NEWS
De Rossi Promotes Austrian Player: "He Stays With Us!"
Genoa wanted to test the Austrian and decided to keep him. He will even feature.
Franz Stolz, David Puczka, and Elias Havel – three Austrian players – are in Genoa's squad.
While Havel and Puczka featured in the Cup (Havel even scored in the 4-1 win over Ascoli), the league opener against Napoli saw no Austrian players in action. Stolz and Puczka spent 90 minutes on the bench, while Havel was out injured.
However, there is good news for Stolz. Head coach Daniele de Rossi (43) wanted to take a closer look at him during pre-season. The 25-year-old joined the club in 2024 as the third-choice goalkeeper, having spent the past spring on loan at GAK.
Promotion to Number Two
The club wanted to ascertain whether to loan him out again or if he was already good enough to be the number two. "Stolz stays with us as number two," De Rossi clarified ahead of the league opener. This makes him the first-choice backup for the first time, with Dutchman Justin Bijlow (28) being the number one goalkeeper.
In the Cup, however, Bijlow will likely make way for Stolz at least once. According to reports, the Austrian has been assured of playing in the match against FC Südtirol in mid-September.
