highly of his former boss. As he does of another man he has assisted, Thomas Frank. Quite an interesting career, his. [By Adam Bate for SkySports]

Siena: From the Piazza to the rubble

By Chris McMenamy for TMG Italia

Siena spent a handful of seasons in the Serie A at the start of the century but have paid a dear price for that brief flirtation with the top. After multiple bankruptcies, they seem to be on their way back, although the road is a long one. The nod to a James lyric from Sit Down towards the end of this piece is quite pleasing too.

By Jamie Hamilton on Medium

Malmo won the Swedish league last weekend, a result that was notable because of the amazing tension (and tifo) around the final game but also due to the innovative tactics of their head coach Henrik Rydstrom. The latter is following the path set by Fernando Diniz in how his teams play. If you want to understand more about that - via discussions about philosophy and mutations in music - this is the piece for you.