Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini has stated that he is looking forward to rebuilding the club with new coach Gennaro Gattuso.
The former AC Milan man, who just finished a stint as a player and coach at Swiss club Sion last season, was hired by the Rosanero in June after the club ware relegated to Serie B.
Zamparini spoke to Corriere dello Sport about his admiration for the 35-year-old and his plans to revive the club.
“We are working to construct a very strong team,” said the president.
“I have already seen team spirit and will bring in more players over the summer. If we fail to get promoted back into Serie A, it will be a worse failure than our relegation.
“The last two seasons have been disastrous and the blame has to be spread around. We must do the impossible to win back the fans. At least this dismal run has had one positive effect, allowing us to find Gattuso, a man I admire a great deal.
“This was an opportunity at the right time for both of us. His agent called me, made a proposal and I invited Gattuso to meet me. It took a 10-minute conversation to decide we’d go forward together.
“We have constructed the squad looking forward to the next four years, by which time we’ll be in a high-level competition. I’ve never had a coach like Gattuso before. He is a coach, but above all a man.
“Will Gattuso be on the Milan bench in future? I hope Palermo can become the Milan of the south with Gattuso at the helm for a long time to come.”
The 72-year-old then took a jab at former Rosanero striker Fabrizio Miccoli, who left the club for Lecce this summer after being linked to organized crime during the summer.
“Miccoli? He’s cancelled from my memory.”
