Guglielmo Micciché, former vice president of Palermo, revealed that Maurizio Zamparini was not a fan of now-Roma midfielder Bryan Cristante.
The Italian midfielder joined the Sicilian side on loan from Benfica in January of 2016 and he didn’t have a particularly positive time in Palermo, making only four appearances for a total of 93 minutes. Only two of these games saw him play minutes into the double digits and he didn’t feature again after mid-February.
Speaking at the presentation of the book ‘Ambition, Passion, Vision’, Micciché revealed that Zamparini really didn’t think highly of Cristante at all.
“He hated a player, Cristante, he didn’t want him on the pitch. After Genoa-Palermo he told me go to the dressing room and tell the coach that if he doesn’t take Cristante off, he’ll be fired.
“In the end Palermo drew that game and Cristante stayed on the pitch. Then in the end Zamparini’s anger lasted an hour after the game.”
Cristante would bounce around on loan whilst contracted to Benfica before finally making a permanent move to Atalanta in July 2018. After a positive year in Bergamo, he joined Roma, where he’s found some stability.
Since joining the Giallorossi, Cristante has made 173 appearances across all competitions, scoring 10 goals and providing 10 assists.
Exactly how I used to feel when Calha-no-clue used to just coast through games, and somehow never get subbed off.