Palermo Pre-Season Preview

By: Steven | August 26th, 2008

So we’re about four days away from the new season. Time to look at what we can expect from the team this season, and have a look at all the summer movement. Off course there will be a preview for the Udinese-game later this week, but this has to be done too.

2007-2008

We can all agree that last season was a tremendous joke. Colantuono at the helm of one of the most talented teams in the league, it could’ve been such a succes. Too bad we got fucked pretty early in the season, with a 5-0 beating by Penitentiary FC leading to the sacking of Colantuono. And leading to the return of the Castelfranco Veneto Knobcheese. After that, it was all bad. We got kicked out of Europe by some team I can’t even remember, our B-squad lost to Udinese’s C-squad in the Coppa (hello, game winner by Floro Flores, how embarassing can a game get?) and the big drop down the table. When Colantuono returned, shit had already been spread by the fan. No UEFA, not even Intertoto.

Mercato

Amauri left, and some other suckers left as well. Zacc will be missed, a little, but the cashing in on Biava and Barzagli was brilliant. Too bad we also lost Rinaudo. But Zampa and his boys (without Rino) did well, bringing in the new Gigi Buffon, a solid defense, Nocerino and De Melo. The team looked like a hit. And then we went and stunk things up against Ravenna.

2008-2009

We can already skip Coppa-succes, after the Ravenna-disaster. So, what can we expect then? I think it’s fair to say that the competition for the UEFA-spots is wide open. Viola, Lazio, Napoli, Genoa, Udinese, Samp and Bologna are all aiming for one of those three spots, and we need to step up to them. It’s also fair to say that our season will be a failure if we don’t reach European football at the end of the season. There are no distractions from other competitions, so we can focus on Serie A. The team is talented, the coach is experienced and the chief has deep pockets. This must be our year.

The Big Question Marks

1. Can De Melo be the new Amauri?

No. But that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. De Melo will be less prominent in the game, but will score more goals that Amauri. He just needs some time.

2. Can we give the CL-boys a hard time?

Yes. Last year, we beat Milan, Fiorentina, Juve and Lazio and drew with Inter. Why wouldn’t we be able to do it this year?

3. Will we miss the German Goons?

No. They were experienced, but Raggi, Kjaer and Bovo are hungry.

All of this may be obsolete by saturday evening, if the Udinese-game ends up the wrong way. Let’s hope it doesn’t.

Voi….Siete….TERREMOTATI!