Palermo had bigger ambitions last year
The Sicilians hoped for much more. They announced that they will fight for Champions League and at the end of the season they have lost even a European space. To be honest, president Zamparini won't be sorry for missing UEFA Cup. Once again we saw the island temper when Colantuono have been sacked after a couple of bad results and at the moment when they had 6th position in their hands. His replacement Francesco Guidolin took the charge of Palermo for 4th time, but after another string of bad results he had been sacked and Colantuano taken back to finish the season. If it is strange for you to hear about this kind of management, we have to say that it started to be a common thing for Italian clubs. After sacking the coach, club is usually paying their contracts to keep them at the club to bring them back to the bench after some time. Colantuono will be in charge at the start of the new season, and only Zamparini knows for how long. As he is the one who has money and who is paying all the bills in the club, he can behave like dictator and do whatever he wants. Atmosphere in and around of the club is pretty bad. Barbera is usually full, but if they do not see result after 15 minutes fans are starting to protest. It is the main reason why Palermo players have been under big pressure and why they have lost the points against small clubs. On the other hand, they won against Milan, Fiorentina and Juventus, took a draw against Inter.
Lot of changes in the club
There is no other club in Serie A that will start new season with more changes in the team. Palermo earned more then 60 millions by selling their best players Amauri, Barzagli and Zaccardo among others. Zamparini opted for youngsters even he had money at disposal after selling the star players. He took Italy U21 skipper Nocerino and extremely talented Lanzafame from Juve in part-exchange deal for Amauri. Lanzafame could be real deal as he had great season at Bari where he proved that he could be the future of Italian team. Also, they solved the goalkeeper problems by adding Marco Amelia from Livorno. They brought a few more solid players like De Mela from Le Mans and invest a lot in defensive line after selling complete last season defense. Raggi, bovo, Dellafiore, Carrozzieri are experienced players, but will definitely need some time to get together. Liverani will be the key player in the midfield, something that Palermo heavily missed after Corini departure. If it should be judged by pre-season, starting lineup will be with 7 or 8 new players and with only Miccoli, Balzaretti and Migliaccio from the last season squad.
In
Amelia (Livorno), Liverani (Fiorentina), Dellafiore (Torino), Bovo (Genoa), Carrozzieri (Atalanta), Raggi (Empoli), Lanzafame, Nocerino (Juventus), Budan (Parma), Ciaramitaro (Chievo), De Melo (Le Mans), Kjaer (Midtjyttland)
Out
Amauri, Barzagli, Zaccardo, Biava, Cazerta, Rinaudo, Agliardi
Betting verdict
Even Italian press is not clear what to expect from Palermo this year. Are they stronger or not? Key players are out, but again they brought replacements. Ex-director Rino Foschi did good job before he moved to Genoa. It is clear that this is the new team, with high ambitions as always, but they will need some time which could be a problem at Palermo. They are not a normal club. With president interfering in everything and lot of pressure on the players, it will be hell of the job to match the ambitions of the fans and the board. After one or two defeats, both players and the coach will be under the big pressure and doubts. It is the main reason why their results are pretty bad in last couple of years. Amauri is big loss, but De Melo is similar type of player, and with Miccoli he could prove his class. Lanzafema could be the real deal this year also. On the other hand, losing internationals Berzagli and Zaccardo will not be a big problem. They have been out of the form for the whole last year, and Bovo, Carozzieri and talented Raggi can surprise. Almelia is excellent solution at the goal, even vet Fontana did good job last year.
Palermo will certainly be without relegation problems, but midtable is their maximum. We can not see them in Top 7 race, but they should not be underestimated and if team get together and start the season with a couple of good results they couls achieve more then last year.
Our tip: Stefano Colantuono to be first sacked coach in Serie A
Odds 6.00
Bookmaker: Bet365
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