U.S. Città di Palermo played the 2013–14 football season in Serie B, the first appearance in the second tier after relegation in the 2012–13 Serie A season following nine consecutive seasons in the top flight. The season ended with the club ensuring direct promotion back to Serie A at its first attempt.
After completing the 2012–13 Serie A season in 18th place and being thus relegated into Serie B, club chairman Maurizio Zamparini announced the confirmation of Giorgio Perinetti as director of football and also stated his intention to keep Giuseppe Sannino as head coach in order to set an immediate attempt to return to the top flight. However, an agreement was not found between Sannino (who ultimately left Palermo to accept a head coaching role at Serie A's Chievo) and the rosanero club, and a search for a new head coach was started. Such search ended with the appointment of Gennaro Gattuso as new head coach; a former international midfielder, 2006 FIFA World Cup winner with Italy and UEFA Champions League winner with Milan among all things, Gattuso had only a short player-coach stint at FC Sion in the previous season in terms of managerial experience and his choice was hailed with surprise.[1]
This was followed by Palermo's first summer signing, Northern Ireland international striker Kyle Lafferty from Gattuso's former team FC Sion.[2] Another signing, deep-lying forward Davide Di Gennaro from Spezia, was announced on 1 July.[3] The following day, the club announced to have sold half of Jasmin Kurtić's transfer rights to Sassuolo, with winger Gennaro Troianello coming to Sicily as part of the same deal.[4]
Palermo also acquired the full ownerships of players Anselmo – who was then released after being deemed surplus to requirements – and Eros Pisano, who were both co-owned with Genoa. On the other hand, club captain Fabrizio Miccoli left the club at the expiration of his contract. Another star player, Josip Iličić, also left to join Fiorentina in July.[5]
The club's pre-season camp was held at Sankt Lambrecht and Bad Kleinkirchheim, Austria from 12 July to 4 August.
On 6 August, the club formalized the appointment of former rosanero striker Igor Budan as team manager.[6] The same day, Nicola Amoruso tended his resignation from his position as Palermo's director of football citing personal reasons.[7]
Palermo made its season debut in the Coppa Italia with a 2–1 home win against Lega Pro Prima Divisione club Cremonese, but were eliminated in the following round by newly promoted top-flight club Hellas Verona, who won at Stadio Renzo Barbera thanks to a goal from former rosanero Luca Toni. Serie B debut match, away at Modena, ended in a 1–1 draw, and was followed by a shocking 1–2 home loss at the hands of Empoli, immediately raising doubts about the team's ability to adapt at new life in the second division. This was however immediately followed by the team's first win of the league, a 3–0 away success against Padova thanks to a brace from Abel Hernández. Two consecutive away defeats to Bari and Spezia however damaged Gattuso's position, and led to his ultimate sacking on 25 September and his immediate replacement with the more experienced Giuseppe Iachini. In his debut, Iachini easily defeated S.S. Juve Stabia by a clear 3–0 result. Under Iachini's tenure, results improved dramatically and Palermo ended the first half of the season topping the league. During the January 2014 window, the club was further strengthened by the signings of promising youngster Achraf Lazaar and veteran playmaker Enzo Maresca, as well as the addition of Franco Vázquez, who was previously left out of the squad under Gattuso. Also thanks to these additions, Palermo established as the main force in the league and spent the whole 2014 on top of the league, reaching up to a 13-point advantage to second-placed Latina in April.
On 3 May 2014, after a 1–0 win at Novara, Palermo were mathematically crowned Serie B champions in advance of five league weeks, a Serie B record, and promptly finalized their top flight return after only one season.
| — | FW |  NIR
|
Kyle Lafferty (from FC Sion[2]) |
| — | MF |  GNB
|
Carlos Embalo (from Chaves[8]) |
| — | FW |  ITA
|
Davide Di Gennaro (from Spezia[3]) |
| — | MF | ITA
|
Gennaro Troianello (from Sassuolo[4]) |
| — | DF | ITA
|
Eros Pisano (from Genoa, co-ownership resolution) |
| — | GK | ITA
|
Nicola Braccalenti (on loan from Foligno) |
| — | MF |  SRB
|
Alen Stevanović (on loan from Torino[9]) |
| — | DF | ITA
|
Claudio Terzi (from Siena[10]) |
| — | MF | ITA
|
Houssem Ferchichi (on loan from Montebelluna) |
| — | DF |  SUI
|
Fabio Daprelà (from Brescia[11]) |
| — | MF | ITA
|
Francesco Bolzoni (from Siena[12]) |
| — | MF |  FRA
|
Granddi Ngoyi (from Troyes[13]) |
| — | DF | SRB
|
Boris Grozdić (on loan from Hajduk Kula[14]) |
| — | MF | ITA
|
Valerio Verre (on loan from Udinese[15]) |
| — | FW | ITA
|
Andrea Belotti (on loan from Albinoleffe[15]) |
| — | MF |  POR
|
José Domingos Neves Lourenço (from Rio Ave) |
| — | MF | POR
|
João Manuel Pinto Do Amaral (from Benfica) |
| — | MF |  SVN
|
Jasmin Kurtić (to Sassuolo, co-ownership[4]) |
| — | DF | SUI
|
Steve von Bergen (to BSC Young Boys) |
| — | MF | ITA
|
Massimo Donati (to Verona) |
| — | GK | ITA
|
Giacomo Brichetto (end of contract) |
| — | FW | ITA
|
Fabrizio Miccoli (end of contract, to Lecce) |
| — | FW |  CRO
|
Igor Budan (retired) |
| — | DF |  ROU
|
Cristian Melinte (end of contract, to Concordia Chiajna) |
| — | FW | ITA
|
Giuseppe Prestia (end of contract, to Parma) |
| — | FW |  PAR
|
Cesar Verdun Servín (to Verona) |
| — | MF | PAR
|
Oscar Arzamendia (to Verona) |
| — | FW | ITA
|
Dario Maltese (on loan to Latina, co-ownership[16]) |
| — | GK | ITA
|
Alessandro Micai (on loan to Südtirol, co-ownership[17]) |
| — | MF | ITA
|
Giulio Migliaccio (to Atalanta[18]) |
| — | MF | SVN
|
Josip Iličić (to Fiorentina[5]) |
| — | FW | PAR
|
Daniel Jara Martínez (to Genoa) |
| — | MF |  BRA
|
Anselmo (released, to São Caetano[19]) |
| — | MF | ITA
|
Francesco Benussi (released, to Udinese[20]) |
| — | MF | ITA
|
Nicolas Viola (to Ternana, co-ownership[21]) |
| — | MF | ITA
|
Francesco Mirko Velardi (released, to Parma) |
| — | FW |  ARG
|
Mauricio Sperduti (released, to Arsenal de Sarandí) |
| — | FW | ITA
|
Gianluca Di Chiara (to Latina[16]) |
| — | FW | ITA
|
Gabriele Zerbo (to Pergolettese[17]) |
| — | MF | ITA
|
Stefano Cerniglia (to Pergolettese[17]) |
| — | DF | SRB
|
Jevrem Kosnić (to Pisa[17]) |
| — | FW | ITA
|
Mauro Bollino (to Pisa[17]) |
| — | MF | ITA
|
Francesco Vassallo (to Südtirol[17]) |
| — | DF | ITA
|
Daniel Cappelletti (to Südtirol[17]) |
| — | FW | ITA
|
Umberto Nappello (to Forlì[17]) |
| — | MF | ITA
|
Vito Migliore (to Torino) |
| — | DF | POR
|
Nélson (to Almería[22]) |
| — | FW |  SWE
|
Agon Mehmeti (to Olhanense[13]) |
| — | DF | ITA
|
Edoardo Goldaniga (to Pisa[14]) |
| — | MF | PAR
|
Roger Miller Rojas (to Chiasso[14]) |
| — | DF | ARG
|
Santiago García (to Werder Bremen[23]) |
| — | GK | ITA
|
Emiliano Viviano (to Arsenal[24]) |
| — | DF | ITA
|
Andrea Mantovani (to Bologna[25]) |
| — | DF | ITA
|
Roberto Vitiello (unattached) |
| — | DF | ITA
|
Achraf Lazaar (from Varese) |
| — | MF | ITA
|
Enzo Maresca (from Sampdoria) |
| — | MF | ITA
|
Alberto Acquadro (on loan from Borgosesia) |
| — | MF | ITA
|
Gianluca Di Chiara (loan return from Latina) |
| — | FW | ITA
|
Eric Lanini (from Juventus, co-ownership) |
| — | DF | ITA
|
Edoardo Goldaniga (to Juventus, co-ownership; remains on loan at Pisa) |
| — | DF |  URU
|
Ignacio Lores (to Bari) |
| — | MF | ITA
|
Gianluca Di Chiara (to Catanzaro) |
| — | FW | ITA
|
Eric Lanini (to Prato) |
| — | MF | ITA
|
Giulio Sanseverino (to Perugia) |
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Chairman | Maurizio Zamparini
|
| Vice-Chairman | Guglielmo Miccichè
|
| General Manager Sport | Giorgio Perinetti
|
| Team Manager | Igor Budan
|
Last updated: 9 July 2013
Source: U.S Città di Palermo official website
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Head Coach | Giuseppe Iachini
|
| Assistant Coach | Giuseppe Carillo
|
| Fitness Coach | Andrea Corrain
|
| Fitness Coach | Marcello Iaia
|
| Fitness Coach | Fabrizio Tafani
|
| Injured Players Recovery | Alberto Andorlini
|
| Goalkeeping Coach | Franco Paleari
|
Last updated: 25 September 2013
Source: U.S Città di Palermo official website
Full season statistics
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Serie B | Coppa Italia | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||||
| 1 | GK | ITA
|
Stefano Sorrentino | 34 | -22 | 32 | -20 | 2 | -2 |
| 12 | GK | ITA
|
Andrea Fulignati | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | GK |  KOS
|
Samir Ujkani | 11 | -8 | 11 | -8 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | SVN
|
Aljaž Struna | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ITA
|
Eros Pisano | 36 | 3 | 34 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 4 | DF | SVN
|
Siniša Anđelković | 38 | 1 | 36 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | SRB
|
Milan Milanović | 18 | 1 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | ARG
|
Ezequiel Muñoz | 33 | 3 | 33 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | DF |  MAR
|
Achraf Lazaar | 14 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | DF | SUI
|
Michel Morganella | 16 | 1 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | DF | ITA
|
Claudio Terzi | 33 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 28 | DF | SUI
|
Fabio Daprelà | 27 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 29 | DF | ITA
|
Roberto Vitiello | 9 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | PAR
|
Édgar Barreto (captain) | 34 | 4 | 34 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | ITA
|
Davide Di Gennaro | 15 | 2 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | SRB
|
Alen Stevanović | 22 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | ITA
|
Francesco Bolzoni | 39 | 4 | 37 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | ITA
|
Gennaro Troianello | 16 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | ARG
|
Franco Vázquez | 19 | 4 | 18 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | SVN
|
Armin Bačinović | 9 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | ITA
|
Valerio Verre | 20 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | ITA
|
Enzo Maresca | 13 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | FRA
|
Granddi Ngoyi | 22 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | ARG
|
Paulo Dybala | 30 | 5 | 28 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | URU
|
Abel Hernández | 30 | 14 | 28 | 14 | 2 | 0 |
| 18 | FW | NIR
|
Kyle Lafferty | 36 | 12 | 34 | 11 | 2 | 1 |
| 24 | FW | SUI
|
Cephas Malele | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | FW | ITA
|
Andrea Belotti | 24 | 10 | 24 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| Players sold or loaned out during the winter transfer market: | |||||||||
| 7 | MF | ITA
|
Giulio Sanseverino | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | URU
|
Ignacio Lores | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
