2006–07 US 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

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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

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Serie A

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
3 Lazio[a] 38 18 11 9 59 33 +26 62 Qualification to Champions League third qualifying round
4 Milan[a] 38 19 12 7 57 36 +21 61 Qualification to Champions League group stage[b]
5 Palermo 38 16 10 12 58 51 +7 58 Qualification to UEFA Cup first round
6 Fiorentina[a] 38 21 10 7 62 31 +31 58
7 Empoli 38 14 12 12 42 43 −1 54
Source: [citation needed]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
  1. ^ a b c 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 time Opponent Venue Result Scorers Attendance
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

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Date and time Round Opponent Venue Result Scorers Attendance
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

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Date and time Round Opponent Venue Result Scorers Attendance
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

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No. Pos Nat Player Total Serie A UEFA Cup Coppa Italia
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1 GK   ITA Federico Agliardi 11 -17 7+2 -13 1 -1 1 -3
12 GK   ITA Alberto Fontana 35 -36 31 -38 4 2 0 0
20 GK   ITA Salvatore Sirigu 2 -4 0 0 1 -3 1 -1
2 DF   ITA Cristian Zaccardo 42 6 35+1 5 4+1 1 1 0
15 DF   ITA Hernán Paolo Dellafiore 13 0 5+2 0 3+1 0 2 0
16 DF   ITA Mattia Cassani 36 0 22+7 0 4+1 0 2 0
21 DF   ITA Giuseppe Biava 27 1 22+2 1 1+2 0 0 0
26 DF   ITA Marco Pisano 39 0 30+3 0 5 0 1 0
32 DF   ITA Ciro Capuano 9 1 2+5 1 1+1 0 0 0
43 DF   ITA Andrea Barzagli (vice-captain) 42 1 36 1 5 0 1 0
53 DF   ITA Alberto Cossentino 3 0 0 0 1 0 2 0
4 MF   ITA Giovanni Tedesco 31 4 8+18 3 2+1 1 2 0
5 MF   ITA Eugenio Corini (captain) 29 10 27 10 2 0 0 0
8 MF   ITA Aimo Diana 28 1 20+5 1 2+1 0 0 0
14 MF   ITA Roberto Guana 40 1 29+4 0 3+3 0 1 1
18 MF   URU Guillermo Giacomazzi 7 0 0+7 0 0 0 0 0
22 MF   ITA Maurizio Ciaramitaro 6 0 3+3 0 0 0 0 0
23 MF   AUS Mark Bresciano 39 6 32+2 6 3+1 0 1 0
30 MF   BRA Fábio Simplício 40 7 32+1 5 4+1 2 2 0
50 MF   ITA Nicola Ficano 3 0 0 0 1 0 2 0
90 MF   ITA Franco Brienza 29 2 9+13 0 3+2 1 2 1
7 FW   URU Edinson Cavani 7 2 4+3 2 0 0 0 0
9 FW   POL Radosław Matusiak 3 1 1+2 1 0 0 0 0
10 FW   ITA Andrea Caracciolo 35 6 17+10 5 6 1 2 0
11 FW   BRA Amauri 19 8 17+1 8 0 0 1 0
17 FW   ITA David Di Michele 33 10 28+1 9 3+1 1 0 0
Players sold or loaned out during the January transfer market:
3 DF   ITA Cesare Bovo 2 0 0+1 0 0 0 1 0
18 MF   ITA Francesco Parravicini 14 0 1+7 0 4+1 0 1 0
22 MF   ITA Gianni Munari 5 0 0 0 3 0 2 0

January transfer market bids

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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

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References

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  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. [dead link]
  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. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2007.
  9. ^ "Palermo 3–0 West Ham: Sicilian massacre". ESPN Soccernet. Archived from the original on 25 May 2011. Retrieved 16 September 2007.
  10. ^ "Eintracht Frankfurt 1–2 Palermo: Zaccardo late strike". ESPN Soccernet. Archived from the original on 25 May 2011. Retrieved 16 September 2007.
  11. ^ "Palermo 0 – 1 Newcastle". ESPN Soccernet. Archived from the original on 25 May 2011. Retrieved 16 September 2007.
  12. ^ "Fenerbahce 3 – 0 Palermo". ESPN Soccernet. Archived from the original on 25 May 2011. Retrieved 16 September 2007.
  13. ^ "Palermo 1 – 1 Celta Vigo". ESPN Soccernet. Archived from the original on 25 May 2011. Retrieved 16 September 2007.