Football Season Guide

1 year: that is how long Palermo’s permanence in Serie B lasted following their incredible relegation from the top flight of the Italian football. Their past campaign was a very triumphal one as they dominated the league netting a record 86 points and their promotion was never at risk. After all, coach Iachini has always proved to be very effective when it comes to leading a team from the Serie B to the Serie A. He had already succeeded doing it with Chievo Verona, Brescia and Sampdoria. On the other hand, his experiences at the top level have not been quite as exciting. If we consider this and the fact that his football is far from glamorous, being hyper-defensive and exploitative, one may predict some problems in the next future with volcanic President Zamparini, a renowned coach-killer. As occurred in the previous seasons, the transfer campaign has not been particularly promising. Having no stars to sell, they usually traded them for unknown youngsters, and that cost them the relegation in the end, Palermo have not been particularly active if not trying to preserve and to give some depth to the squad that won the league. Lafferty is the sole remarkable loss: he was let go to Norwich as he was not considered too much of a professional. On the other hand, Verre’s and Stevanovic’s loans naturally came to an end. The main signing is represented by Rigoni, from Chievo Verona, who is bound to become the anchor in the middle of the park. Other than that, Chochev in the midfield, Quaison in the attack and Feddal in defence could be some interesting additions. Palermo might need some more quality in defence and in the midfield while the attack could represent their strength with Dybala, Vazquez, Hernandez and Belotti all promising goals. Sorrentino and Ujkani are contending for the place as starter in goals.