New Palermo Coach Davide Ballardini explains why he returned to replace Beppe Iachini and work with Maurizio Zamparini again.
Iachini was sacked this morning, much to the consternation of fans and players, and Ballardini arrived at the Sicilian club HQ this evening.
It’s a return, as Ballardini was already called in to replace Stefano Colantuono in September 2008, took Palermo to eighth place in Serie A and promptly resigned in May 2009.
New Palermo Coach Davide Ballardini explains why he returned to replace Beppe Iachini and work with Maurizio Zamparini again.
Iachini was sacked this morning, much to the consternation of fans and players, and Ballardini arrived at the Sicilian club HQ this evening.
It’s a return, as Ballardini was already called in to replace Stefano Colantuono in September 2008, took Palermo to eighth place in Serie A and promptly resigned in May 2009.
“In football we are not accustomed to a President who always says what he thinks,” explained the tactician.
“Zamparini did that and I reacted in a certain way, but the fact remains I admire people like the President who lay all their cards on the table, never hiding anything."
Somewhat unhelpfully, during the presentation Press conference, Zamparini confirmed his first choice was Francesco Guidolin, but the ex-Udinese boss turned him down.
“The President called me after Palermo beat Chievo on Sunday and we reached an agreement very quickly," continued Ballardini.
“I am pleased the team is still fond of Iachini, because it means they always fought hard for him. I know that by coming in midway through the season I will have very little time at my disposal and few real changes that can be made.
“There are many teams close to us in the table and our position right now is evidently what we deserve. The squad has an excellent striker like Alberto Gilardino and elements who can rotate around him, like Aleksandar Trajkovski, Ivaylo Chochev and Oscar Hiljemark.
“Gila is good at both anticipating his opponent and diving into space, so this allows us to use different playing styles. I am happy to have him at my disposal.”
Ballardini’s career has seen some shaky moments since leaving Palermo, as he was sacked by Lazio, released at the end of the season by Genoa, fired at Cagliari , had a five-month spell at Genoa again and was dismissed by Bologna following relegation in May 2014.
“In nine seasons I took over clubs eight times, it must be a world record. The only year I started at Lazio, there were 18 players frozen out of the squad.
“Lazio always told me that I was the right man at the wrong time. As for Bologna, they sold Alessandro Diamanti on February 7…”