2005–06 U.S. Città di Palermo season
# 2005–06 U.S. Città di Palermo season

U.S. Città di Palermo played the season 2005-06 in the Serie A league, the second consecutive time since the 2004 promotion. During this season, Palermo also competed in the UEFA Cup, thus making its historical first appearance in a European competition.

## Review and events

After having ended the 2004-05 Serie A campaign in sixth place, Palermo automatically qualified to the next UEFA Cup for an historical first time. Meanwhile, Francesco Guidolin resigned following the last matchday and Luigi Delneri was appointed to replace him. The summer market was heavily conditioned by the sale of powerful striker Luca Toni to Fiorentina for €10mln in a highly controversial move. Two young strikers, Andrea Caracciolo from Brescia and Stephen Makinwa from Atalanta, were signed as potential replacements for Toni.

Palermo had a good start in the season, showing a spectacular style of playing with impressive results, with an exciting 3-2 home win against Inter Milan as the highest point of the first half of the season. Palermo also successfully passed to the UEFA Cup group stage, after having defeated Cypriot side Anorthosis Famagusta FC in a 6-1 aggregate win. The club also succeeded to win its UEFA Cup round against the likes of RCD Espanyol, FC Lokomotiv Moscow, Maccabi Petah Tikva F.C. and Brøndby IF.

However, the initial successes were not repeated at the domestic one, as the team gradually lost touch with the top sides of the Serie A table. Despite intensive activity during the January football market, which brought David Di Michele, Federico Agliardi, Cristiano Lupatelli and Denis Godeas to the club, Palermo continued not to win matches, and a 3-1 home loss against Siena convinced Maurizio Zamparini to sack Delneri and replace him with Giuseppe Papadopulo. The new Palermo boss made an astonishing debut in a 3-0 home win to AC Milan in the quarter-finals of Coppa Italia, thus overturning the 1-0 defeat in the first leg and qualifying to the semi-finals of Coppa Italia with AS Roma as its opponent.

In the meanwhile Palermo also qualified to the UEFA Cup round of 16 after having defeated SK Slavia Praha. In the round of 16, Palermo challenged FC Schalke 04: a 1-0 home win in the first leg, with a goal by Franco Brienza, was followed by a 3-0 loss at Gelsenkirchen, with Palermo playing the whole second half in 10 players after team captain Eugenio Corini was sent off. Just six days after the UEFA Cup loss, Palermo won the first leg of the Coppa Italia semifinal over AS Roma by 2-1. The return match, played at the Stadio Olimpico of Rome on April 12, ended in a 1-0 win for AS Roma which eliminated the rosanero.

Palermo ended the season in eighth place, being initially qualified for the UEFA Intertoto Cup 2006. However, following the 2006 Serie A scandal, the team was admitted to play UEFA Cup for the next season.

## Match results

### Serie A

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 3 | Milan | 38 | 28 | 4 | 6 | 85 | 31 | +54 | 58 | Qualification to Champions League third qualifying round |
| 4 | Chievo | 38 | 13 | 15 | 10 | 54 | 49 | +5 | 54 | Qualification to Champions League third qualifying round |
| 5 | Palermo | 38 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 50 | 52 | −2 | 52 | Qualification to UEFA Cup first round |
| 6 | Livorno | 38 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 37 | 44 | −7 | 49 | Qualification to UEFA Cup first round |
| 7 | Parma | 38 | 12 | 9 | 17 | 46 | 60 | −14 | 45 | Qualification to UEFA Cup first round |

* ↑ Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio were docked 30 points, all for involvement in the Calciopoli.
* ↑ Parma gained entry to the 2006–07 UEFA Cup because 2005–06 Coppa Italia finalists Inter and Roma qualified to the 2006–07 UEFA Champions League and 2006–07 UEFA Cup through their respective championship positions. The final positions of Parma and Empoli were decided by head-to-head record.

Legend :

| Win | Draw | Loss |
| - | - | - |
| Date and time | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance |
| August 28, 2005 – 15.00 | Parma | Away | Drew 1-1 | Terlizzi | 12,733 |
| September 10, 2005 – 18.00 | Inter | Home | Won 3-2 | Corini, Terlizzi, Makinwa | 31,309 |
| September 18, 2005 – 15.00 | Siena | Away | Won 2-1 | Terlizzi, Makinwa | 7,492 |
| September 21, 2005 – 20.30 | Reggina | Home | Won 1-0 | Terlizzi | 28,145 |
| September 25, 2005 – 15.00 | Lazio | Away | Lost 2-4 | Caracciolo, González | 23,935 |
| October 2, 2005 – 15.00 | Empoli | Home | Drew 2-2 | Caracciolo, Makinwa | 26,642 |
| October 16, 2005 – 15.00 | Chievo | Home | Drew 2-2 | Corini, Caracciolo | 27,092 |
| October 23, 2005 – 15.00 | AC Milan | Away | Lost 1-2 | Caracciolo | 63,115 |
| October 26, 2005 – 20.30 | Lecce | Home | Won 3-0 | Bonanni, Mutarelli, Ferri | 27,084 |
| October 30, 2005 – 20.30 | Udinese | Away | Drew 0-0 | | 16,561 |
| November 6, 2005 – 20.30 | Sampdoria | Home | Lost 0-2 | | 29,087 |
| November 20, 2005 – 15.00 | Treviso | Away | Drew 2-2 | Ferri, Brienza | 5,540 |
| November 27, 2005 – 15.00 | Ascoli | Away | Drew 1-1 | Bonanni | 9,790 |
| December 4, 2005 – 15.00 | Cagliari | Home | Drew 2-2 | Caracciolo, Makinwa | 26,209 |
| December 11, 2005 – 15.00 | AS Roma | Away | Won 2-1 | Biava, Caracciolo | 35,316 |
| December 18, 2005 – 15.00 | Livorno | Home | Lost 0-2 | | 26,151 |
| December 21, 2005 – 20.30 | Fiorentina | Away | Lost 0-1 | | 29,487 |
| January 7, 2006 – 20.30 | Juventus | Home | Lost 1-2 | Terlizzi | 33,149 |
| January 14, 2006 – 20.30 | Messina | Away | Drew 0-0 | | 20,233 |
| January 18, 2006 – 20.30 | Parma | Home | Won 4-2 | Corini, Barzagli, Di Michele (2) | 26,990 |
| January 21, 2006 – 20.30 | Inter | Away | Lost 0-3 | | 48,942 |
| January 28, 2006 – 18.00 | Siena | Home | Lost 1-3 | Godeas | 26,428 |
| February 5, 2006 – 15.00 | Reggina | Away | Drew 2-2 | Barone, Caracciolo | 13,683 |
| February 8, 2006 – 20.30 | Lazio | Home | Won 3-1 | González, Tedesco, Caracciolo | 27,074 |
| February 12, 2006 – 15.00 | Empoli | Away | Won 1-0 | Barzagli | 5,379 |
| February 19, 2006 – 15.00 | Chievo | Away | Drew 0-0 | | 5,580 |
| February 26, 2006 – 15.00 | AC Milan | Home | Lost 0-2 | | 31,868 |
| March 5, 2006 – 15.00 | Lecce | Away | Lost 0-2 | | 10,890 |
| March 12, 2006 – 15.00 | Udinese | Home | Won 2-0 | Di Michele, Tedesco | 25,792 |
| March 19, 2006 – 15.00 | Sampdoria | Away | Won 2-0 | Mutarelli, Di Michele | 21,073 |
| March 26, 2006 – 15.00 | Treviso | Home | Won 1-0 | Makinwa | 26,025 |
| April 2, 2006 – 15.00 | Ascoli | Home | Drew 1-1 | Caracciolo | 26,440 |
| April 9, 2006 – 15.00 | Cagliari | Away | Drew 1-1 | Di Michele | 10,000 |
| April 15, 2006 – 15.00 | AS Roma | Home | Drew 3-3 | Di Michele, Barone (2) | 27,855 |
| April 22, 2006 – 15.00 | Livorno | Away | Lost 1-3 | Tedesco | 10,635 |
| April 30, 2006 – 15.00 | Fiorentina | Home | Won 1-0 | Di Michele | 30,056 |
| May 7, 2006 – 15.00 | Juventus | Away | Lost 1-2 | Godeas | 56,488 |
| May 14, 2006 – 15.00 | Messina | Home | Won 1-0 | Godeas | 26,558 |

### UEFA Cup

| Date and time | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| September 15, 2005 – 20.30 | 1st Round – 1st Leg | Anorthosis Famagusta | Home | Won 2-1 | Corini, Brienza | 13,047 |
| September 29, 2005 – 17.00 | 1st Round – 2nd Leg | Anorthosis Famagusta | Away | Won 4-0 | Caracciolo, Makinwa (2), Santana | 12,000 |
| October 20, 2005 – 17.00 | Group Stage – Group B | Maccabi Petah Tikva | Away | Won 2-1 | Brienza, Terlizzi | 2,000 |
| November 3, 2005 – 21.00 | Group Stage – Group B | Lokomotiv Moscow | Home | Drew 0-0 | | 15,823 |
| November 24, 2005 – 21.15 | Group Stage – Group B | Espanyol | Away | Drew 1-1 | González | 22,000 |
| December 15, 2005 – 20.45 | Group Stage – Group B | Brøndby | Home | Won 3-0 | Makinwa, Rinaudo (2) | 4,521 |
| February 16, 2006 – 20.45 | Round of 32 – 1st Leg | Slavia Praha | Away | Lost 1-2 | Tedesco | 6,706 |
| February 23, 2006 – 16.00 | Round of 32 – 2nd Leg | Slavia Praha | Home | Won 1-0 | Godeas | 8,063 |
| March 9, 2006 – 18.00 | Round of 16 – 1st Leg | Schalke 04 | Home | Won 1-0 | Brienza | 10,581 |
| March 16, 2006 – 20.30 | Round of 16 – 2nd Leg | Schalke 04 | Away | Lost 0-3 | | 52,151 |

### Coppa Italia

| Date and time | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| December 7, 2005 – 18.00 | Round of 16 – 1st Leg | Bari | Away | Drew 0-0 | | 2,969 |
| January 10, 2006 – 15.00 | Round of 16 – 2nd Leg | Bari | Home | Won 5-4 | González (2), Corini, Biava, Terlizzi | 1,470 |
| January 25, 2006 – 21.00 | Quarter-finals – 1st Leg | AC Milan | Away | Lost 0-1 | | 2,105 |
| January 31, 2006 – 21.00 | Quarter-finals – 2nd Leg | AC Milan | Home | Won 3-0 | González (2), Caracciolo | 10,739 |
| March 22, 2006 – 18.15 | Semi-finals – 1st Leg | AS Roma | Home | Won 2-1 | Brienza, Mutarelli | 12,847 |
| April 12, 2006 – 21.00 | Semi-finals – 2nd Leg | AS Roma | Away | Lost 0-1 | | 49,790 |

## Player details

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Serie A | Serie A | UEFA Cup | UEFA Cup | Coppa Italia | Coppa Italia |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | ITA | Federico Agliardi | 17 | -21 | 10 | -10 | 0 | 0 | 7 | -11 |
| 13 | GK | ITA | Cristiano Lupatelli | 16 | -26 | 13 | -25 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -1 |
| 24 | GK | ARG | Mariano Gonzalo Andújar | 21 | -21 | 11 | -10 | 7 | -6 | 3 | -5 |
| 2 | DF | ITA | Cristian Zaccardo | 44 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 11 | DF | ITA | Fabio Grosso | 47 | 0 | 33 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | ITA | Giuseppe Biava | 22 | 2 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 23 | DF | ITA | Christian Terlizzi | 33 | 7 | 21 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| 25 | DF | SLE | Kewullay Conteh | 11 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 32 | DF | ITA | Pietro Accardi | 12 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 43 | DF | ITA | Andrea Barzagli | 47 | 2 | 35 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 77 | DF | ITA | Leandro Rinaudo | 17 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | ITA | Giovanni Tedesco | 19 | 4 | 14 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | MF | ITA | Eugenio Corini | 37 | 5 | 27 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| 8 | MF | ITA | Simone Barone | 48 | 3 | 36 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | ARG | Mario Santana | 40 | 1 | 28 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | ARG | Mariano González | 44 | 7 | 30 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 4 |
| 20 | MF | ROU | Paul Costantin Codrea | 22 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | ITA | Massimo Mutarelli | 33 | 3 | 23 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 10 | FW | ITA | Franco Brienza | 39 | 5 | 27 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| 17 | FW | ITA | David Di Michele | 40 | 10 | 35 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 26 | FW | NGA | Stephen Makinwa | 33 | 8 | 23 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 29 | FW | ITA | Andrea Caracciolo | 46 | 11 | 35 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| 59 | FW | ITA | Gianluca Palmiteri | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 99 | FW | ITA | Denis Godeas | 23 | 4 | 15 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| Players sold or loaned out during the January transfer market: ||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | ITA | Nicola Santoni | 11 | -15 | 8 | -14 | 2 | -1 | 1 | 0 |
| 99 | GK | ITA | Matteo Guardalben | 7 | -9 | 6 | -8 | 1 | -1 | 0 | 0 |
| 81 | DF | ITA | Michele Ferri | 14 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | ITA | Massimo Bonanni | 25 | 2 | 18 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | ITA | Simone Pepe | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### January transfer market bids

**In**

| 1 | GK | ITA | Federico Agliardi (from Brescia) |
| - | - | - | - |
| 13 | GK | ITA | Cristiano Lupatelli (on loan from Fiorentina) |
| 4 | MF | ITA | Giovanni Tedesco (from Genoa) |
| 17 | FW | ITA | David Di Michele (from Udinese) |
| 99 | FW | ITA | Denis Godeas (from Triestina) |

**Out**

| 1 | GK | ITA | Nicola Santoni (co-ownership deal with Udinese, loaned to Brescia) |
| - | - | - | - |
| 99 | GK | ITA | Matteo Guardalben (loaned to Parma) |
| 81 | DF | ITA | Michele Ferri (co-ownership deal with Cagliari) |
| 6 | MF | ITA | Massimo Bonanni (loaned to Lazio) |
| 9 | FW | ITA | Simone Pepe (co-ownership deal with Udinese) |
