Palermo are one of the best put teams in Serie A, while their president, Zamparini, is a bit crazy, he has made some smart signings. And maybe at first you think that Palermo will suffer without Cavani and Simplicio, I think they won’t miss either of them at all. Instead, a player they will miss is Kjaer, who left Palermo to go to Wolfsburg, leaving a hole in the center of defense. But Delio Rossi will know what to do, he’s an experienced coach who always puts out an organized team. And having lost Cavani, he will know what to do, especially because Palermo have young Hernandez coming through, who is very promising.
New signings
Zamparini made sure to fill Cavani’s spot right away when the Uruguayan left for Napoli, and Massimo Maccarone was more than happy to leave relegated Siena. To replace Kjaer, Zamparini decided to buy Glik, 22 year-old central defender from Gliwice for an undisclosed fee. While Glik isn’t a big name now, he’s already stated that he wants to play his cards right and repeat Kjaers success at Palermo. Another replacement for Kjaer is Ezequiel Munoz, 20 year-old Argentinean defender who has already played for Argentina, a promising player for the future.
What’s missing
While Palermo are ready in defense and attack, they’re missing a few players in the midfield, right behind of Pastore who will play as a trequartista. In fact they’ve been thinking about the Uruguayan Perez, from Monaco and Matuidi, from Saint-Etienne. One of these two will have to replace Liverani, who at 34 years-old won’t be able to continue much longer. Another important player that Zamparini is chasing is Rafael Toloi, the 19 year-old central defender who is one of Brazil’s most promising defenders.
Formation
Delio Rossi will probably play with a 4-3-1-2, using Pastore as a trequartista behind Maccarone and Hernandez, and if Miccoli isn’t sold, then Rossi will incorporate him as well in the team, probably with a 4-3-3, or a 4-2-3-1. The midfield three behind Pastore would be Migliaccio on the right, Nocerino on the left, and Liverani in the middle, playing very similarly to Pirlo or Xavi. The defense would be a back four made up of Cassani, Glik, Bovo, and Balzaretti, all in front of Salvatore Sirigu, who is a very promising Italian keeper.
It has to be said, Palermo will be fighting on three fronts this season, the domestic Serie A and Coppa Italia, but also the Europa League. They’re currently playing a two-leg qualification round against NK Maribor, and they defeated the Slovenian team 3-0 at the Stadio Renzo Barbera, so qualification should’nt be that unlikely. Last season we saw Genoa crumble when they had to play in the Europa League, mainly because the squad was too small, and the players couldn’t take it. But Zamparini will surely equip Palermo well enough to do well in the European competition, and not rue selling Cavani and Simplicio.
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I think that I agree with every sentence that you’ve written in this article. I would add though that Palermo’s move towards younger bigger upside players is highly encouraging even if Kjaer’s departure does scare me. Thankfully, Palermo have the brilliant Delio Rossi to guide the transition.
Yea, Zamparini is certainly taking care of the club, and the club always finds great talent from around the world. I wish Kjaer would’ve stayed, he could’ve become a Palermo legend by maybe helping to drag them into the Champions League.