Palermo aim high but Fiorentina and Lazio look to cancel deficit

Fiorentina, Lazio and Palermo are three teams considered by many as strong outsiders to the honours in the Serie A. But whereas Palermo will start their season by playing in the UEFA Cup and looking to finish as high as possible in the Serie A, the same cannot be said of Fiorentina and Lazio whose immediate aim will be to cancel a handicap of -19 and -11 points respectively.

After a turbulent 2004/05 season, during which Fiorentina escaped relegation on the very last day, a bright new dawn loomed ahead of the Viola.

New coach Cesare Prandelli and a host of new players, among whom super striker Luca Toni, were what Fiorentina needed to make a leap in quality.

And so they did as they were off to a flying start in 2005/06.

Toni's goals steered Fiorentina to the top quarters of the table. Although Fiorentina kept up with the pace of front-runners Juve, Milan and Inter for most of the season, they were never in real contention for the scudetto.

Towards the end of the season, even the fourth place was at risk for Fiorentina as Roma were snapping at their heels.

Eventually, Prandelli's men secured a Champions League spot, only to be condemned by the Italian soccer authorities for their involvement in the match-fixing scandal. It was a bitter end to an otherwise brilliant season.

In the light of all this, what looked to be a year of consolidation, 2006/07 promises to be a season of partial re-building.

This summer Fiorentina seriously risked losing Toni. The Italy striker made no bones of his intention to join a more ambitious club.

Inter were touted as being Toni's most likely destination. In the end nothing materialised and Toni stayed put, albeit one still has to see the motivation level of the player.

Fiorentina may have been successful in persuading Toni to stay but the same cannot be said of midfielders Stefano Fiore, Luis Jimenez and Christian Brocchi.

Their departure has weakened Fiorentina's midfield in no small way. To plug the gap Fiorentina signed Fabio Liverani, Massimo Gobbi, Mario Santana and Manuele Blasi. The impression is that Fiorentina's new-look midfield has lost offensively but gained defensively.

Like Fiorentina, Lazio had a fantastic 2005/06 season as then new coach Delio Rossi moulded a strong outfit with few additions of note.

For 2006/07, the ex-Salernitana and Lecce mentor has lost the services of three key players - Liverani, Ousmane Dabo (Man. City) and inspirational striker Paolo Di Canio (Cisco Roma).

Club president Claudio Lotito's failure to offer a new contract to Di Canio has sparked the ire from Lazio's die-hards (ultras).

A divide between club and supporters had been brewing week after week since last year despite the fact that Lazio were doing well in the league.

Last weekend, Lazio were ousted from the third round of the Coppa Italia by Messina after extra time. Indeed, this false start to the new season was not the take-off Rossi was expecting.

Also, one has to see how will the Massimo Oddo saga end up as the player is relishing a new lease of life... in Milan.

Guidolin's return after Ligue 1 experience

After helping Palermo win promotion to Serie A and qualify to the 2005/06 UEFA Cup, the much-travelled Francesco Guidolin quit his job insisting that he had reached his pinnacle in Sicily and the time was ripe for him to move elsewhere.

Last season, Palermo sorely missed Guidolin's tactical ploys and approach to the game.

The southerners started under the charge of Luigi Del Neri.

But the ex-Chievo and Roma coach did little to improve on what Guidolin had so meticulously left behind.

Eventually, Del Neri was shown the backdoor midway through the season. Giuseppe Papadopulo, formerly of Siena and Lazio, was given the job.

Meanwhile, even Guidolin was having a turbulent 2005/06 campaign in charge of Ligue 1 crack side Monaco.

Now, he is back at Palermo to continue where he had left off in May 2005. Guidolin's return could lift the Sicilians to high places this season.

In summer, Palermo revolutionised their midfield. They parted with World Cup winners Simone Barone (Torino) and Fabio Grosso (Inter) besides Santana and Massimo Mutarelli (both Lazio).

On the other hand, Guidolin can count on Mark Bresciano, Fabio Simplicio and Aimo Diana.

It was a known fact that last season, Palermo's weakest point was their goalkeeper.

Although it looks like a stop-gap solution, they have acquired the services of veteran Alberto Fontana. The 39-year-old is coming from a brilliant season with Chievo. His experience could be useful for Palermo.