US Città Di Palermo
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Palermo Football Club () is an Italian professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
club based in
Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , 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 province. The ...
,
Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
, that currently plays in
Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...
. It is part of the
City Football Group City Football Group Limited (CFG) is a British-based holding company that administers association football clubs. The group is owned by three organisations, of which 81% is majority-owned by Abu Dhabi United Group, 18% by the American firm Silve ...
. Founded for the first time on 1 November 1900 as Anglo Palermitan Athletic and Football Club, Palermo is one of the oldest clubs in Italy. Among the club's accomplishments are a
Coppa Italia Serie C Coppa Italia Serie C (), formerly named Coppa Italia Lega Pro, is a straight knock-out based competition involving teams from Serie C in Italian football first held in 1972. Format There are a total of six rounds in the competition. It begins i ...
, won in the 1992–93, and five Serie B league titles. It also appeared in three
Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...
finals: in 1973–74, in 1978–79 and in
2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
; and played 29 seasons in
Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...
. Internationally, the club has made five appearances in European competitions, all in the UEFA Cup/Europa League.


History


Early history (1898–1947)

There is some debate and uncertainty about the exact date the club was founded. Some authorities believe that it may have been founded as early as 1898 due to the existence of papers addressed to Joseph Whitaker, English ornithologist in Palermo and originally believed to be first club president, about a Palermo football team founded in the month of April of that year. Conversely, another source cites that in April 1897, the future founders of Palermo Calcio founded the association ''Sport Club''. The most common and officially stated foundation date is 1 November 1900, as the Anglo Palermitan Athletic and Football Club. The club is thought to have been founded by Ignazio Majo Pagano, a young Palermitan colleague of Whitaker who had discovered football while at college in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
in the UK, where the modern game of
association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
originated. The initial staff comprised three Englishmen and nine natives of Palermo, with Whitaker as honorary chairman, Edward De Garston as inaugural president and with red and blue as the original team colours. The first recorded football match, played by the team on 30 December 1900, ended in a 5–0 defeat to an unidentified amateur English team. The club's first official match, played on 18 April 1901 against
Messina Football Club Associazioni Calcio Riunite Messina S.r.l. is a football club based in Messina, Sicily, Italy, that competes in the Serie C, the third tier of the Italian football league system. History Football in Messina The origins of the team go b ...
, ended in a 3–2 victory for the Palermitan side. In 1907, the club changed its name to Palermo Foot-Ball Club, and the team colours were changed to the current pink and black. From 1908 until Italy's entry in
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
in 1915, Palermo was featured in the
Lipton Challenge Cup The Lipton Challenge Cup (also known as Southern Italy Championship) was a football competition competed between clubs from Southern Italy and Sicily. It was played during the period leading up to World War I when football in the country was stil ...
, organised by Scottish businessman Sir Thomas Lipton. The competition saw them face off against
Naples FBC Naples Foot-Ball Club, also known as Naples FBC or more briefly as Naples, was an Italian football club founded in Naples, Campania in 1905. They merged with U.S. Internazionale Napoli in 1922 for financial reasons, thus giving life to "Foot-Ball ...
; Palermo won the competition three times, including a 6–0 victory in 1912. After a gap during the First World War, the club was refounded in 1919 as Unione Sportiva Palermo, by a committee of young university students and sportsmen. During the early 1920s, the club mainly competed in the ''Campionato Lega Sud'', a football league in Southern Italy, reaching the semi-finals in 1924 before being knocked out by Audace Taranto, Alba Roma and Internaples. The club was dissolved in 1927 due to financial problems, but was reformed one year later following a merger with Vigor Palermo under the name Palermo FootBall Club. Originally admitted to ''Prima Divisione'' (First Division), the equivalent of today's
Serie C1 Serie C1 was the third highest football league in Italy. It consisted of 36 teams, divided geographically into two divisions. History Before the 1978–79 season, there were only three professional football leagues in Italy, the third being Se ...
, the team was promoted to
Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...
in 1930 and finally reached
Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...
in 1932. From its debut season in Italy's top division, Palermo relocated to a new home, the ''Stadio Littorio'' (Lictorian Stadium) in the Favorita neighbourhood, today known as
Stadio Renzo Barbera Stadio Renzo Barbera (commonly known as La Favorita) is a football stadium in Palermo, Italy. It is currently the home stadium of Palermo F.C. team. The stadium was inaugurated during the fascist era on 24 January 1932, and was originally named ...
. The club played in Serie A until 1936, when they were relegated to Serie B and first played
Catania Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...
in the
Sicilian derby The Derby di Sicilia or Sicilian Derby in English, is a local derby between Italian football clubs Catania FC and Palermo FC. Catania and Palermo are the two main cities on the island of Sicily, and the teams are fierce rivals. However, they ha ...
. In 1936, Palermo was forced by the fascist regime to change its colours to yellow and red, after the official colours of the local municipality. Meanwhile, economic difficulties arose, and in 1940 the club was expelled by the
Italian Football Federation The Italian Football Federation (, ; FIGC ), known colloquially as (), is the governing body of football in Italy. It is based in Rome and Centro Tecnico Federale di Coverciano, the technical department is in Coverciano, Florence. It manages a ...
because of financial problems. A merger with Unione Sportiva Juventina Palermo brought the foundation of Unione Sportiva Palermo-Juventina, which joined Serie C in 1941 and Serie B in 1942. The club could not finish the 1942–43 season due to the outbreak of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. At the same time the pink-and-black colors were chosen because Sicily became a "war zone". After the conflict, the club changed its name to US Palermo.


Post-war years (1947–2002)

After
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the team returned to Serie A by winning the Serie B championship of 1947–48. The new Palermo squad featured players such as
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
n legend
Čestmír Vycpálek Čestmír Vycpálek (15 May 1921 – 5 May 2002) was a Czech Republic, Czech football (soccer), football Association footballer, player and Association football manager, manager who played as a midfielder. He was an uncle of noted football manag ...
who signed from
Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...
alongside Conti,
Carmelo Di Bella Carmelo Di Bella (January 30, 1921 – September 9, 1992) was an Italian football player and manager. Di Bella spent the vast majority of his career in Sicily where he was a prominent figure in the footballing scene, especially in relation to the ...
and Pavesi. Palermo played Serie A until they were relegated in 1954. Massive changes in the board, as well as the manager's job and the squad, proved successful and the club returned to Serie A in 1956. Palermo became a "
yo-yo club A yo-yo club is a sporting side that is regularly promoted and relegated. The phrase is most typically used in association football in the United Kingdom, especially in reference to promotion to and relegation from the Premier League. The name ...
", bouncing up and down between the top two Italian leagues. Several stars played for Palermo during this period, such as
Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...
striker
Santiago Vernazza Julio Carlos Santiago "Ghito" Vernazza (23 September 1928 – 12 November 2017) was an Argentine footballer. He was a forward who played for Platense and River Plate in his native Argentina until 1956, when he moved to Italy and signed for ne ...
(51 goals in 115 games with the ''Rosanero''), goalkeepers Roberto Anzolin and Carlo Mattrel, Giuseppe Furino and
Franco Causio Franco Causio (; born 1 February 1949) is an Italian former professional footballer who won the 1982 FIFA World Cup and came through the ranks of his hometown club Lecce before making his name at Juventus for many years in the 1970s and 1980s. Re ...
. Palermo marked its best campaign in 1961–62 season, finishing in eighth place in Serie A. In 1963, however, they were relegated to Serie B, where they played for five seasons. Palermo played again in Serie A between 1968 and 1970. In 1970, Renzo Barbera took over the club as the new chairman. After 1973, Palermo FBC remained firmly rooted in Serie B. Despite this, Palermo reached two
Italian Cup Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...
finals, both of which they narrowly lost: in 1974 to
Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...
on penalty shoot-outs, and in 1979 to Juventus after extra time. Barbera left the club in 1980 and Palermo were relegated to
Serie C1 Serie C1 was the third highest football league in Italy. It consisted of 36 teams, divided geographically into two divisions. History Before the 1978–79 season, there were only three professional football leagues in Italy, the third being Se ...
four years later. The 1985–86 season, however, which ended in the summer, was the last for Palermo FBC, as, having just saved themselves from relegation, the club was expelled by the football federation due to financial problems. In the summer of 1987, after a year without professional football in Palermo, the club was re-founded bearing a new name, and began to play in
Serie C2 Serie C2 was the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. History Before the 1978–79 season, there were only three professional football leagues in Italy, the third being Serie C. The league menaging t ...
, which it promptly won. In the 1990s, Palermo played between Serie B and Serie C1 with a few highs, such as its 1995–96 Serie B and Coppa Italia campaign, the latter ending in the quarter-finals, and a number of lows such as the 1998 relegation to Serie C2 after defeat in the play-offs to Battipagliese, later revoked by the federation to fill a vacant league slot. In March 2000, Roma chairman
Franco Sensi Francesco Sensi, Cavaliere del lavoro (29 July 1926 – 17 August 2008) was an Italian oil tycoon. He was born in Rome, where he lived throughout his entire life, though he also served time as mayor of Visso, the city where his family came fro ...
led a holding company to purchase Palermo and Sergio D'Antoni became the president of Palermo and Palermo were promoted to Serie B one year later after a dramatic final week of the season, with Palermo coming back from behind to take first place from league-toppers Sicilian rivals
Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...
. The first comeback season in the Serie B, with
Bortolo Mutti Bortolo Mutti (born 11 August 1954) is an Italian football manager and a former player, who was most recently manager of Livorno. His older brother Tiziano Mutti also played football professionally. To distinguish them, Tiziano was referred to ...
as head coach, was an eventless one, with Palermo ending in a mid-table placement.


The Zamparini era: back to Serie A and European years (2002–2013)

In the summer of 2002,
Friuli Friuli (; ; or ; ; ) is a historical region of northeast Italy. The region is marked by its separate regional and ethnic identity predominantly tied to the Friulians, who speak the Friulian language. It comprises the major part of the autono ...
an businessman and
Venezia Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
owner
Maurizio Zamparini Maurizio Zamparini (9 June 1941 – 1 February 2022) was an Italian businessman. He was the owner and director of football club Palermo between July 2002 – February 2017 and from July 2017 – December 2018. Biography Zamparini had business ...
acquired the club from Franco Sensi in a €15 million bid, with the clear intention to bring Palermo back to Serie A and establish the club as a Serie A regular with aims of participations to European competitions. Palermo failed in its first attempt to reach the Serie A in 2002–03 on the final week of the season, but later managed to achieve it after a hard but successful 2003–04 campaign which saw Palermo crowned as Serie B champions and promoted to Serie A after 31 years, under head coach
Francesco Guidolin Francesco Guidolin (; born 3 October 1955) is an Italian association football, football manager and former player, most recently the manager of Premier League team Swansea City A.F.C., Swansea City. He has coached various Italian club sides in Se ...
, who was hired in January 2004 as replacement for dismissed
Silvio Baldini Silvio Baldini (born 11 September 1958) is an Italian association football manager, currently in charge of club Pescara. Career Early years Born in Massa but hailing from nearby Carrara, Baldini started his coaching career in 1984 at the a ...
. The 2004–05 season, the first in Serie A for the Palermo club since 1973, ended with an excellent sixth place, securing qualification for the 2005–06
UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
for the first time in its history.
Luca Toni Luca Toni (; born 26 May 1977) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a striker. A prolific goalscorer, Toni scored over 300 goals throughout his career, and is one of the top-five highest scoring Italians in all competition ...
broke the Palermo Serie A scoring record by notching up 20 league goals. In the following season, despite an unimpressive eighth place in the Serie A table, Palermo reached the last 16 in the UEFA Cup as well as the
Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...
semi-finals. The club was however admitted to play UEFA Cup again due to the 2006 ''
Calciopoli ''Calciopoli'' () was a sports scandal in Italy's top professional association football league Serie A, and to a lesser extent, Serie B. The scandal centered on the manipulation of referee appointments to favor certain clubs during the 2004- ...
'' scandal, with Palermo players
Andrea Barzagli Andrea Barzagli (; born 8 May 1981) is an Italian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football)#Centre-back, centre-back. He was selected to the Serie A Team of the Year four times. After p ...
,
Cristian Zaccardo Cristian Zaccardo (; born 21 December 1981) is an Italian former footballer who played as a defender. He mainly played as a centre back, although he was also capable of playing as a full-back or in midfield. He began his club career with Ita ...
, Simone Barone and
Fabio Grosso Fabio Grosso (; born 28 November 1977) is an Italian professional football manager and former player. He is currently the head coach of Serie B club Sassuolo. After playing for several smaller Italian clubs, such as Renato Curi, Chieti and Per ...
being crowned
2006 World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams represe ...
winners. A number of impressive signings were made to establish an ambitious team, and a good beginning in the 2006–07 campaign appeared initially to confirm this. An 11-game winless streak, however, forced Palermo to fall down from third to seventh place, ending the season in fifth place and ensuring another
UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
qualification. The club successively established as a force in the mid-table part of the Serie A league, also winning a
Campionato Nazionale Primavera The Campionato Nazionale Primavera – Trofeo Giacinto Facchetti, was an Italian football youth competition. It is organised by the Lega Serie A and the participating teams that take part in Serie A and Serie B: the first edition was held in the 1 ...
national title in 2009. The following season started with new manager
Walter Zenga Walter Zenga (; born 28 April 1960) is an Italian professional football manager and former player, currently club manager at Serie C club Siracusa. He is regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of his generation, and one of Italy's best ...
, whose appointment from Sicilian arch-rivals Catania was greeted with surprise and dismay from supporters of both parties; Zenga's reign, however, lasted only 13 games, as he was dismissed on 23 November 2009 due to poor performances, ironically after a 1–1 home tie to Sicilian rivals and Zenga's former team, Catania, with former Lazio boss
Delio Rossi Delio Rossi (born 26 January 1960) is an Italian football manager and former footballer who played as a midfielder. Playing career Rossi was born in Rimini. His playing career was not a bright one, as he reached his personal top from 1981 to 198 ...
being appointed at his place. Under the tutelage of Delio Rossi, results dramatically improved, and Palermo established a record of seven consecutive home wins, including wins against Italian giants
Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
and Juventus, and emerging as serious contenders for a Champions League spot, which they ultimately lost to
Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa, Liguria. Sampdoria was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the ...
by only one point. Such season also launched new emerging stars such as midfielder
Javier Pastore Javier Matías Pastore (; born 20 June 1989) is an Argentine professional association football, footballer who is currently a free agent. An attacking midfielder, Pastore began his club career with Talleres de Córdoba, Talleres and then Club ...
and goalkeeper
Salvatore Sirigu Salvatore Sirigu (, ; born 12 January 1987) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Palermo. Sirigu began his career with Venezia and then Palermo. In 2011, he moved to French side Paris Saint-Germain. Twice v ...
, who went on to become integral part of their respective international teams. The 2010–11 season started with Delio Rossi still in charge of the club, and also marked Palermo's return into continental football in the form of the
UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...
. Palermo reached their third Coppa Italia finals after defeating Milan 4–3 on aggregate on 10 May 2011, losing 3–1 to
Internazionale Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Since 1 ...
in the final, in what is considered one of the peak moments of Zamparini's period at the club.


Zamparini's later years and Serie B return (2011–2018)

For the 2011–12 season, Delio Rossi was replaced by former
Chievo Chievo (4,500 inhabitants) is a frazione of Verona located to the west of the city, around from the historic city centre, on the shores of the river Adige. It is best known for its football team, A.C. ChievoVerona. History The name came from t ...
boss
Stefano Pioli Stefano Pioli (born 20 October 1965) is an Italian football manager and former player who played as a defender. He is currently manager of Serie A club ACF Fiorentina. Pioli has managed several clubs in Serie A, including Bologna, Lazio, Int ...
, who was, however, sacked before the Serie A kickoff after being eliminated by Swiss minnows
FC Thun Fussballclub Thun 1898 is a Swiss association football, football team from the Bernese Oberland town of Thun. The club plays in the Swiss Super League from 2025–26, the top tier of the Swiss football league system, following promotion from the ...
in the
Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...
third preliminary round; new head coach
Devis Mangia Devis Mangia (; born 6 June 1974) is an Italian professional association football, football manager (association football), manager. Managerial career Early years Mangia started his coaching career at age 30, working alongside Sean Sogliano at ...
, with no managerial experience other than at youth team and minor league level; despite that, Mangia turned Palermo fortunes by leading the ''Rosanero'' in fifth place thanks to an impressive string of six consecutive home wins, thus deserving a long-term deal at the club. A string of poor results, however, led Palermo to three consecutive defeats, including elimination from the Coppa Italia and a disappointing loss in the Sicilian derby, persuading Zamparini to replace Mangia with the more experienced
Bortolo Mutti Bortolo Mutti (born 11 August 1954) is an Italian football manager and a former player, who was most recently manager of Livorno. His older brother Tiziano Mutti also played football professionally. To distinguish them, Tiziano was referred to ...
. Palermo arrived 16th in that season. For the 2012–13 season, Zamparini came with another staff revolution, appointing Giorgio Perinetti as the new director of football and Giuseppe Sannino as the manager, both coming from Siena. A complete squad restructuring, a total five managerial changes and some staff changes (including a short stint with Pietro Lo Monaco as sports director) did not help, and Palermo ended its season in 18th place, being thus relegated to Serie B after nine consecutive seasons in the top flight. For the new Serie B campaign, Zamparini appointed former Milan and Italy international star
Gennaro Gattuso Gennaro Ivan Gattuso (; born 9 January 1978) is an Italians, Italian professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is currently the Manager (association football), head coach of the Italy na ...
as the new manager, despite him having little prior managerial experience; he was sacked in September 2013, the 28th sacked manager in 11 years. Fortune was reversed rather rapidly, however, as Palermo regained promotion back to Serie A for the 2014–15 season under the guidance of new head coach
Giuseppe Iachini Giuseppe 'Beppe' Iachini (; born 7 May 1964) is an Italian professional football manager and former player in the role of midfielder. Club career Iachini was born in Ascoli Piceno. He started his playing career at Ascoli and made his Serie A an ...
, with the ''Rosanero'' completing a record-breaking Serie B season with 86 points, one more than previous record holders Juventus, Chievo and
Sassuolo Sassuolo (; ) is an Italian town, ''comune'', and industrial centre of the Province of Modena in Emilia-Romagna. Standing on the right bank of the river Secchia some southwest of Modena, the town is best known for being the centre of the Ita ...
(all of them in the 22-team Serie B format). With Iachini confirmed in charge, Palermo played a rather successful
2014–15 Serie A The 2014–15 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 113th season of top-tier Italian football, the 83rd in a round-robin tournament, and the fifth since its organization under a league committee separate from Serie ...
season, narrowly missing on a UEFA Europa League spot also thanks to the all-Argentine striking force of
Paulo Dybala Paulo Exequiel Dybala (born 15 November 1993) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as an Attacking Midfielder, attacking midfielder or Forward (association football), winger for club AS Roma, Roma and the Ar ...
and
Franco Vázquez Franco Damián Vázquez (; born 22 February 1989) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as an Midfielder#Attacking midfielder, attacking midfielder for club US Cremonese, Cremonese. Beginning his career with Ar ...
. In 2015–16 season, Palermo started their season without Dybala after the youngster moved to Juventus; the ''Rosanero'' therefore relied on senior striker
Alberto Gilardino Alberto Gilardino (; born 5 July 1982) is an Italian professional football manager and a former player who played as a striker. He was most recently the manager of club Genoa. A prolific goalscorer, in Gilardino's early career he was compared ...
to play as a partner of Vázquez. Another long list of managerial changes during the season (seven in total, with
Davide Ballardini Davide Ballardini (born 6 January 1964) is an Italian football manager. He was most recently the head coach of Sassuolo. Playing career A former midfielder, Ballardini spent seven years as a player with Cesena under youth team coach Arrigo Sacch ...
as the final one) marked a very troublesome season, during which Palermo escaped relegation on the last day of the league with the necessary win over Hellas Verona 3–2, securing 16th place. For the 2016–17 season, Zamparini re-appointed Rino Foschi as sporting director; however, he resigned after just a month in charge and was replaced by former Trapani director Daniele Faggiano. Most senior players such as Gilardino, Sorrentino, Vázquez and Maresca were sold and mostly replaced with
Alessandro Diamanti Alessandro Diamanti (; born 2 May 1983) is an Italian professional football coach and former midfielder who is the manager for Melbourne City Youth. In a professional career spanning 24 years, he has played for Prato, Empoli, Fucecchio, Fiorent ...
plus several young and quasi-unknown foreign players. Ballardini, who was originally confirmed as head coach, left his position after a draw at
Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...
at the second matchday of the season and was replaced with Serie A newbie
Roberto De Zerbi Roberto De Zerbi (; born 6 June 1979) is an Italian professional football manager and former player, who is currently the head coach of Ligue 1 club Marseille. Playing career De Zerbi started his professional career at AC Milan. He spent four se ...
who ended his stay after seven league losses in a row, with former club captain
Eugenio Corini Eugenio Corini (born 30 July 1970) is an Italian professional football coach and former player. A talented, dynamic, and hard-working playmaker, known for his precise long passing, flair and his ability to orchestrate his team's attacking moves ...
taking over. More managerial and staff changes followed with little luck and, on 27 February 2017, Zamparini stepped down as chairman of Palermo after 15 years in charge, announcing he had agreed in principle to sell his controlling stake to an unspecified Anglo-American fund, led by Italian-American Paul Baccaglini who was named new club president on 6 March. Palermo ended the season in 19th place, being relegated to Serie B. The takeover, originally scheduled to be finalized by 30 April 2017 and then delayed by 30 June, eventually collapsed after Zamparini, who in the meantime had appointed Bruno Tedino as new head coach for the
2017–18 Serie B The 2017–18 Serie B (known as the Serie B ConTe.it for sponsorship reasons) was the 86th season since its establishment in 1929. A total of 22 teams contested the league: 15 returning from the 2016–17 Serie B season, 4 promoted from 2016 ...
campaign, rejected the final offer he received from Baccaglini. On 4 July 2017, Baccaglini resigned as Palermo chairman, falling back into the hands of Zamparini, after the necessary funds were not in place. Palermo's campaign in the
2017–18 Serie B The 2017–18 Serie B (known as the Serie B ConTe.it for sponsorship reasons) was the 86th season since its establishment in 1929. A total of 22 teams contested the league: 15 returning from the 2016–17 Serie B season, 4 promoted from 2016 ...
aimed for an immediate return to the top flight, with Bruno Tedino as head coach and Fabio Lupo as director of football. Initially, the team's form was good, and the ''Rosanero'' ended the first half of the season in first place; however, a string of negative results led to the appointment of new manager Roberto Stellone, who was ultimately unable to win promotion, ending the regular season in fourth place and eventually losing the playoff finals to
Frosinone Frosinone (; local dialect: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lazio, administrative seat of the province of Frosinone. It is about southeast of Rome, close to the Rome-Naples A1 Motorway. The city is the main city of th ...
.


New ownerships, financial issues and Serie B exclusion (2018–2019)

For the
2018–19 Serie B The 2018–19 Serie B (known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons) was the 87th season of Serie B in Italy since its establishment in 1929. A total of 19 teams contested in the 2018–19 season, instead of the usual 22 teams, due to the exclus ...
season, Palermo (with Rino Foschi back for a third time as sporting director) found themselves having to sell many players for financial reasons. On 22 November 2018, the club formally confirmed a takeover agreement between Zamparini and an undisclosed investor, later confirmed to be the
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
based Sport Capital Group Investments Ltd., with English businessman Clive Richardson, head of the new group, being named as new club chairman. Following a January 2019 transfer window with no signings at all and serious tensions within the board, Clive Richardson (chairman) and John Treacy (director) both resigned from the club with immediate effect on 4 February 2019, citing that the full nature of the serious financial situation at the club had not been fully disclosed to them at the time of their purchase. Days later, the club was acquired for a nominal fee by Daniela De Angeli (former managing director from the Zamparini days) and Rino Foschi (appointed as chairman), only for them to sell it again to hotel and tourism company Arkus Network S.r.l. later in May. The new owner, Sporting Network S.r.l., subscribed a €5 million capital increase to the club. At the end of the 2018–19 Serie B, Palermo finished in third place with 63 points but was demoted by
FIGC The Italian Football Federation (, ; FIGC ), known colloquially as (), is the governing body of football in Italy. It is based in Rome and the technical department is in Coverciano, Florence. It manages and coordinates the Italian football l ...
to last place in Serie B on 13 May due to serious financial irregularities, which meant relegation to
Serie C The Serie C (), officially known as Serie C NOW for sponsorship purposes, is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing ...
for the following season. The club appealed to FIGC against this ruling and were successful in having the penalty revised; rather than automatic demotion, the club was merely docked 20 points instead, which consequently placed them in a comfortable mid-table eleventh position. However, on 24 June 2019, Palermo incorrectly submitted to FIGC their standard application for the following 2019–20 Serie B season, by failing to provide evidence of a valid insurance policy for the new season. A club trading with no insurance is an extremely serious breach of Italian company law, and as such FIGC had no alternative but to formally exclude the club not only from Serie B, but indeed all professional leagues, on 12 July 2019.


A fresh start, City Football Group ownership (2019–present)

On 23 July 2019, in compliance of
Article 52 of N.O.I.F. ("Article 52 of the Italian Football Federation regulations for internal organisation") governs the status of Phoenix club (sports), phoenix clubs of football in Italy. The article was revised in 2004, 2008, 2010, and 2014. Many Commas, or paragra ...
, Mayor of Palermo
Leoluca Orlando Leoluca Orlando (born 1 August 1947) is an Italian politician. He was mayor of Palermo for over twenty years and was president of the Italian Federation of American Football (FIDAF). He is best known for his strong opposition to the Sicilian Ma ...
confirmed six declarations of interests had been presented for a new phoenix club to be admitted in
Serie D The Serie D () is the highest level of semi-professional football in Italy, and the fourth tier of the Italian national league system. It sits beneath the third and lowest fully professional league, Serie C, and feeds in to it through promotion ...
, the highest level of non-professional football in Italy, for the 2019–20 season. The next day, Orlando announced his choice of a bid by a company named "Hera Hora srl", jointly owned by entrepreneurs Dario Mirri (a Palermo native, and Renzo Barbera's nephew) and a Sicilian-American, Tony DiPiazza. Palermo completed their
Serie D The Serie D () is the highest level of semi-professional football in Italy, and the fourth tier of the Italian national league system. It sits beneath the third and lowest fully professional league, Serie C, and feeds in to it through promotion ...
campaign in first place, and was awarded promotion to Serie C by the Italian Football Federation after all the amateur leagues were stopped in March 2020 due to the global
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. On 16 July 2020, the club changed its name to Palermo Football Club. Palermo, under the guidance of
Silvio Baldini Silvio Baldini (born 11 September 1958) is an Italian association football manager, currently in charge of club Pescara. Career Early years Born in Massa but hailing from nearby Carrara, Baldini started his coaching career in 1984 at the a ...
, concluded the
2021–22 Serie C The 2021–22 Serie C was the 63rd season of the Serie C, the third tier of the Italian football league system, organized by the Lega Pro. Changes The league is composed by 60 teams, divided into three different groups. On 31 May 2021, the league ...
campaign in third place in the Group C, behind
Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...
and
Catanzaro Catanzaro (; or ; ), also known as the "City of the two Seas" (), is an Italian city of 86,183 inhabitants (2020), the capital of the Calabria region and of its province and the second most populated comune of the region, behind Reggio Calabr ...
, and then made it to the promotion playoff final against
Padova Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of ...
after eliminating
Triestina Unione Sportiva Triestina Calcio 1918, commonly referred to US Triestina or just Triestina, is an Italian football club based in Trieste, in the northern Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. Originally established in 1918, Triestina was one of the fo ...
,
Virtus Entella Virtus Entella, commonly referred to as Entella, is an Italian professional Association football, football club based in Chiavari, Liguria. Founded in 1914, the club currently competes in the . Entella will play in Serie B 2025/26 after winning ...
and Feralpisalò in the process (during playoffs, Renzo Barbera stadium was always sold out). On 12 June 2022, Palermo were promoted to
Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...
after defeating Padova 2–0 on aggregate, thus returning to the Italian second division just three years after being excluded from the league. On 4 July 2022, in the presence of
Manchester City F.C. Manchester City Football Club is a professional football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's (West Gorton), they became Ardwick Assoc ...
CEO
Ferran Soriano Ferran Soriano Compte (born 16 June 1967) is a Spanish businessman who is the chief executive officer of Premier League club Manchester City. He also operates in the same role for Major League Soccer's New York City, and the A-League's Melbour ...
, the club was formally announced to have been acquired by
City Football Group City Football Group Limited (CFG) is a British-based holding company that administers association football clubs. The group is owned by three organisations, of which 81% is majority-owned by Abu Dhabi United Group, 18% by the American firm Silve ...
, a subsidiary of
Abu Dhabi United Group The Abu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment (ADUG; ) is a United Arab Emirates (UAE) based private equity company. It is owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, member of the Abu Dhabi Royal Family and Vice President of the UA ...
, with outgoing owner Dario Mirri (who was confirmed as club chairman) keeping a 20% of the quotes. Under new head coach
Eugenio Corini Eugenio Corini (born 30 July 1970) is an Italian professional football coach and former player. A talented, dynamic, and hard-working playmaker, known for his precise long passing, flair and his ability to orchestrate his team's attacking moves ...
, former Palermo captain in the 2000s, the ''Rosanero'' ended their season in ninth place, missing on promotion playoffs in the season's final game. The follow-up season saw Palermo aiming for direct promotion; however, inconsistency in league performances led to the dismissal of Corini and the appointment of Michele Mignani as new head coach for the remainder of the campaign.


Colours and badge

The new official badge as of 2019 is a white eagle's head and three pink/black feathers within a black stylized letter 'P'. The eagle represents the city of Palermo, as it is also part of the city's official coat of arms. This new badge replaced the long-standing badge of the previous formation of the club, an
escutcheon Escutcheon may refer to: * Escutcheon (heraldry), a shield or shield-shaped emblem, displaying a coat of arms * Escutcheon (furniture), a metal plate that surrounds a keyhole or lock cylinder on a door * (in medicine) the distribution of pubic ha ...
with an eagle poised for flight within it, and the previous official club denomination "U.S. Città di Palermo" in
capital letters Letter case is the distinction between the letters that are in larger uppercase or capitals (more formally ''#Majuscule, majuscule'') and smaller lowercase (more formally ''#Minuscule, minuscule'') in the written representation of certain langua ...
on the top. From its foundation, Palermo originally played with a red and blue shirt as its official colours, but decided to switch to the unusual current choice of pink and black on 27 February 1907, contemporaneously with the change of denomination to "Palermo FootBall Club". The colour choice of pink and black was suggested by Count Giuseppe Airoldi, a prominent founding member of the club. In a personal letter Airoldi wrote on 2 February 1905 to English club councillor Joseph Whitaker, he defined pink and black poetically as "colours of the bitter and the sweet", a choice he amusingly asserted to be suited for a team characterised by "results as up and down as a Swiss clock", noting also the fact that red and blue were a very commonly used choice of colours around Italy at the time. The club had to wait for their new jerseys for three months, because no pink cotton
flannel Flannel is a soft woven fabric, of varying fineness. Flannel was originally made from carded wool or worsted yarn, but is now often made from either wool, cotton, or synthetic fiber. Flannel is commonly used to make tartan clothing, blankets, ...
material was available in Palermo and the appointed tailoring company could only find suitable material from England and had to import it from there. The vivid new shirts were first worn in a friendly match against Sir Thomas Lipton's crew team; the match ended in a 2–1 win for Palermo. From 1936 to 1940, the team were forced to play in red and yellow jerseys due to an imposition by the fascist regime of
Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...
(red and yellow being the official colours of the municipality of Palermo.) When the club was refounded in 1941 following a merger with Juventina Palermo, they started dressing in light blue shirts on the pitch, but switched back to the very popular pink and black only one year later.


Shirt sponsors and manufacturers


Stadium

Palermo plays its home matches at
Stadio Renzo Barbera Stadio Renzo Barbera (commonly known as La Favorita) is a football stadium in Palermo, Italy. It is currently the home stadium of Palermo F.C. team. The stadium was inaugurated during the fascist era on 24 January 1932, and was originally named ...
. The stadium was opened in 1932, during the fascist regime, with the name ''Stadio Littorio'' (after the Italian name for the
fasces A fasces ( ; ; a , from the Latin word , meaning 'bundle'; ) is a bound bundle of wooden rods, often but not always including an axe (occasionally two axes) with its blade emerging. The fasces is an Italian symbol that had its origin in the Etrus ...
symbol). The inaugural match, won by Palermo 5–1, was played on 24 January 1932 against
Atalanta Atalanta (; ) is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology), Clymene and who is primarily known from the tales of the Caly ...
. In 1936, the Littorio was renamed ''Stadio Michele Marrone'' after a fascist soldier who died in the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
. Initially, the stadium featured a running track and no spectator space behind the goals, only terraces and a stand along the side. In 1948, following the end of World War II and the fall of the fascist regime, the stadium was renamed ''Stadio La Favorita'' after the Favorita neighbourhood where it was located. It was also restructured to remove the running track and add two curved end sections, increasing its capacity to 30,000. In 1984, it was enlarged to 50,000. The new capacity was reached only twice: for a
Serie C1 Serie C1 was the third highest football league in Italy. It consisted of 36 teams, divided geographically into two divisions. History Before the 1978–79 season, there were only three professional football leagues in Italy, the third being Se ...
league match against Sicilian rivals
Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...
and a friendly match against Juventus. On the occasion of the
1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...
, the stadium was renovated, some new seats added, but the overall capacity reduced to 37,619. During the 1989 renovation works, five employees died following the collapse of a section of the stadium. In 2002 the stadium was renamed in honour of Renzo Barbera, legendary Palermo chairman in the 1970s. In 2007, Palermo chairman and owner
Maurizio Zamparini Maurizio Zamparini (9 June 1941 – 1 February 2022) was an Italian businessman. He was the owner and director of football club Palermo between July 2002 – February 2017 and from July 2017 – December 2018. Biography Zamparini had business ...
announced plans to move the club to a new state-of-the-art stadium, possibly located in the ''ZEN'' neighbourhood of Palermo, not far from the Velodromo Paolo Borsellino, a smaller stadium that had previously hosted some Palermo matches. In 2024, Palermo inaugurated their own training centre, located in the city of
Torretta Torretta ( Sicilian: ''Turretta'') is a ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Palermo located on the Mediterranean island of Sicily. This town is situated on a mountainous area overlooking Palermo. Olive production is Torretta's primary agricu ...
, their first one in the club's history.


Supporters

The majority of Palermo supporters come from the city and its neighbourhood. However, Palermo is also widely popular throughout Western Sicily, as well as among Sicilian immigrants in northern Italy, For example, a number of Palermo fans living in and around the German city of
Solingen Solingen (; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, 25 km east of Düsseldorf along the northern edge of the Bergisches Land, south of the Ruhr. After Wuppertal, it is the second-largest city in the Bergisches Land, and a member of ...
have even founded a club named ''FC Rosaneri'' in honour of Palermo which, as of 2007, plays in the Kreisliga B league. Support for Palermo is traditionally closely associated with a strong sense of Sicilian identity; indeed, it is not uncommon to see Sicilian flags waved by fans and
ultras Ultras are a type of association football fans who are known for their fanatical support. The term originated in Italy, but is used worldwide to describe predominantly organised fans of association football teams. The behavioural tendency ...
during Palermo matches. Palermo fans are also twinned with
Lecce Lecce (; ) is a city in southern Italy and capital of the province of Lecce. It is on the Salentine Peninsula, at the heel of the Italian Peninsula, and is over two thousand years old. Because of its rich Baroque architecture, Lecce is n ...
ultras. This friendship was strengthened by the acquisition of
Fabrizio Miccoli Fabrizio Miccoli (; born on 27 June 1979) is an Italian former professional association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. He scored 103 goals in 259 matches in Serie A across nine seasons, representing ...
, who is originally from the city of Lecce and a well-known Lecce supporter who went on to become captain of Palermo and also the club's most prolific player, setting records for: most Serie A league goals (74, from 2007 to 2013); most goals in all competitions (81, from 2007 to 2013); and most Serie A league appearances (165, from 2007 to 2013). Palermo's biggest rivals are fellow islanders
Catania Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...
. Matches between Palermo and Catania are usually referred to as Sicilian derbies, despite the existence of a third Sicilian team,
Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...
, who played in Serie A alongside Palermo and Catania in recent years. Rivalry with Messina, although historically older, is generally less intense than that with Catania. The 2006–07 return match between Palermo and Catania, played on 2 February 2007 at
Stadio Angelo Massimino Stadio Angelo Massimino (previously known as Stadio Cibali) is a multi-use stadium in Catania, Italy. It is used mostly for football matches and the home of Calcio Catania. The stadium was built in 1935 by architect Raffaele Leone on behalf of t ...
,
Catania Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...
, is remembered due to the death of policeman
Filippo Raciti On 2 February 2007, football violence occurred between football supporters and the police in Catania, Sicily, Italy. The clashes occurred during and after the Serie A match between the Catania and Palermo football clubs, also known as the Sicili ...
who was injured during riots between the local police and the Catania supporters. According to a survey of 2008, the team has about 1.47 million fans domestically, placing it among the top ten best-supported Italian teams. For example, at the Coppa Italia final played in Rome on 29 May 2011 against
Inter Inter may refer to: Association football clubs * Inter Milan, an Italian club * SC Internacional, a Brazilian club * Inter Miami CF, an American club * Inter Playa del Carmen, a Mexican club * FC Inter Sibiu, a Romanian club * FC Inter Turku, ...
, which Palermo lost 3–1, it was estimated that there were 25,000 - 35,000 fans from Palermo, easily outnumbering the ''Nerazzurri'' fans present.


Players


Current squad


Palermo Primavera


Out on loan


Former players

In 2020, as part of the club's 120th anniversary celebrations, Palermo announced a
hall of fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...
selection, with eleven players and a manager selected from a list of over 100 proposals. The most voted players were: *
Fabrizio Miccoli Fabrizio Miccoli (; born on 27 June 1979) is an Italian former professional association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. He scored 103 goals in 259 matches in Serie A across nine seasons, representing ...
; 4183 votes *
Eugenio Corini Eugenio Corini (born 30 July 1970) is an Italian professional football coach and former player. A talented, dynamic, and hard-working playmaker, known for his precise long passing, flair and his ability to orchestrate his team's attacking moves ...
; 3924 votes *
Javier Pastore Javier Matías Pastore (; born 20 June 1989) is an Argentine professional association football, footballer who is currently a free agent. An attacking midfielder, Pastore began his club career with Talleres de Córdoba, Talleres and then Club ...
; 3835 votes *
Federico Balzaretti Federico Balzaretti (; born 6 December 1981) is an Italian former professional association football, footballer who played as a left-back. Currently is the Loan Manager of AS Roma, Roma. A product of the Torino F.C., Torino youth system, his fir ...
; 3738 votes *
Andrea Barzagli Andrea Barzagli (; born 8 May 1981) is an Italian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football)#Centre-back, centre-back. He was selected to the Serie A Team of the Year four times. After p ...
; 3495 votes *
Josip Iličić Josip Iličić (; born 29 January 1988) is a Slovenian professional Association footballer, footballer who plays for FC Koper, Koper. Primarily an attacking midfielder, he can also play as a winger (association football), winger or forward (assoc ...
; 2801 votes *
Paulo Dybala Paulo Exequiel Dybala (born 15 November 1993) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as an Attacking Midfielder, attacking midfielder or Forward (association football), winger for club AS Roma, Roma and the Ar ...
; 2798 votes *
Luca Toni Luca Toni (; born 26 May 1977) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a striker. A prolific goalscorer, Toni scored over 300 goals throughout his career, and is one of the top-five highest scoring Italians in all competition ...
; 2700 votes *
Fabio Grosso Fabio Grosso (; born 28 November 1977) is an Italian professional football manager and former player. He is currently the head coach of Serie B club Sassuolo. After playing for several smaller Italian clubs, such as Renato Curi, Chieti and Per ...
; 2575 votes *
Francesco Guidolin Francesco Guidolin (; born 3 October 1955) is an Italian association football, football manager and former player, most recently the manager of Premier League team Swansea City A.F.C., Swansea City. He has coached various Italian club sides in Se ...
; 2516 votes *
Amauri Amauri Carvalho de Oliveira (born 3 June 1980), known as Amauri, is an Italian former footballer who played as a striker. His previous clubs include Bellinzona, Parma, Napoli, Piacenza, Empoli, Messina, Chievo, Palermo, Juventus, Fiorentin ...
; 2292 votes *
Edinson Cavani Edinson Roberto Cavani Gómez (; born 14 February 1987) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Argentine Primera División club Boca Juniors. Nicknamed "El Matador" (The Bullfighter), he is considered as one of the ...
; 1702 votes *
Stefano Sorrentino Stefano Sorrentino (born 28 March 1979) is an Italian former footballer. A professional goalkeeper for his whole career, he is currently a football agent. Sorrentino played for several Italian clubs throughout his career, being mainly known fo ...
; 1583 votes * Roberto Biffi; 1566 votes *
Lamberto Zauli Lamberto Zauli (born 19 July 1971) is an Italian professional football coach and former player. As a player, he spent his career as an attacking midfielder but was also capable of playing on the left wing on occasion. Club career Born in Rome, ...
; 1490 votes


Club officials


Board of directors


Current technical staff


Managers

In 2020, as part of the celebrations for the club's 120th anniversary, Palermo announced a
hall of fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...
selection, asking their supporters to select the best manager in the club's history among a list of successful ones from the past. The best manager in the club's history was selected to be
Francesco Guidolin Francesco Guidolin (; born 3 October 1955) is an Italian association football, football manager and former player, most recently the manager of Premier League team Swansea City A.F.C., Swansea City. He has coached various Italian club sides in Se ...
, who led Palermo to win promotion to Serie A in 2004 after a 31-year absence, and sixth place in the top flight (best result in the club's history) and consequent first ever European qualification the year after. Other candidates for all-time manager were (in order of votes): *
Delio Rossi Delio Rossi (born 26 January 1960) is an Italian football manager and former footballer who played as a midfielder. Playing career Rossi was born in Rimini. His playing career was not a bright one, as he reached his personal top from 1981 to 198 ...
*
Giuseppe Iachini Giuseppe 'Beppe' Iachini (; born 7 May 1964) is an Italian professional football manager and former player in the role of midfielder. Club career Iachini was born in Ascoli Piceno. He started his playing career at Ascoli and made his Serie A an ...
* Ignazio Arcoleo *
Čestmír Vycpálek Čestmír Vycpálek (15 May 1921 – 5 May 2002) was a Czech Republic, Czech football (soccer), football Association footballer, player and Association football manager, manager who played as a midfielder. He was an uncle of noted football manag ...
*
Fernando Veneranda Fernando Veneranda (23 May 1941 – 1 March 2007 in Porto San Giorgio) was an Italian football (soccer) player and manager. Playing career Veneranda, a forward, started his professional career for Fiorentina, where he played from 1960 to 1963. H ...
* Giuseppe Caramanno * Rosario Pergolizzi *
Corrado Viciani Corrado may refer to: Places *Anticoli Corrado, comune in the City of Rome * Monte Vidon Corrado, comune in the Province of Fermo People Given name *See Corrado (given name) Surname * Andrea Corrado (1873-1963), Italian ship owner * Andrea Di Corr ...
*
Carmelo Di Bella Carmelo Di Bella (January 30, 1921 – September 9, 1992) was an Italian football player and manager. Di Bella spent the vast majority of his career in Sicily where he was a prominent figure in the footballing scene, especially in relation to the ...
*
Gipo Viani Giuseppe "Gipo" Viani (13 September 1909 – 6 January 1969) was an Italian football player and manager from the Province of Treviso who played as a midfielder. Playing career Viani was born Treviso. He played his entire career in the Italian ...
*
Benigno De Grandi Benigno De Grandi (15 June 1924 – 11 December 2014) was an Italian professional football player and manager. He played for Mantova, Seregno, Milan, Palermo and Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is ...


Chairmen history

Over the years Palermo has had various owners and chairmen; here is a chronological list of the known chairmen: * Edward De Garston ''(1900–1903)'' * Barone Michele Vannucci ''(1903–1904)'' * Cavaliere Ignazio Majo Pagano ''(1904–1908)'' * Barone Roberto Pottino ''(1908–1915)'' * Valentino Colombo ''(1920–1923)'' * Cavaliere Michele Utveggio ''(1923–1925)'' * Valentino Colombo ''(1925–1926)'' * Conte Liotta di Lemos ''(1928)'' * Barone Giovanni Sergio ''(1928)'' * Conte Guido Airoldi ''(1928–1929)'' * Barone Luigi Bordonaro di Gebbiarossa ''(1929–1931)'' * Francesco Paolo Barresi ''(1931–1933)'' * Cavaliere Giovanni Lo Casto Valenti ''(1933–1934)'' * Valentino Colombo ''(1934–1935)'' * Giovanni De Luca ''(1935)'' * Luigi Majo Pagano ''(1935–1936)'' * Valentino Colombo ''(1936–1937)'' * Paolo Di Pietra ''(1937–1938)'' * Salvatore Barbaro ''(1938–1940)'' * Duilio Lanni ''(1941–1942)'' * Giuseppe Agnello ''(1942–1947)'' * Stefano La Motta ''(1947–1948)'' * Giuseppe Guazzardella ''(1948–1951)'' * Raimondo Lanza di Trabia ''(1951–1952)'' * Barone Carlo La Lomia ''(1952–1953)'' *
Mario Fasino Mario Fasino (26 July 1920 – 17 January 2017) was an Italian politician, journalist, and one of the co-founders of Christian Democracy (Italy), Christian Democratic Party (DC) in Sicily. He served as the President of Sicily, President of the R ...
''(1953–1954)'' * Ernesto Pivetti ''(1954–1955)'' * Giuseppe Trapani ''(1955)'' * Conte Arturo Cassina ''(1955–1956)'' * Giuseppe Seminara ''(1956–1957)'' * Casimiro Vizzini ''(1957–1963)'' * Conte Guglielmo Pinzero ''(1963–1964)'' * Ernesto Di Fresco, Luigi Barbaccia, Franz Gorgone ''(1964)'' * Casimiro Vizzini ''(1964)'' * Conte Guglielmo Pinzero ''(1964)'' * Totò Vilardo ''(1964–1965)'' * Franco Spagnolo ''(1965)'' * Franz Gorgone ''(1965)'' * Luigi Gioia ''(1965)'' * Giuseppe Pergolizzi ''(1967–1970)'' * Renzo Barbera ''(1970–1980)'' * Gaspare Gambino ''(1980–1982)'' * Roberto Parisi ''(1982–1985)'' * Salvatore Matta ''(1985–1986)'' * Salvino Lagumina ''(1987–1989)'' * Giovanni Ferrara ''(1989–1993)'' * Liborio Polizzi ''(1993–1995)'' * Giovanni Ferrara ''(1995–2000)'' * Sergio D'Antoni ''(2000–2002)'' *
Maurizio Zamparini Maurizio Zamparini (9 June 1941 – 1 February 2022) was an Italian businessman. He was the owner and director of football club Palermo between July 2002 – February 2017 and from July 2017 – December 2018. Biography Zamparini had business ...
''(2002–2017)'' * Paul Baccaglini ''(2017)'' * Giovanni Giammarva ''(2017–2018)'' * Clive Richardson ''(2018–2019)'' * Rino Foschi ''(2019)'' * Alessandro Albanese ''(2019)'' * Dario Mirri ''(2019–)''


Honours

*
Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...
**Champions (5): 1931–32, 1947–48, 1967–68, 2003–04, 2013–14 *
Serie C1 Serie C1 was the third highest football league in Italy. It consisted of 36 teams, divided geographically into two divisions. History Before the 1978–79 season, there were only three professional football leagues in Italy, the third being Se ...
**Champions (4): 1941–42, 1945–46, 1992–93, 2000–01 *
Serie C2 Serie C2 was the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. History Before the 1978–79 season, there were only three professional football leagues in Italy, the third being Serie C. The league menaging t ...
**Champions (1): 1987–88 *
Serie D The Serie D () is the highest level of semi-professional football in Italy, and the fourth tier of the Italian national league system. It sits beneath the third and lowest fully professional league, Serie C, and feeds in to it through promotion ...
**Champions (1): 2019–20 *''
Prima Divisione Prima Divisione (''First Division'') was the name of the first level of the Italian Football Championship from 1921 to 1926. The competition was initially founded in opposition to the FIGC by the richest clubs of Northern Italy, which disagreed the ...
'' **Champions (1): 1929–30 *
Coppa Italia Serie C Coppa Italia Serie C (), formerly named Coppa Italia Lega Pro, is a straight knock-out based competition involving teams from Serie C in Italian football first held in 1972. Format There are a total of six rounds in the competition. It begins i ...
**Winners (1): 1992–93


Other Titles

* Coppa Federale Siciliana :*Winners (1): 1920 *Whitaker Challenge Cup :*Winners (1): 1908 *
Lipton Challenge Cup The Lipton Challenge Cup (also known as Southern Italy Championship) was a football competition competed between clubs from Southern Italy and Sicily. It was played during the period leading up to World War I when football in the country was stil ...
:*Winners (5): 1910, 1912, 1913, 1914, 1915 *Torneo di Tunisi **Winners (1): 1923 * Campionato Primavera: **Winners (1): 2008–09 *
Campionato Nazionale Dante Berretti Campionato Primavera 3, formerly Campionato Nazionale Dante Berretti (or simply ''Campionato Berretti''), is an Italian football competition played by youth teams (under 19) organized by the Lega Pro, and mainly composed by Serie C clubs but also ...
: **Winners (1): 2000–01 *Coppa Allievi Professionisti: **Winners (1): 1997–98 *Campionato Giovanissimi Regionali: **Winners (2): 2011–12, 2012–13


Records

*Most appearances in all competitions – 373, Roberto Biffi (1988–1999) *Most European appearances – 15,
Andrea Barzagli Andrea Barzagli (; born 8 May 1981) is an Italian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football)#Centre-back, centre-back. He was selected to the Serie A Team of the Year four times. After p ...
,
Franco Brienza Franco Brienza (; born 19 March 1979) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a forward or attacking midfielder. Throughout his career, he played for several Italian clubs, but is mainly known for his time with Palermo. At in ...
and Mattia Cassani *Most Serie A league appearances – 165,
Fabrizio Miccoli Fabrizio Miccoli (; born on 27 June 1979) is an Italian former professional association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. He scored 103 goals in 259 matches in Serie A across nine seasons, representing ...
(2007–2013) *Most league goals – 74,
Fabrizio Miccoli Fabrizio Miccoli (; born on 27 June 1979) is an Italian former professional association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. He scored 103 goals in 259 matches in Serie A across nine seasons, representing ...
(2007–2013) *Most Serie A league goals – 74,
Fabrizio Miccoli Fabrizio Miccoli (; born on 27 June 1979) is an Italian former professional association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. He scored 103 goals in 259 matches in Serie A across nine seasons, representing ...
(2007–2013) *Most Serie B league goals – 44, Carlo Radice (1930-1932) *Most Serie C/C1 league goals – 25, Matteo Brunori (2021-2022) *Most Coppa Italia cup goals – 7, Massimo De Stefanis (1979–1984) *Most Europa League/UEFA Cup goals – 4,
Franco Brienza Franco Brienza (; born 19 March 1979) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a forward or attacking midfielder. Throughout his career, he played for several Italian clubs, but is mainly known for his time with Palermo. At in ...
(2005–2007),
Abel Hernández Abel Mathías Hernández Platero (born 8 August 1990) is a Uruguayan professional association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Uruguayan Primera División club Liverpool F.C. (Montevideo), Liverpo ...
(2010–2011) *Most goals in all competitions – 81,
Fabrizio Miccoli Fabrizio Miccoli (; born on 27 June 1979) is an Italian former professional association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. He scored 103 goals in 259 matches in Serie A across nine seasons, representing ...
(2007–2013) *Most goals in a season – 30,
Luca Toni Luca Toni (; born 26 May 1977) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a striker. A prolific goalscorer, Toni scored over 300 goals throughout his career, and is one of the top-five highest scoring Italians in all competition ...
(2003–2004) *Current player with most appearances – 156, Matteo Brunori (as of 12 April 2025) *Biggest win and biggest home win in Serie A – 8–0 (''v.'' Pro Patria, 5 November 1950) *Biggest away win – 8–1 (''v.''
Potenza Potenza (, ; ; , Potentino dialect: ''Putenz'') is a ''comune'' in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata (former Lucania). Capital of the Province of Potenza and the Basilicata region, the city is the highest regional capital and one of ...
, 1 March 1942) *Biggest defeat and biggest away defeat – 0–9 (''v.''
Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
, 18 February 1951) *Biggest home defeat – 0–7 (''v.''
Udinese Udinese Calcio (; "Udinese Football") is a professional football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. The team currently competes in the Serie A, the first tier of Italian football. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sport ...
, 27 February 2011) *Highest number of points in Serie A league – 65 pt. ( 2009–10) 5th position *Best series without home defeats – 31 (Palermo–Vibonese 0–0, 10 April 2021 – Palermo–Perugia 2–0, 13 August 2022) *Greatest series of consecutive victories in Serie A league – 5 ( 1961–62 and 2006–07)


Competitions


League


National cups


International competitions


In Europe


UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League


References


Bibliography

* * * * * *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Palermo Football clubs in Italy Football clubs in Sicily Association football clubs established in 1900 Serie B clubs Serie C clubs Serie D clubs 1900 establishments in Italy 1927 establishments in Italy 1940 establishments in Italy 1987 establishments in Italy 2019 establishments in Italy Phoenix clubs (association football) Coppa Italia Serie C winning clubs City Football Group