2003–04 U.S. Città di Palermo season

U.S. Città di Palermo played the season 2003-04 in the Serie B league and Coppa Italia.

U.S. Città di Palermo

2003-04 season
President	Maurizio Zamparini
Manager	Silvio Baldini[1] Francesco Guidolin
Serie B	1º (promoted to Serie A)
Coppa Italia	Eightfinals
Top goalscorer	League: Luca Toni (30) All: Toni (30)

Summary

Ambitious Palermo, for the first time since 1973, failed to gain promotion to Serie A in the previous season following a 3-0 away defeat in the final match against Lecce, which were promoted at Palermo's place[2]. That dramatic defeat was also the last appearance in his playing career for team captain Antonino Asta, who seriously injured during the match and did not manage to recover; he was part of the first team squad in the season 2003-04, without however making a single appearance. Following the events, Palermo made a number of prominent signings in the summer market, such as Eugenio Corini, Andrea Gasbarroni and Luca Toni[3]; in addition, Palermo-born star Gaetano Vasari agreed to join the rosanero with a salary based on the number of appearances he would have made in the season. Silvio Baldini was appointed as new boss to replace Nedo Sonetti. Several football pundits suggested Palermo to be the real favourite team to win the Serie B league because of the quality of its roster.

The team made a very impressive start by defeating Gianfranco Zola's Cagliari Calcio, and managed to be always in the promotion spots. However, following a surprising 3-1 home defeat to Salernitana that brought Palermo down to third place, Baldini heavily criticized club chairman Maurizio Zamparini[4] who consequently fired him and appointed Francesco Guidolin at his place. On the last day of the January transfer market, three new notable signings were made: Antonio Filippini, Emanuele Filippini and Fabio Grosso. Palermo later returned to top the table and eventually won the league, ending with the same points than Cagliari, but being crowned as Serie B champions due to head-to-head matches and promoted to Serie A after 31 years in the lower divisions.

Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  ITA Gianluca Berti 2 DF  ITA Paolo Cotroneo 3 DF  ITA Francesco Modesto[5] 4 DF  ITA Gianluca Atzori 5 MF  ITA Eugenio Corini 6 DF  ITA Christian Terlizzi 7 MF  ITA Gaetano Vasari 8 MF  ITA Daniele Di Donato 9 FW  ITA Luca Toni 10 MF  ITA Lamberto Zauli 11 MF  ITA Salvatore Masiello 12 GK  ITA Nicola Santoni 13 DF  ITA Pietro Accardi 14 MF  CMR Frank Oliver Ongfiang[6] 14 DF  ITA Rocco D'Aiello 16 FW  ITA Pietro Balistreri 17 FW  ITA Antonino Asta 18 FW  ITA Franco Brienza[7] 18 DF  ITA Fabio Grosso[8] 19 DF  ITA Daniele Zito

No. Pos. Nation Player 20 FW  ITA Simone Pepe 21 MF  ROU Paul Codrea[9] 21 DF  ITA Giuseppe Biava[10] 22 MF  ITA Massimo Mutarelli 23 MF  ITA Ighli Vannucchi[11] 23 MF  ITA Emanuele Filippini[12] 24 FW  NGA John Olufemi 25 DF  SLE Kewullay Conteh 26 MF  ITA Antonio Filippini[13] 27 MF  ITA Michele Trionfante 29 DF  ROU Valentin Năstase 30 FW  BRA Jeda[14] 32 MF  ITA Marco Fina 46 MF  ITA Andrea Gasbarroni 51 MF  ITA Vincenzo Giannusa 79 MF  ITA Evans Soligo 81 DF  ITA Michele Ferri 82 MF  ITA Nicola Milano 84 GK  ITA Paolo Comi

Transfers

In
Pos.	Name	from	Type
GK	Gianluca Berti	Empoli
GK	Paolo Comi	Monza
DF	Michele Ferri	A.C. Milan
DF	Gianluca Atzori	Empoli
DF	Christian Terlizzi	Cesena
MF	Evans Soligo	Venezia
MF	Ighli Vannucchi	Empoli
MF	Andrea Gasbarroni	Juventus
MF	Eugenio Corini	Chievo Verona
MF	Gaetano Vasari	Cesena
FW	Simone Pepe	A.S. Roma
FW	Franco Brienza	Ascoli	loan ended
FW	Luca Toni	Brescia Calcio

Out
Pos.	Name	To	Type
GK	Vincenzo Sicignano	Parma
DF	Alessandro Lucarelli	Fiorentina
DF	Oscar Brevi	Ascoli
DF	Matteo Pivotto	Modena
DF	Leandro Rinaudo	Salernitana	loan
MF	Valentino Lai	Salernitana	loan
MF	Manolo Pestrin	Cesena
MF	Frank Oliver Ongfiang	Cesena
FW	Filippo Maniero	Brescia Calcio
FW	Cristian La Grottería	Padova

Winter

In

18	DF	ITA	Fabio Grosso (from Perugia)
21	DF	ITA	Giuseppe Biava (from AlbinoLeffe)
23	MF	ITA	Emanuele Filippini (from Parma)
26	MF	ITA	Antonio Filippini (from Brescia)
30	FW	BRA	Jeda (from Vicenza)

Out

3	DF	ITA	Francesco Modesto (to Reggina)
18	MF	ITA	Franco Brienza (on loan to Perugia)
21	MF	ROU	Paul Codrea (on loan to Perugia)
23	MF	ITA	Ighli Vannucchi (to Empoli)

Competitions

Serie B

Main article: 2003–04 Serie B

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Palermo (C, P)	46	22	17	7	75	39	+36	83	Promotion to Serie A
2	Cagliari (P)	46	23	14	9	80	51	+29	83
3	Livorno (P)	46	20	19	7	75	45	+30	79
4	Messina (P)	46	21	16	9	71	45	+26	79
5	Atalanta (P)	46	19	20	7	59	36	+23	77

Source: Almanacco Illustrato del Calcio - La Storia 1898-2004, Panini Edizioni, Modena, September 2005
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head goals scored; 5) goal difference; 6) number of goals scored.
(C) Champion; (P) Promoted.

Matches

Salernitana v Palermo

23 September 2003	Salernitana	1-1	Palermo
	Tulli  49'		94' Gasbarroni

Palermo v Piacenza

8 October 2003	Palermo	1-1	Piacenza
	Toni  64'		90' Beghetto

Avellino v Palermo

11 September 2003

Avellino

0-0

Palermo

Palermo v Cagliari

14 September 2003	Palermo	1-0	Cagliari
	Corini  53' (rig.)

Palermo v Ternana

20 September 2003	Palermo	2-1	Ternana
	Brienza  14' Mutarelli  83'		92' Kharja

Torino v Palermo

27 September 2003	Torino	2-1	Palermo
	Ferrante  24' (rig.), 43'		59' (rig.) Corini

Palermo v Pescara

4 October 2003	Palermo	2-1	Pescara
	Corini  11' (rig.) Pepe  85'		55' (aut.) Di Donato

Como v Palermo

12 October 2003	Como	0-1	Palermo
			57' (pen) Corini

Palermo v Fiorentina

15 October 2003	Palermo	2-0	Fiorentina
	Corini  29' (rig.) Di Donato  33'

Venezia v Palermo

18 October 2003	Venezia	1-1	Palermo
	Liendo  77'		94' Toni

Ascoli v Palermo

25 October 2003	Ascoli	1-2	Palermo
	Bonfiglio  29'		28' Toni  56' Mutarelli

Palermo v Atalanta

2 November 2003

Palermo

0-0

Atalanta

Catania v Palermo

9 November 2003	Catania	0-2	Palermo
			7' (pen) Corini  65' Zauli

Palermo v Napoli

16 November 2003	Palermo	4-0	Napoli
	Ferri  27' Toni  37', 60' Zauli  48'

Treviso v Palermo

20 November 2003	Treviso	1-1	Palermo
	Centurioni  50'		92' Corini

Palermo v Verona

23 November 2003	Palermo	3-1	Verona
	Toni  27', 52', 72'		23' Papa Waigo

Genoa v Palermo

28 November 2003	Genoa	1-1	Palermo
	Colacone  56'		79' Corini

Palermo v Albinoleffe

7 December 2003	Palermo	2-1	Albinoleffe
	Toni  14' Di Donato  39'		30' Biava

Vicenza v Palermo

14 December 2003

Vicenza

0-0

Palermo

Palermo v Messina

21 December 2003

Palermo

0-0

Messina

Triestina v Palermo

6 January 2004	Triestina	1-0	Palermo
	Moscardelli  82'

Palermo v Livorno

11 January 2004	Palermo	4-1	Livorno
	Zauli  22', 71' Toni  49', 84'		48' C.Lucarelli

Bari v Palermo

18 January 2004	Bari	2-1	Palermo
	Cordova  29' (rig.) De Rosa  41'		35' Corini

Palermo v Salernitana

	Palermo	0-2	Salernitana
			59', 84' Bogdani

Piacenza v Palermo

	Piacenza	2-2	Palermo
	Lucenti  42' Beghetto  89'		49' Toni  81' Nastase

Palermo v Avellino

	Palermo	1-1	Avellino
	Toni  42'		70' Stroppa

Cagliari v Palermo

	Cagliari	3-2	Palermo
	Abeijon  42' E.Filippini  79' (aut.) Langella  87'		49', 67' Gasbarroni

Ternana v Palermo

	Ternana	1-1	Palermo
	Zampagna  41'		8' Toni

Palermo v Torino

	Palermo	2-1	Torino
	Gasbarroni  39' Jeda  40'		8' Tiribocchi

Pescara v Palermo

	Pescara	0-2	Palermo
			5' Toni  77' Jeda

Palermo v Como

	Palermo	2-1	Como
	Toni  71' Corini  89' (rig.)		83' De Francesco

Fiorentina v Palermo

32	Fiorentina	2-1	Palermo
	Di Livio  34' Vryzas  92'		20' Toni

Palermo v Venezia

	Palermo	4-0	Venezia
	Toni  20', 82' E.Filippini  39' Gasbarroni  61'

Palermo v Ascoli

	Palermo	1-0	Ascoli
	Corini  50' (rig.)

Atalanta v Palermo

Atalanta

0-0

Palermo

Palermo v Catania

	Palermo	5-0	Catania
	A.Filippini  7' Biava  30' Toni  57', 73' (rig.) E.Filippini  70'

Napoli v Palermo

	Napoli	1-1	Palermo
	Dionigi  28'		40' A.Filippini

Palermo v Treviso

	Palermo	2-3	Treviso
	Corini  31' (rig.) Jeda  43'		19' A.D'Agostino  61' Bianco  81' Ganci

Verona v Palermo

	Verona	1-2	Palermo
	Adailton  11'		28', 88' Toni

Palermo v Genoa

	Palermo	3-1	Genoa
	Toni  5', 52' E.Filippini  44'		72' Milito

Albinoleffe v Palermo

	Albinoleffe	1-1	Palermo
	Raimondi  81'		59' Biava

Palermo v Vicenza

	Palermo	3-0	Vicenza
	Gasbarroni  10' Toni  25' Di Donato  65'

Messina v Palermo

	Messina	1-1	Palermo
	Sosa  80'		75' Biava

Palermo v Triestina

	Palermo	3-1	Triestina
	Toni  31', 41' E.Filippini  83'		63' Mantovani

Livorno v Palermo

	Livorno	1-1	Palermo
	C.Lucarelli  71'		69' Toni

Palermo v Bari

	Palermo	3-0	Bari
	Toni  31' Grosso  45+1' Vasari  89'

Statistics

Players statistics

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Serie B		Coppa Italia
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK		Gianluca Berti	43	-35	42	-35	1	0
12	GK		Nicola Santoni	8	-10	4	-4	4	-6
84	GK		Paolo Comi	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	DF		Gianluca Atzori	18	0	17	0	1	0
6	DF		Christian Terlizzi	15	0	12	0	3	0
13	DF		Pietro Accardi	35	0	32	0	3	0
18	DF		Fabio Grosso	21	1	21	1	0	0
21	DF		Giuseppe Biava	19	3	19	3	0	0
25	DF		Kewullay Conteh	34	0	32	0	2	0
29	DF		Valentin Năstase	19	1	16	1	3	0
81	DF		Michele Ferri	39	2	36	1	3	1
5	MF		Eugenio Corini	43	12	40	12	3	0
7	MF		Gaetano Vasari	30	2	26	1	4	1
8	MF		Daniele Di Donato	39	3	39	3	0	0
10	MF		Lamberto Zauli	24	4	21	4	3	0
11	MF		Salvatore Masiello	22	0	18	0	4	0
17	MF		Antonino Asta	0	0	0	0	0	0
22	MF		Massimo Mutarelli	44	2	41	2	3	0
23	MF		Emanuele Filippini	20	4	20	4	0	0
26	MF		Antonio Filippini	21	2	21	2	0	0
46	MF		Andrea Gasbarroni	41	6	39	6	2	0
79	MF		Evans Soligo	13	1	9	0	4	1
82	MF		Nicola Milano	1	0	0	0	1	0
9	FW		Luca Toni	47	30	45	30	2	0
20	FW		Simone Pepe	24	3	19	1	5	2
24	FW		John Otuagomah Olufemi	1	0	0	0	1	0
30	FW		Jeda	17	3	17	3	0	0

• Source:

References

1. (Until round 24).
2. "Season 2002-03 Palermo" (in Italian). ilpalermocalcio.it. Archived from the original on 2008-09-14.
3. "The last night of Toni" (in Italian). gazzetta.it.
4. "Zamparini Interview" (in Italian). raisport.it. Archived from the original on 2007-11-16.
5. loaned out on Winter.
6. Loaned out.
7. Loaned out
8. Transferred In on Winter
9. Loaned out.
10. Transferred In
11. Loaned out.
12. Transferred In on Winter
13. Transferred In on Winter
14. Transferred In on Winter