2006–07 U.S. Città di Palermo season

U.S. Città di Palermo played the season 2006–07 in the Serie A league. It has been the third season in a row for Palermo in the top division of Italy.

U.S. Città di Palermo
2006–07 season
ChairmanMaurizio Zamparini
ManagerFrancesco Guidolin (Days 1–33, 36–38)
Renzo Gobbo (Days 34–36)
Serie A5th (UEFA Cup)
UEFA CupGroup stage
Coppa ItaliaRound of 16
Top goalscorerLeague: Eugenio Corini (10)
All: Eugenio Corini and David Di Michele (10)
Highest home attendance34,261 (vs Catania – 20 September 2006)
Lowest home attendance8,521 (vs Sampdoria – 30 November 2006)

Review and events

Palermo initially ended the 2005–06 season in eighth place, and thus was expected to play the UEFA Intertoto Cup 2006. Meanwhile, Francesco Guidolin was re-hired at Giuseppe Papadopulo's place. However, due to the Serie A scandal of 2006, the FIGC had stated they would not enter Palermo into the Intertoto Cup.

After the verdicts penalized numerous clubs, Palermo's overall position for that season was elevated to 5th, meaning they had qualified for the 2006–2007 UEFA Cup. In the transfer window, Palermo spent millions adding players to their squad, including Aimo Diana, Mark Bresciano, Fábio Simplício and Amauri, but sold World Cup winner Fabio Grosso to Internazionale. Several football experts and pundits tipped Palermo to do well in the season ahead, including Alessandro Del Piero.[1]

They started well by knocking out English side West Ham United in the UEFA Cup. However, this time around the group stage proved to be more difficult than the previous year, and Palermo finished last in a group that contained Celta de Vigo, Eintracht Frankfurt, Fenerbahçe SK and Newcastle United.

For the first time in its history Palermo sat on top of the Serie A table in September 2006 after beating Catania 5–3 at home in the Sicilian derby. Another notable victory, was a 2–0 away win to AC Milan at San Siro stadium. A serious knee injury for Amauri caused Palermo to replace the powerful striker, and Uruguayan Edinson Cavani and Polish Radosław Matusiak were signed in the Winter transfer market, together with midfielders Maurizio Ciaramitaro and Guillermo Giacomazzi.

On 2 February 2007 Palermo was involved in a controversial away Sicilian derby match which was suspended for 30 minutes during the second half after some tear gas explosions from outside the stadium, used by the police to minimize hooliganism outside the Massimino Stadium, drifted onto the playing area. After the match, violence went on and policeman Filippo Raciti was killed by a small explosive launched by a Catania hooligan.[2] This led Commissioner Luca Pancalli to suspend indefinitely football leagues and national team matches in the whole country. Following these events Palermo, which was clearly third-placed at the time, was not able to achieve a single victory, and dropped to sixth position in the Serie A. Maurizio Zamparini, the chairman, became more and more critical of Guidolin, who was finally sacked on 23 April following a 3–4 home defeat to third-last placed Parma which extended the run of poor results to 11 games without a single win. Assistant coach Renzo Gobbo and youth team coach Rosario Pergolizzi were subsequently appointed as caretaker coaches at Guidolin's place.[3] On their debut match, Pergolizzi and Gobbo led Palermo to a 2–1 away win at Livorno, finally ending the negative run.[4] The victory was however followed by two further defeats, including an upset 3–2 away loss against last-placed team Ascoli, already relegated to Serie B, which left the rosanero in seventh place, the last UEFA Cup spot, only three points above Atalanta. The events led Zamparini to reappoint Guidolin as head coach for the remaining two matches.[5] Guidolin's return brought two victories, to Siena[6] and Udinese, clinched fifth place in the final table, qualification to the UEFA Cup 2007-08 for the third consecutive time and broke its previous record of 53 points of two years before.[7]

Match results

Serie A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
3 Lazio[lower-alpha 1] 38 18 11 9 59 33 +26 62 Qualification to Champions League third qualifying round
4 Milan[lower-alpha 1] 38 19 12 7 57 36 +21 61 Qualification to Champions League group stage[lower-alpha 2]
5 Palermo 38 16 10 12 58 51 +7 58 Qualification to UEFA Cup first round
6 Fiorentina[lower-alpha 1] 38 21 10 7 62 31 +31 58
7 Empoli 38 14 12 12 42 43 1 54
Source:
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
  1. Fiorentina were docked 15 points, Reggina 11 points, Milan 8 points and Lazio 3 points, all for involvement in the 2006 Italian football scandal.
  2. Milan qualified for 2007–08 UEFA Champions League group stage instead of third qualifying round as the title holders.
Legend
Win Draw Loss
Date and timeOpponentVenueResultScorersAttendance
10 September 2006 – 15.00 Reggina Home Won 4–3 Bresciano, Biava, Corini, Amauri 24,509
17 September 2006 – 15.00 Lazio Away Won 2–1 Di Michele (2) 20,395
20 September 2006 – 20.30 Catania Home Won 5–3 Tedesco, Simplício, Corini, Amauri, Barzagli 34,261
24 September 2006 – 15.00 Empoli Away Lost 0–2 4,672
1 October 2006 – 20.30 Chievo Away Won 1–0 Corini 6,184
15 October 2006 – 15.00 Atalanta Home Lost 2–3 Bresciano, Corini 21,716
22 October 2006 – 20.30 AC Milan Away Won 2–0 Bresciano, Amauri 50,028
25 October 2006 – 20.30 Messina Home Won 2–1 Zaccardo, Di Michele 28,547
29 October 2006 – 15.00 Fiorentina Away Won 3–2 Di Michele, Amauri (2) 34,050
5 November 2006 – 15.00 Sampdoria Home Won 2–0 Corini, Zaccardo 22,244
12 November 2006 – 15.00 Torino Home Won 3–0 Corini, Di Michele, Amauri 26,642
18 November 2006 – 20.30 Cagliari Away Lost 0–1 Bresciano, Biava, Corini, Amauri ?
26 November 2006 – 20.30 Inter Home Lost 1–2 Amauri 34,095
3 December 2006 – 15.00 Parma Away Drew 0–0 14,173
9 December 2006 – 20.30 Livorno Home Won 3–0 Simplício (2), Amauri 20,441
17 December 2006 – 20.30 AS Roma Away Lost 0–4 40,124
20 December 2006 – 20.30 Ascoli Home Won 4–0 Bresciano, Corini, Tedesco, Capuano 19,485
23 December 2006 – 15.00 Siena Away Drew 1–1 Simplício 6,411
14 January 2007 – 15.00 Udinese Home Won 2–0 Caracciolo, Zaccardo 20,913
20 January 2007 – 20.30 Reggina Away Drew 0–0 11,745
27 January 2007 – 20.30 Lazio Home Lost 0–3 22,453
2 February 2007 – 18.00 Catania Away Won 2–1 Caracciolo, Di Michele 21,000
11 February 2007 – 15.00 Empoli Home Lost 0–1 19,144
18 February 2007 – 15.00 Chievo Home Drew 1–1 Di Michele 22,057
24 February 2007 – 20.30 Atalanta Away Drew 1–1 Diana 8,092
28 February 2007 – 15.00 AC Milan Home Drew 0–0 25,361
4 March 2007 – 15.00 Messina Away Lost 0–2 11,521
11 March 2007 – 15.00 Fiorentina Home Drew 1–1 Cavani 22,476
17 March 2007 – 20.30 Sampdoria Away Drew 1–1 Cavani 17,596
1 April 2007 – 15.00 Torino Away Drew 0–0 20,932
7 April 2007 – 15.00 Cagliari Home Lost 1–3 Bresciano 21,655
15 April 2007 – 20.30 Inter Away Drew 2–2 Caracciolo, Zaccardo 46,611
22 April 2007 – 20.30 Parma Home Lost 3–4 Bresciano, Di Michele, Zaccardo 21,472
29 April 2007 – 15.00 Livorno Away Won 2–1 Corini, Di Michele 7,750
6 May 2007 – 15.00 AS Roma Home Lost 1–2 Tedesco 24,680
13 May 2007 – 15.00 Ascoli Away Lost 2–3 Simplício, Matusiak 4,352
20 May 2007 – 15.00 Siena Home Won 2–1 Corini, Caracciolo 20,043
27 May 2007 – 15.00 Udinese Away Won 2–1 Caracciolo, Corini 5,000

UEFA Cup

Date and timeRoundOpponentVenueResultScorersAttendance
14 September 2006 – 21.00 1st round – 1st Leg West Ham United Away Won 1–0 Caracciolo 32,222[8]
28 September 2006 – 20.45 1st round – 2nd Leg West Ham United Home Won 3–0 Simplício (2), Di Michele 19,284[9]
19 October 2006 – 18.15 Group Stage Eintracht Frankfurt Away Won 2–1 Brienza, Zaccardo 50,000[10]
2 November 2006 – 20.45 Group Stage Newcastle Home Lost 0–1 16,091[11]
23 November 2006 – 19.00 Group Stage Fenerbahçe Away Lost 0–3 39,071[12]
13 December 2006 – 20.45 Group Stage Celta Vigo Home Drew 1–1 Tedesco 10,222[13]

Coppa Italia

Date and timeRoundOpponentVenueResultScorersAttendance
8 November 2006 – 20.30 Round of 16 – 1st Leg Sampdoria Away Lost 0–1 9,120
30 November 2006 – 21.00 Round of 16 – 2nd Leg Sampdoria Home Lost 2–3 Guana, Brienza 8,521

Player details

No. Pos Nat Player TotalSerie AUEFA CupCoppa Italia
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
1 GK Federico Agliardi 11-177+2-131-11-3
12 GK Alberto Fontana 35-3631-384200
20 GK Salvatore Sirigu 2-4001-31-1
2 DF Cristian Zaccardo 42635+154+1110
15 DF Hernán Paolo Dellafiore 1305+203+1020
16 DF Mattia Cassani 36022+704+1020
21 DF Giuseppe Biava 27122+211+2000
26 DF Marco Pisano 39030+305010
32 DF Ciro Capuano 912+511+1000
43 DF Andrea Barzagli (vice-captain) 4213615010
53 DF Alberto Cossentino 30001020
4 MF Giovanni Tedesco 3148+1832+1120
5 MF Eugenio Corini (captain) 291027102000
8 MF Aimo Diana 28120+512+1000
14 MF Roberto Guana 40129+403+3011
18 MF Guillermo Giacomazzi 700+700000
22 MF Maurizio Ciaramitaro 603+300000
23 MF Mark Bresciano 39632+263+1010
30 MF Fábio Simplício 40732+154+1220
50 MF Nicola Ficano 30001020
90 MF Franco Brienza 2929+1303+2121
7 FW Edinson Cavani 724+320000
9 FW Radosław Matusiak 311+210000
10 FW Andrea Caracciolo 35617+1056120
11 FW Amauri 19817+180010
17 FW David Di Michele 331028+193+1100
Players sold or loaned out during the January transfer market:
3 DF Cesare Bovo 200+100010
18 MF Francesco Parravicini 1401+704+1010
22 MF Gianni Munari 50003020

January transfer market bids

In
18 MF  URU Guillermo Giacomazzi (on loan from Lecce)
22 MF  ITA Maurizio Ciaramitaro (loan return from Parma)
7 FW  URU Edinson Cavani (from Danubio)
9 FW  POL Radosław Matusiak (from GKS Bełchatów)
Out
3 DF  ITA Cesare Bovo (loaned to Torino)
18 MF  ITA Francesco Parravicini (loaned to Parma, co-owned with Fiorentina)
22 MF  ITA Gianni Munari (loaned to Lecce)

See also

References

  1. "Another kicking for southern Italy's football". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 27 May 2007. Retrieved 4 May 2007.
  2. "Italian league halted by violence". BBC News. 2 February 2007. Retrieved 4 May 2007.
  3. "Palermo dismiss Guidolin as coach". CNN. Retrieved 4 May 2007.
  4. "Best possible start for Gobbo". Sporting Life. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 4 May 2007.
  5. "Soccer-Sacked Guidolin returns to coach Palermo". Reuters. 14 May 2007. Retrieved 14 May 2007.
  6. "Palermo 2 – 1 Siena". Channel 4. Archived from the original on 19 May 2007. Retrieved 21 May 2007.
  7. "Guidolin expects Palermo departure". Tribal Football. Archived from the original on 23 May 2007. Retrieved 21 May 2007.
  8. "West Ham 0 – 1 Palermo". ESPN Soccernet. Retrieved 16 September 2007.
  9. "Palermo 3–0 West Ham: Sicilian massacre". ESPN Soccernet. Retrieved 16 September 2007.
  10. "Eintracht Frankfurt 1–2 Palermo: Zaccardo late strike". ESPN Soccernet. Retrieved 16 September 2007.
  11. "Palermo 0 – 1 Newcastle". ESPN Soccernet. Retrieved 16 September 2007.
  12. "Fenerbahce 3 – 0 Palermo". ESPN Soccernet. Retrieved 16 September 2007.
  13. "Palermo 1 – 1 Celta Vigo". ESPN Soccernet. Retrieved 16 September 2007.
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