The news that Italian club Palermo have finally announced a new president will bring a wry smile to the faces of any football fans who know anything about the Sicilian club.
Famous for their wonderful pink strips, they are sadly better known for their eccentric owner and outgoing president, Maurizio Zamparini.
This week it was announced that Giovanni Giammarva would replace 75-year-old Zamparini, who has been at the helm for the last 15 years.
In that relatively short time, Zamparini has made roughly 40 coaching changes – even sacking the same manager three times in the same season.
He makes the infamous Silvio Berlusconi seem like a saint in comparison and even betters the legendary Perugia chairman Luciano Gaucci (he who tried to sign a female player, sign Colonel Gaddafi’s son and attempted to release South Korean striker Ahn Jung-hwan, whose goal knocked Italy out of the 2002 World Cup.)
And yet – he will be fondly remembered by many fans for bringing The Rosanero the best spell in their history.
In 2004-05 they kept their manager for the entire season and had such household names as Luca Toni, Fabio Grosso, Cristian Zaccardo, Simone Barone and Andrea Barzagli (who all went on to win the World Cup in 2006) all lining up for them at the Stadio Renzo Barbera. They even qualified for Europe in their first season back in the top flight (under former Swansea City manager Francesco Guidolin).
Two fifth-placed finishes followed and the club became known as a hotbed for nurturing young talent with stellar names such as Edinson Cavani, Fabrizio Miccoli, Salvatore Sirigu, Simon Kjær, Javier Pastore and Paulo Dybala all learning their trade in the island’s capital.
Between 2004 and 2011 Palermo only dropped out of the top 10 in Serie A once, yet that still did not stop the millionaire businessman from hiring and firing coaches at will. Sadly the success was not sustainable and they were finally relegated in 2016-17.
In a 12-month period starting in November 2015, Zamparini changed manager 11 times, using eight different coaches.
Ultimately he fell out with too many people. Coaches, players, and fans turned on him and the result was inevitable.
Zamaparini announced he was stepping down in February and the recent announcement on his successor finally puts to bed a chapter that will never be forgotten in Italian football.
