Originally posted on March 14th, 2013 on Soccer Newsday
A head coach, in any league or sport, understands the day they are hired, they are already one day closer to being fired. They know that during the press conference announcing their new position, they are the darling of their new employer; and it is only a matter of time that there will be a press conference announcing their departure.
No place in Italian soccer is this more common than with the coaches under owner Maurizio Zamparini.
Zamparini, a 71-year-old businessman from northern Italy, first came into calcio in 1987, when he purchased nearly bankrupt Venezia, then in Serie C2, and merged them with local club Mestre. He invested his money in the team, and brought the small side to Serie A in 1998. That season, the club finished in a remarkable 11th position, just two points outside of the UEFA Cup qualification spot. In 2000, it was relegated back to Serie B, but was quickly promoted back to Serie A for the next season, in which it finished dead last, and was sent back to Serie B.
Zamparini had been working in the background to try to get a new stadium built in the Venice area, however he became irritated at the lack of support by city council to help build a new stadium. He was also frustrated with the team’s inability to stay in the top flight, and sold the club that season. That same year, Zamparini purchased Serie B-side Palermo from Franco Sensi, Italian oil magnate and owner of AS Roma, with the goal of creating a consistent Serie A squad. His rosanero squad would make the leap into the top division in 2004. The team, coached by Francesco Guidolin, finished at an impressive 6th position, earning it qualification to the UEFA Cup.
What makes Zamparini such a lightning rod of controversy is his inability to be satisfied with the coaches he hires to lead his squads.
Italian calcio has never boasted job security for its coaches, but Italian teams are not the only teams that are trigger happy. Chelsea has had 12 coaches since Ruud Gullit became coach in 1996. After Vincete del Bosque left in 2003, Real Madrid have gone through 10 men at the helm. Even my home town club, Toronto FC, seem to have an annual “fire the coach” press conference, with current manager Ryan Nelsen the 8th coach in just the clubs’ 7 -year history. But as so many things in life, Italians just do it better.
Since the beginning of this season, 8 Serie A teams have fired their coach, and 3 of those teams are on at least their 3rd coach. Since the beginning of the 2011 season, only Atalanta, Juventus, Milan, Napoli and Udinese have the same coach. The longest serving manager, Water Mazzarri, has been at the helm of Napoli since 2009; this makes him the Alex Ferguson of Italian soccer.
Our friend Zamparini, however, takes it to another level. Since becoming president of Venezia, Zamparini has fired 51 coaches. The list of coaches he has gone through is extraordinary and includes: Guidolin (4 times), Delio Rossi (2 times), Gian Piero Gasperini (2 times this season), Luciano Spaletti (twice), Cesare Prandelli, and Alberto Malesani.
The rosanero club are going on 7 coaching changes since the start of 2011, and 27 since 2002 when he took over Palermo. Twenty seven. Venti sette. Vengt-sept. No matter what language you say it in, it is an astonishing number.
Consider just this season’s merry-go-round: Giuseppe Sannino started the season as the manager, only to be fired after Week 3. Gasperini was brought in and subsequently let go after Week 23, and Malesani was hired as his replacement. Just 19 days later, he was sacked after 3 straight draws (I can only imagine his reaction when he found out). Gasperini was rehired on Feb. 25 and then let go March 10 after a home loss to Siena. So who does Zamparini hire? Well, he brought back Sannino, who started this season’s musical chairs.
Confused yet? Let me put it another way. Palermo coaches this season: 4. Palermo wins this season: 3. I cannot even fathom how these two numbers could be related.
(Writers note: at the time I wrote this article, Sannino was the coach and the Papal conclave had not chosen a new Pope. By the time you read this article, there will likely be a new Pope and a new coach.)
Not all bad
There is no question that Zamparini has improved the fortunes of Palermo calcio. Before his arrival, Palermo had been out of the top flight for 32 years, and until this season, had been a consistent mid/upper table squad. Palermo has finished 5th three times, and 6th once. They have competed in UEFA competitions regularly, and were in the Coppa Italia final in 2011.
Some very impressive players have come (and gone) through the Palermo system, including World Cup winners Luca Toni, Fabio Grosso, Cristian Zaccardo, and Andrea Barzagli, current Serie A goal leader Edison Cavani, Paris Saint-Germain stars Salvatore Sirigu and Javier Pastore, and current captain and fan favourite Fabrizio Miccoli.
However many fans have grown tired of his antics, knowing that the constant turmoil at the managers desk cannot be good for team moral. Some fans are now openly protesting Zamparini, and begging him to sell the team. At the same time, other fans are worried that if he were to sell the team, would new owners invest as much money into the team, given the poor state of the Italian economy, and would the team just slip back into the lower leagues. Zamparini has said on many occasions that that he would sell the club, because he could not deal with the errors referees made, once saying all referees should be put in prison, as well as perceived bias against his team and favouritism towards others.
Zamparini is never one to back down or been afraid to speak his mind, and has never seen a microphone he didn’t like. After an embarrassing 7-0 loss to Udinese in 2011, he would say this of his coach, Delio Rossi:
“(He) has a 1 percent chance of staying on the bench, you can bet on that. The team has been completely destroyed. He ruined my Palermo,” he said. “I should’ve kicked Rossi out at Christmas.”
Five weeks later, Delio Rossi was hired back, and Zampa’s comments that day: “Changing coaches was a mistake on my part for which I ask Palermo’s fans to forgive me. I rediscovered my belief in Rossi because he is an excellent coach.”
After giving up a 1-0 first half lead and losing 3-1 to Torino in 2008, he said, “This is not a group of men, it is a team of girls”.
One might ask, why would a person even consider wanting to be manager of Palermo? And why would they go back months after being fired. For one, Zamparini, no matter how trigger happy, keeps all of the fired coaches on payroll and honours every contract in full. Italy also has a strange rule, in that if you coach a Serie A team, you cannot coach a different club the same season; however, you are free to coach for the same team. So given that coaches are pretty competitive, they likely would rather be on the sidelines than in their living rooms.
Zamparini is a man who likes to have full control, and likes to exert that control on his soccer club. He makes his decisions based on his own feelings, and isn’t afraid to implement those decisions, no matter the consequences. The restless fan base is growing tired of his antics, but concerned their team will not stay in the top division without him. No matter what Zamparini decides to do with the club, everyone can agree, they are one day closer to having a new coach, and a new president.
