At the end of February, Palermo were thrashed 7-0 by Udinese – the heaviest home defeat ever inflicted on the Sicilians.
Manager Delio Rossi was subject to a day of humiliating hysterics by Palermo’s president Maurizio Zamparini. The patron, fuming from the crushing scoreline, launched a scathing attack on Rossi, a highly respected tactician in the calcio world.
“Rossi has a one per cent chance of staying on the bench, you can bet on that”, he ranted.
“The team has been completely destroyed. He ruined my Palermo… I should’ve kicked Rossi out at Christmas.”
And all this before Zamparini actually gave Rossi his marching orders.
One month later, after Rossi’s replacement Serse Cosmi’s disastrous spell at the Renzo Barbera ended in a 4-0 reverse against Catania in the Derby di Sicilia, Zamparini performed a U-turn of Nick Clegg proportions. He reappointed Rossi, the man he had so brutally attacked just five weeks earlier.
“Changing coaches was a mistake on my part for which I ask Palermo’s fans to forgive me. I rediscovered my belief in him (Rossi) because he is an excellent coach.”
Sounds like a happy ending to a twisting tale of anger and forgiveness. But the Palermo faithful won’t be taking Zamparini’s praise of the former Lazio man too seriously.
They have come to treat the words of Zampa with more than a pinch of salt. When he claimed he would sell the club if they lost their next two games, not much of a stir was caused. This is because the tifosi knew that it was an empty threat; he had vowed to leave Palermo last November too.
The actions of the self-proclaimed ‘mangiallenatori’ – manager-eater – this season may come as a shock to foreign football fans unacquainted with him. But treating managers like toys, to pick up and throw down, is nothing new for the man from Udine.
Since he took over Venezia in 1987, he has overseen some 35 managerial departures. 
Current Livorno allenatore Walter Novellino is the only man to have managed a Zamparini club for two consecutive seasons (1997-99) without a sacking in between. According to him the secret to his success was winning, “Results are the key. In the end I always won.”
Silvio Baldini, along with many others, would disagree. He was in charge of Palermo in late 2003, when they were still in Serie B, and with the side in third place, automatic promotion was on the cards. But he was axed by Zamparini after a series of rows in front of the media, “Baldini effectively fired himself,” blasted the president.
It is likely that Zamparini took umbrage at Baldini’s refusal to keep quiet while being bombarded with insults. More recent Rosanero bosses have bitten their tongue, if only for the prospect of reappointment after their initial sacking.
Francesco Guidolin, Baldini’s successor, worked at Palermo in four different stints from 2004-08, so one would think that Zamparini would have more respect for him than for others. But familiarity breeds contempt; the Palermo president’s most vitriolic comments have been directed at him.
In December 2004, following a 2-1 defeat to Milan, Zamparini announced: “At the end of the season Guidolin will leave Palermo. I can guarantee that he has no future here. It was clear he was aiming for a 0-0 draw.”
As it turned out, Guidolin took Palermo to 6th and a UEFA Cup place. He was not sacked after all, but chose to resign. Perhaps he should have left it there, as things didn’t get much better when he returned to Sicily.
Guidolin left the club again in March 2007. “He ruins the team,” blasted Zamparini.
But three weeks later he was back, and the department store owner had nothing but praise. “I have always greatly admired him,” Déjà vu?
In March 2008, Palermo lost at home to Genoa and Guidolin, having returned again, complained about the fans, calling the atmosphere ‘hellish’. Zamparini’s response: “Guidolin is a liar!” But when asked if he was going to sack him, he said: “For me there is no problem. The coach can stay.”
He was sacked two days later.
Throughout Francesco Guidolin’s time at Palermo, the mangiallenatori accused him of playing boring, defensive football, so it is worth noting that Guidolin is now manager of Udinese, who are currently in fourth place and playing the most attractive football in Serie A.
Another trick of Zamparini’s is to sack coaches after the first game of the new season. Lega Calcio rules state that no manager can take charge of two Serie A clubs in the same season.
Therefore, if Zamparini waits until the season has started before wielding the axe, he can pretty much recall them any time he wants. He fired Stefano Colantuono in the first game of 2008-09, and did the same with Giampiero Ventura 14 years earlier when at Venezia. Poor old Ventura even won that one match.
I will leave you with one more Zamparini quote: “Results are all that matter in football, but deciding to sack a coach is still hard.” Maurizio, you had us fooled.
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