By Safiu Kehinde
Former Chelsea and AC Milan striker, Andriy Schevchenko is set to join Serie A side, Genoa, following the sack of their manager, Davide Ballardini on Saturday.
Genoa, who currently sit at the 18th position on the league table, were forced to a third consecutive draw against Empoli yesterday. The result was not so impressive to keep trust in their under-fire manager who was eventually shown the exit door.
Meanwhile, Schevchenko recently stepped down as Ukraine manager. The 45-year-old guided his country through 52 competitive matches which include the UEFA EURO 2020 campaign. His reign saw Ukraine win 25 matches with 13 draws and lost 14. The national team amassed 71 goals and conceded 62.
The return of Shevchenko to Serie A will see him face his old club, AC Milan, in one of the league matches. The 2004 Ballon d’Or winner played for the Rossoneri on two occasions. His first stint dated from 1999 to 2006 before joining Chelsea. Unfortunately, his days at Chelsea were unimpressive and he had to rejoin AC Milan during the 2008-09 season.
After retiring as a player in 2012, Shevchenko became the assistant coach of Dinamo Kiev. Having spent six months in that capacity, he was promoted to the senior role.
As a coach, Shevchenko’s preferred tactics is the 4-3-3 formation. However, he also adopts the 3-4-1-2 and 3-5-2 formations.
His style of play is not expected to be a problem for Genoa who play similar pattern of three defenders under their sacked manager.
