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| | Wednesday 26 March, 2008 | | Blog: Rosy Horizons | | After another Maurizio Zamparini sacking, James Horncastle questions how anybody is supposed to succeed at Palermo |  |  | | Sicily’s most famous contemporary writer Andrea Camilleri once described his fellow islanders as ‘weather-pathetic’, in the sense that their moods can be both calm and tempestuous, fresh and thundery. While Palermo President Maurizio Zamparini is not a native Sicilian he appears to have fully acclimatised, becoming an honorary citizen and guiding the Rosanero through one of the stormiest and unpredictable seasons in their history.
Speaking after Palermo’s 3-2 defeat to Genoa at the Renzo Barbera last Saturday, Coach Francesco Guidolin cited “the infernal climate” created, allegedly, by the club and the fans as the reason for the Rosanero’s failure. He had a point. Supporters were seen in the stadium holding aloft banners reading ‘VIA TUTTI’ – get rid of everyone.
Guidolin had been criticised by his President throughout last week for losing the confidence of his players after a string of defeats saw them fall away from the UEFA Cup places and into mid-table mediocrity. The 52-year-old tactician was fired from the Palermitano bench after losing three games on the bounce, but how could Guidolin possibly be expected to achieve anything in such a hostile environment?
Not a week goes by without a sound-bite from Zampa. The former owner of Venezia has, in this season alone, branded his players “a squad of little girls”, accused the team of having “no honour” and routinely attempted to show, through the media, how Guidolin’s tactics were “not working at the club” by, for example, remarking how Azzurri defender Andrea Barzagli consistently plays better for Italy than Palermo.
What makes these tirades all the more absurd is that Zamparini labelled Guidolin “the best tactician in the world” on his arrival in November! Strange given he’d already sacked him twice in his career.
One must surely question why Zamparini appointed Guidolin at all, besides financial expediency – the former Monaco trainer was still bizarrely contracted to the club. Stefano Colantuono returns, a la Guidolin, barely four months after receiving the chop, a la Zamparini, having led Palermo to sixth place in the table. The Roman lost his job after going down 2-1 to Napoli and 5-0 to Juventus despite being unbeaten in the previous eight matches.
What kind of a football club undermines the technical staff, loses all faith in them and gives them the chop only to welcome them back with open arms a couple of months later? Well, Cagliari are actually fairly similar but hey, Zampa did tell Colantuono on his reappointment that Palermo are even worse than the bottom-placed Sardinians!
Maybe it’s an island thing and Zamparini feels isolated from the action on the peninsula, necessitating a sustained media campaign to keep Palermo in the Press. After all, on becoming President in 2002 he made Palermo play, primarily, in pink again for the first time in years to make them stand out and if that didn’t work, his 23rd dismissal in 21 years, perhaps, will.
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