Palermo

A week ago, Palermo made an official communication on their website that they had hired Giuseppe Sannino to be the new coach of the club. 

Now, a coaching change at this stage of the campaign would not be particularly out of the norm were it not the fifth managerial appointment of the season. 

But then again, this situation is nothing new when it comes to eccentric owner Maurizio Zamparini, a man who already fired five different managers during the 1994-95 season with the now-defunct Calcio Venezia. 

Zamparini has really set the new standard when it comes to outlandish owner behavior. Look no further than this season, as his Palermo side is rotting at the bottom of the Serie A table with a relegation to the second division all but booked.

It's impossible to even begin to build a semblance of team chemistry if the coaches are being changed as much as his dirty laundry, and the usual stamp of authority that any coach would hope to instill within his dressing room is nearly impossible when the players are so used to a frantic managerial merry-go-round.

In the 26 years that Zamparini has been a club president, he has changed 41 coaches. 41. Let that resonate for a second. Palermo have changed more coaches this season—five—than they've won games—three.

Here is the managerial breakdown for this season: Giuseppe Sannino opened the campaign at the helm, but only lasted until September, when they brought in Gianpiero Gasperini.

Convert a month of coaching at Palermo into dog years, and you'll start seeing that Gasperini's four month reign of failure with the club was actually considered a respectable duration. 

Adding to the chaos, likable GM Pietro Lo Monaco resigned, saying that it became impossible to work with Zamparini, as the owner wanted to do everything himself.

With the team languishing at the bottom of the table with no hope of salvation—after a bizarre January transfer window which brought in a slew of average Argentinians—Gasperini was fired in February in place of Alberto Malesani. It was a sacking which Zamparini said was due to the players not being able to get along with the former.

Confused yet? There's more.

Zampa became fed up with his new coach after two matches which produced only one point (which is actually a good record considering their season), and sacked Malesani (though he is still contracted to the club) in favor of Gasperini. Does that name ring a bell?

Apparently unable to rekindle a wary relationship with the players, Gasperini's second tenure in one season lasted only a few weeks as well, as the Giuseppe Sannino week-to-week era was given another go.

After Sannino's 2-0 loss to Milan—which owner Zamparini blamed on the referees—you'd imagine a sixth coaching change is in the works. 

It's no surprise that Palermo ultras were caught on video yelling expletives and kicking Zamparini's car when he drove out of a parking lot. They're also understandably unhappy that their beloved captain Fabrizio Miccoli has been phased out of Palermo after Zampa said he had given nothing to the team.

For a proud city in Sicily that loves its football, it's a shame to see their club turned into a running comedy for the rest of the world to mock. 

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Regular followers of Serie A will be all too aware of the managerial merry-go-round that continues throughout the season. Notorious for their opinionated and fiery owners, clubs in Italy are often making changes at the top.

It is a celebrated fact that so many home-grown tacticians are in charge of clubs in the top tier, with Lazio the only team with a foreign coach in Vladimir Petkovic.

However, with a number of teams struggling at the wrong end of the table, there are question marks over several individuals in the midst of the business end of the season.

When discussing fiery chairmen and managerial changes in Italy though, the first name that will always come up in conversation is Palermo patron Maurizio Zamparini.

With a history of sacking managers at will, Zamparini has been no less quiet so far this season as he welcomes Gian Piero Gasperini back for his second stint at the club, and the fourth change of the campaign.

The Rosanero started the season with Giuseppe Sannino, who only lasted until September. He was replaced by Gasperini who was then sacked in February, and was himself replaced by Alberto Malesani.

To add to all the confusion and disruption, Malesani lasted just three games before being sacked, with Zamparini recalling Gasperini.

Palermo are currently rooted to the bottom of the Serie A table, and unless Gasperini can get an immediate reaction from the players, it is difficult to look beyond him for the first man on the chopping block given Zamparini's track record.

Elsewhere, fellow strugglers Genoa, Siena and Pescara will all be feeling the strain as they look to escape the relegation zone.

Davide Ballardini and Giuseppe Iachini will no doubt be looking over their shoulder as they fight to preserve Genoa and Siena's Serie A statuses respectively.

However, it is Pescara boss Cristiano Bergodi who could be in the most trouble, as earlier this month Roma made the decision to part ways with Zdenek Zeman.

Given Zeman's work at Pescara last season, where he played a vital role in their promotion to Serie A, should Bergodi fail to inspire his men to move away from the drop the temptation to bring back Zeman could have an adverse effect on Bergodi's future.

However unlikely his potential sacking, Inter coach Andrea Stramaccioni has also been made to deal with his fair share of pressure.

After the highs of emerging as genuine title contenders after their win over Juventus in Turin back in November, the Nerazzurri have slightly faltered domestically.

While their form in Europe hasn't suffered, Stramaccioni couldn't quite get it right in Serie A, but the fact his side remain just three points adrift of third place suggests he won't have to worry about his future just yet.

Going forward, Inter owner Massimo Moratti has backed his coach to produce the results when speaking to the official Inter site, and after their Derby draw on Sunday against Milan, they will both hope they can now put together a run of results to leap-frog Lazio and their city rivals.

The rumours that have been circulating about Fabrizio Miccoli leaving Palermo or planning to retire were addressed as false by Miccoli in an interview with the club's official website. 

The 32-year-old Italian has always expressed his love for his hometown club of Lecce, and it was believed that Miccoli would return to his native province to cap off his football career. 

However, Miccoli revealed in an interview posted on Palermo's website that there's a good chance that he will end his career at Renzo Barbera. 

“Palermo is a second home for me, because of the relationship I have with the people," Miccoli said. "I was able to enter the history of this club and for me it is a fixed point. I hope to stay and again give my contribution."

He then elaborated on his plans for the back-end of his career. 

“I believe that I will end my career here, then we’ll see. At least I hope to be a fixed point. I am fortunate to have people like Migliaccio and Balzaretti here.

“We are the old players who have the responsibility of raising the younger ones who come from far away," Miccoli said about his veteran role on the team. "You have to help them acclimatise and make them express themselves well."

Miccoli has been with Palermo for five seasons and has scored 54 goals with 26 assists for the Aquile.

Palermo has had a mediocre 2011-12 season so far and currently sits at No. 9 on the Serie A league table.

The Aquile began the season with a 4-3 win against Inter Milan in which Miccoli scored two goals (one of which was in the 86th minute) and had one assist. 

However, Palermo hasn't fared well against the top of the table and has lost all of their matches against AC Milan, Udinese and Juventus. 

“We do a good job, continue on this road, but it’s not easy, it takes time, especially when we change so much,” Miccoli reflected. 

Miccoli has scored four goals in 10 appearances as a starter in the Serie A this season. 

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Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini is a character in his own right. The club president never ceases to amaze with his antics, the latest of which being his decision to challenge the action of Javier Pastore's agent regarding the transfer of the Argentinian to PSG for a lucrative €42 Million. The reports come after Zamparini filed a complaint to the Prosecutor of Palermo.

According to Goal.com, Zamparini is not happy with the actions of the agent involved in the transfer.  (Marcelo Simonian). According to Palermo, "The Argentina international moved to the Ligue 1 side for €42 million in the summer, but part of the transfer fee went to the playmaker's adviser Marcelo Simonian, and his company Ten Football Corporation."

The South American made proved to be a massive impact at Palermo last season, scoring a bunch of goals for the club. He was tipped to be moving to the Spanish La Liga, but eventually agreed to a move to Paris Saint German.

Simonian's company TFC, gained €12.5 million of the sale. Such a figure almost prevented the whole deal from ever going ahead. You would have to think, is €12.5 million for the sale of a player is a bit excessive? Considering the player's rights predominately lie with the club,

The Italian club will enlist the help of the Core Tax Financial Police to sort out the finer legal matters of the case. It would seem that Palermo had an Italian Job done on them!

Argentinean midfield dynamo Javier Pastore looks set to depart Palermo by the end the week, according to reports surfacing today.

The news came following a radio interview with Palermo owner Mauizio Zamparini, a man famous for rarely mincing his words.

Speaking on Italian radio, Zamparini explained that Palermo “are in the decisive days now” and that “the only thing that is certain is that [Pastore] is going abroad”

However, when quizzed on Pastore’s potential destination, Zamparini remained tight lipped about the young midfielder’s plans saying:

“Pastore is just one of a few world class players but I won’t say where he is going, even under torture.”

The Palermo chief did reveal though that the fee would be “between €40 million [£34.9m] and €50m [£43.6m]," for the star.

Italian media giants Sky Sport Italia have today exclusively revealed that newly wealthy French side Paris Saint Germain that have won the race to sign Pastore.

Premier League side Chelsea had long been favourites to sign the playmaker, but the newly wealthy Dubai backed French giants are now thought to be closing in on a deal.

It would wrap up an exciting few days for Paris Saint Germain fans, after the club completed a big money move for Roma’s French star Jeremy Menez.

It would also signal a major seed change in the power dynamics of European football, with French clubs usually positioned as feeders to the more prestigious Serie A giants of AC Milan, Inter and Juventus.

Sky Sport Italia now believe that a deal between Pastore and Paris Saint Germain could be signed as early as Friday.

Mauricio Zamparini announced his resignation as President of Palermo and that he is putting the club for sale. The announcement was published at the Palermo website.

He announced his resignation as a response to his team's loss to AC Milan on November 10, 2010. Zamparini also lamented the state of Italian football and the "biased referees" in the game.

In his resignation speech, Zamparini lamented the "loss of sports values in football and had hoped things would change." He went on to say that "the battle was fought and that (he) was defeated by the "pseudo-sports world."

He also added that "younger managers" are needed to continue to fight the battles for the club and Italian football.

Zamparini thanked the fans and the club for their support and asked for continuous support of Palermo.

There are people who think that this latest news is just another outburst from Zamparini. According to these experts, Zamparini has made such threats with emotional outbursts before and then retracted them.

They also base their reason on Palermo being a club from southern Italy while AC Milan Inter, and Juventus (of northern Italy) are dominant.

Regardless, there are people who are of the opinion that Italian football is in need of rejuvenation and cleaning up. It is something that will have to be decided by the Italian Football Association itself.

It remains to be seen whether Zamparini will continue with his threat.

When discussions regarding the best football player in the world take place at coffee shops, bars and any other venue fans around the world meet, the names that are thrown out the most are probably Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Of course there are other names that are also discussed. And usually these players play for clubs in London or Manchester, England. Some play for clubs in Barcelona or Madrid Spain and or Milan or Torino, Italy.

One player who probably doesn’t enter into any of these conversations but maybe should doesn’t play in any of the above mentioned cities.

Instead it on the island of Sicily where you will find a player that has the potential to be the best player in the world. He still has maturing to do, but Javier Pastore is certainly the best player to have ever played his trade in Sicily.

While lots of people have been given titles of ‘potential’, the only thing that might be holding him back from becoming more widely discussed as one of the world’s best is the fact that he is he doesn’t play for an elite club.

The 21-year-old Argentine is in his second season with Palermo, the team that plays in Sicily’s largest city.

An attacking midfielder who stands 1.87 meters (6-foot-2), Pastore is blessed with an amazing touch and excellent vision. His all-around game that is very similar to that of Brazilian star Kaka of Real Madrid. He was the youngest player on Argentina’s team in the World Cup, but played  briefly in just two matches.

Pastore’s name has consistently been mentioned in transfer talks of late. But Pastore doesn’t seem to mind playing in Sicily. He had opportunities to play in England, Spain and or one of the Milan clubs, when he decided to move to Sicily in the summer of 2009. Palermo paid about 6 million euros for him, a value that has since skyrocketed.

When asked about transfer talks, Pastore has come out an publicly stated that he is not worth 50 million euros, which is believed to be what Palermo would ask for if a club is to take their star away. Both Real Madrid and Barcelona are among the many teams that have sought his services.

You would argue he is correct. Pastore is probably worth more than 50 million. And it is for that reason that Palermo owner Maurizio Zamperini is in no hurry to cash in on his most recent superstar. In past years Palermo has earned a lot of cash in the transfer market through the sales of forwards Luca Toni and Amauri.

But neither of those of players commanded anything close to what it will take for another club to pry him away from Sicily.

After six matches in Serie A this season, Pastore has scored three goals. He also has one in four appearances in the Europa League.

Two weeks ago,  Pastore showed his true worth when he led his side to a 3-1 away victory over Juventus. In the match, Pastore had four shots on target and drove the Bianconeri defense crazy.

One has to remember that Pastore has done this while playing without the two forwards he worked with last season. Edinson Cavani, who is the shares the league lead with five goals, has moved on to Napoli and Fabrizio Miccoli has been out after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament late last season.

Despite the losses of Cavani, Miccoli and top defender Simon Kjaer, who was sold to German side Wolsburg, Pastore has kept Palermo in the top half of the Serie A standings.

If Pastore continues to play with more consistency like he has in some recent games, it will not be long before his name starts getting thrown into the mix when conversations of the world’s best players come up.