Vieira: ‘Roma quality was too much for Genoa’ | OneFootball

Patrick Vieira admits Genoa could only do so much against Roma, as there was a ‘very big difference in terms of quality’ between the sides, but he reminisced with ex-Milan teammate Billy Costacurta.

The Grifone had not lost a single away fixture since Vieira took over from Alberto Gilardino on November 20 and had shown promise when youth product Patrizio Masini celebrated his first start for the club by cancelling out the Artem Dovbyk opener.

However, Stephan El Shaarawy curled in from the edge of the area on the hour mark and Genoa were unlucky on the third goal, because Manu Kone’s pull-back ricocheted in off goalkeeper Nicola Leali before Paulo Dybala could get the final touch.

“There is a very big difference in terms of quality, because Roma are a side built for the Champions League, so we came here with character and confidence for at least an hour, then it was very difficult once we conceded the second goal,” Vieira told Sky Sport Italia.

At least there was some good news with the goal of Masini, a Genoa youth product with a long history of injury problems who was this evening making his first start for the club and scored a temporary equaliser.

“Masini has the qualities we are looking for, because he gives his all for the teammates and these are important values for us, for the fans, and we need players who give their maximum for the team when they are on the pitch.

“We had some positive periods, but the difference in quality was too big tonight. We can learn a lot from this game, though.”

Vieira reunion with former Milan teammate

UDINE, ITALY – DECEMBER 01: Manager of Genoa Patrick Vieira during the Serie A match between Udinese and Genoa at Stadio Friuli on December 01, 2024 in Udine, Italy. (Photo by Timothy Rogers/Getty Images)

There was a nice reunion in the Sky Sport Italia studio between Vieira and his former Milan teammate Alessandro ‘Billy’ Costacurta.

“He was a special figure for someone like me who was very young at the time,” said the Frenchman.

“I was fortunate enough to be at Milan with all those great players, it was important for me to watch them and learn, because my objective was to have a long career.”

Costacurta also said that Vieira ‘bored me silly’ talking about football for two hours when they met during his time at New York City FC.

“It is always a pleasure to talk to Billy about football and life. We had some good moments. I am very happy to be in Italy with a great club like Genoa, as the fans are very passionate. It is a difficult time for the club, but I think we have the quality to stay in Serie A.

“The career of a player is always important, as I can use my experience to talk to the players and also know that I learned so much from great coaches in my career.”