Genoa sack coach Malesani

Former Genoa head coach Alberto Malesani (Getty Images)

Genoa fired Alberto Malesani and were in the process of hiring Pasquale Marino, marking the 10th coaching change in Serie A since August.

Genoa president Enrico Preziosi made the announcement on Italy's Sky TV, saying that Marino "is signing the contract now."

The move came a day after an embarrassing 6-1 rout by Napoli left Genoa tied for ninth with Palermo, 13 points behind co-leaders Juventus and AC Milan, heading into the winter break.

"When a squad gets humiliated on the pitch there's nothing else to do," Preziosi said.

Malesani had been hired in June, while Marino previously managed Catania, Udinese and Parma.

Midway through the season, the number of coaching changes is equal to half the clubs in the league, although Cagliari and Palermo have each made two changes already.

Roberto Donadoni (Cagliari) and Stefano Pioli (Palermo) were sacked before the season began. The other firings were Gian Piero Gasperini (Inter Milan), Pierpaolo Bisoli (Bologna), Marco Giampaolo (Cesena), Sinisa Mihajlovic (Fiorentina), Massimo Ficcadenti (Cagliari), Eusebio Di Francesco (Lecce) and Devis Mangia (Palermo).

AP