On Sunday, Fiorentina handed Palermo their first defeat in 10 games to revive their chances of a top-three finish.
Despite the setback, the Sicilians were lauded for the way they fought back in a game they had to do without their most in-form player in Paulo Dybala. The Argentine felt a muscular problem in the pre-match warm-up.
However, with 25 points, Giuseppe Iachini’s side are well on track to extend their stay among the Italian elite by another season, albeit with 30 goals against they have the fourth worst defensive record in the entire division.
The secret behind Palermo’s fine showings this season is having kept faith with coach Iachini despite a rather shaky start.
The Sicilians were knocked out of the Coppa Italia as early as the third qualifying round following a shock 0-3 home upset to Serie B side Modena.
The squad remained practically unchanged to the one that ran away with the 2013/14 Serie B with experienced midfielder Luca Rigoni (Chievo) being the club’s main signing in the close season.
Uruguay international striker Abel Hernandez was sold to Hull City for €12m a few hours before the end of the summer transfer window.
In Serie A, Palermo collected a mere three points from the first six matches and recorded their first win of the season on the seventh day when beating lowly Cesena.
With club president and owner Maurizio Zamparini notorious for hiring and sacking coaches at will, Iachini was always in danger of losing his job.
Incidentally, exactly a year before in September 2013, former Italy and Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso had become the umpteenth coach Zamparini sacked in 11 years since he took over the club from the late Franco Sensi. The writing was on the wall for the ex-Brescia coach as Ciro Ferrara and Edy Reja were already being linked with Palermo.
But for once, Zamparini showed true patience and backed Iachini all the way. The move paid rich dividends and Palermo remained undefeated between the ninth and 17th day (five wins and four draws) to climb to a trouble-free mid-table spot.
In the meantime, Iachini has launched the career of a few promising players including the highly-rated Dybala.
The former Instituto hit-man is having a terrific season and has already been linked with a number of top clubs, including Arsenal.
Other Palermo players who are under the radar of the big guns include defender Ezequiel Munoz, experienced Paraguayan midfielder Edgar Barreto, Argentine midfielder Franco Vazquez and Italy U-21 striker Andrea Belotti.
Zamparini, 73, is very shrewd when it comes to signing talented players at basement prices, then mould them into rising stars and eventually sell them at a huge profit when in peak form.
It is similar to having rough diamonds, polish them and then selling to the highest bidder.
The sales of Luca Toni to Fiorentina for €10m in 2005, Carvalho Amauri to Juventus for €22.8m in 2008, Edinson Cavani to Napoli for €17m and Simon Kjaer to Wolfsburg for €12m (both in 2010), Javier Pastore and Salvatore Sirigu to Paris SG for a global fee of €45m in 2011 and, more recently, Josip Ilicic to Fiorentina for €9m are testaments of this policy.
Untimely drop
Palermo thrived for many years using this transfer policy until two years ago they were relegated to the Serie B following nine consecutive seasons in the top flight.
Before Zamparini’s arrival in 2002, top division football had been missing for 31 years at Palermo.
A home game against high-flyers Roma will bring the curtains down on Palermo’s first round fixtures on Saturday. The Sicilians are very close to safety and the indications are that they will make sure of avoiding the drop well before the end of the season.
If Palermo were to reach their target say by March, they might also enter the fray for a Europa League spot in similar vein to last season’s Torino, Parma and Verona.
Unlike more quoted clubs like Milan, Inter and Fiorentina for instance, Palermo are not under pressure to secure European participation at all costs. This may act in their favour as the league has now reached a crucial phase.