Palermo Promoted To Serie B
Brunori penalty seals Padova’s fate as Sicilians go up
Following a 2–0 aggregate win over Massimo Oddo’s Padova, Silvio Baldini guided the Rosaneri to the Italian second division after a three-year absence.
Matteo Brunori converted a 25th-minute penalty at the Stadio Renzo Barbera — his 29th of the season — which doubled Palermo’s advantage following Roberto Floriano’s first-leg winner seven days earlier in Padova.
On loan from Juventus, it was also Brunori’s fourth strike of the Serie C PlayOffs, capping off a fairytale week following his marriage just days ago. The 27-year-old was substituted to a standing ovation with ten minutes left.
However, most of the credit should fall to Silvio Baldini, previously sacked by former Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini in 2004, who returned 17 years later to mastermind a third-place finish in Girone C of Lega Pro and guide the Aquile seamlessly throughout the PlayOff phase.
Mind Games
Palermo was transformed into a goal machine in 2022, tallying 52 goals since January to terrify opponents throughout the south.
Surrounded by four walls of pink, Francesco De Rose crushed Biancoscudati hopes with a blend of psychological warfare in midfield while Floriano and Nicola Valente unleashed a daunting high press.
Antonio Donnarumma was constantly called into action for the Padovani to thwart the Rosanero attack while Samuele Massolo barely made a save.
Padova ended the match with nine players following Ronaldo’s high challenge in the 56th while Carlo Pelagatti picked up a yellow on either side of the break.
Drabanna, Cabbana*
Despite finishing in 11th place in 2019, the Siciliani declared bankruptcy. Palermo FC subsequently restarted from Serie D and worked it’s way back up to delight fans across the fifth largest city in Italy.
With the current playoff formula, Palermo is the third team (after Cosenza in 2018 and Pisa in 2019) that won promotion to Serie B starting from a lower-ranked position (3rd in Girone C) compared to Padova (2nd in Girone A behind FC SudTirol).
Promoted to Serie A in 2004 with Luca Toni leading the way, Palermo competed in twelve top-flight seasons between 2004–2017 and finished as high as 5th on three occasions while fielding high caliber footballers such as Fabrizio Miccoli, Josip Ilicic, Javier Pastore, Paolo Dybala and Edinson Cavani.
The final piece of the puzzle
Victorious in the last professional game of calcio for 2021/22, Palermo joins Modena, Sudtirol and Bari for the 2022/23 Serie B campaign while Pordenone, Alessandria, Vicenza and Crotone all make way.
Promotion will most probably accelerate negotiations for the transfer of ownership of Palermo, with the City Group of Sheikh Mansour and — in recent days — new interest from former Roma boss James Pallotta.
The coming weeks will be decisive. For now, Palermo FC and its city will indulge as chatter over an immediate return to Serie A echoes across the piazze.
*That’s Sicilian dialect for “that side, this side”.
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