Maurizio Zamparini (9 June 1941 – 1 February 2022) was an Italian businessman. He was the owner and director of

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club U.S. Città di Palermo between July 2002 – February 2017 and from July 2017 – December 2018.

Biography

Zamparini had business interests in several fields, with ''Emmezeta'' department stores being the most important one. He entered into football in 1987, after having bought then-

Serie C2 Lega Pro Seconda Divisione was the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. Usually it consisted of 36 teams, but in the 2011–12 season, there were 41 teams divided geographically into two divisions of 2 ...

club Venezia, saving it from a possible bankruptcy. His investments in the football club led Venezia to reach Serie A in a few years. He sold Venezia in 2002 in order to buy then- Serie B club

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

from A.S. Roma chairman Franco Sensi with the goal to bring the Sicilian team back to Serie A, a goal that was achieved with promotion in the 2003–04 season. In April 2012, Zamparini was suspended one year for involvement in third-party ownership; however, this was shortened to five months after appeal. On 27 February 2017, Zamparini stepped down as chairman of Palermo after 15 years in charge with over 40 managerial changes (the last one being the appointment of Diego López as head coach in place of resigning

Eugenio Corini Eugenio Corini (born 30 July 1970) is an Italian professional football coach and former player, currently in charge of Serie B club Palermo. A talented, dynamic, and hard-working playmaker, known for his precise long passing, flair, and his a ...

a month previous), announcing he had formally sold his controlling stake to an unspecified Anglo-American fund. On 4 July 2017,

Paul Baccaglini Paul Baccaglini is an Italian American entrepreneur, investor, and former chairman of U.S. Città di Palermo, football (soccer) club based in Palermo, Italy. Baccaglini is an eccentric personality, known for his career in television. In 2017, he ...

resigned as Palermo chairman, falling back into the hands of Zamparini, after the necessary funds were not in place. Zamparini had declared that he would not seek the place of chairman after Baccaglini's resignation. He became a member of the board of directors of the club, with a vacant chairman position. Giovanni Giammarva was later appointed chairman in November 2017. On 1 December 2018, Zamparini confirmed the sale of the club to an unnamed London company for the "symbolic" price of €10 (£8.75). He died from complications of peritonitis in

Cotignola Cotignola ( rgn, Cudgnôla) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Ravenna in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about southeast of Bologna and about west of Ravenna. Cotignola was the birthplace of the 15th century condottier ...

on 1 February 2022 at the age of 80.È morto Maurizio Zamparini, l'ex presidente di Palermo e Venezia

References

1941 births 2022 deaths Italian football chairmen and investors Palermo F.C. chairmen and investors People from Bagnaria Arsa Deaths from peritonitis {{italy-business-bio-stub