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Palermo's managerial merry-go-round this season is truly head-spinning

There are many words that could be used to describe Maurizio Zamparini's presidency of US Citta d...



Palermo's managerial merry...
Soccer

Palermo's managerial merry-go-round this season is truly head-spinning

There are many words that could be used to describe Maurizio Zamparini's presidency of US Citta di Palermo.

A few that seem very apt are "volatile" or "volcanic", such is the way in which instability has dogged his reign of the Sicilian club.

Indeed, this is a president who is seen as a manager-eater and once, perhaps jokingly for the most part, threatened that he would mix his players' privates in his salad before eating them if results didn't improve.

One of his calling cards as a Serie A club owner has been his habit of sacking managers before re-appointing the same person, often later in the same season, something current Swansea head coach Francesco Guidolin has experienced first hand.

The Italian already had one previous spell at the club when he returned to Palermo at the start of the 2006-07 campaign, only to be sacked that April. One month later, he was re-hired for a spell lasting just three weeks.

Palermo fired coach Stefano Colantuono Monday, Nov. 26, 2007 and rehired his predecessor Francesco Guidolin, a day after the Serie A team was routed 5-0 at Juventus. Colantuono joined Palermo in July after a successful spell at Atalanta, but once again failed to live up to the high expectations of Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini with four wins and six draws in 13 rounds of the Serie A. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

In November 2007, Zamparini brought him back for one more period that lasted four months, before he was sacked again.

He is not the only manager to have experienced that however, and this season has been no different in terms of maddeningly fluid managerial patterns - in fact, it may even be his most volatile to date.

Giuseppe Iachini started this season as manager, having been in charge since 2013, which is quite a long-time for a Palermo manager.

But last November, Davide Ballardini was brought into replace him, only for the latter to be in turn replaced in January after seven matches when Guillermo Barros Schelotto was promoted in a caretaker capacity.

However, he was not allowed to take charge due to the fact that he did not have the required coaching qualifications, which in fairness to Zamparini, was not the owner's decision.

Then at the end of the month, Giovanni Tedesco - a native of Palermo himself - was appointed until Schelotto got his badges completed. However, the latter's licence application request was denied by UEFA, leaving Palermo back at square one.

Youth team coach Giovanni Bosi was then entrusted with the top job, but lasted one game which he lost 3-1 to Torino in February. That turn of events even prompted Zamparini himself to ask fans for forgiveness after a "month of chaos".

Oh and guess what? Iachini, who started the season in charge, was brought back as manager again to replace Bosi.

But his return didn't last long either, as he got the boot earlier this month to pave the way for Walter Novellino, who took charge of last night's 1-0 defeat to Serie A challengers Napoli.

Iachini was removed despite Zamparini publicly backing him and claiming that he definitely wouldn't sack the manager just days earlier.

Novellino doesn't need a horoscope to know what awaits him at some point in the not-so-distant future.

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