PALERMO - TalkSoccer.net

**Jager** · 15-09-2006, 07:02 AM

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West Ham 0-1 Palermo
Caracciolo 44 (P)
Upton Park

Andrea Caracciolo scored the only goal of the game as a solid Palermo outfit won at West Ham in the first leg of their UEFA Cup clash. The Italian international netted a controversial goal on the stroke of half-time to give his side control of the tie ahead of the return in Sicily.

Palermo lined up with Caracciolo in the starting line-up given that new signing Amauri was cup-tied, after appearing for Chievo in the Champions League earlier this season. West Ham responded by fielding their fearsome Argentine duo of Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez.

The Rosanero, who lost in the last 16 of the UEFA Cup to Schalke 04 last term, started compactly and made it tough for the home side to create. So much so that the first real effort of the night fell to David Di Michele who pulled his shot wide on 17 minutes.

West Ham reacted to that with a loose Nigel Reo-Coker effort, while Paul Konchesky saw his powerful 35th minute drive blocked by Andrea Barzagli before it could trouble veteran ‘keeper Alberto Fontana – who was included in the side ahead of Federico Agliardi.

Palermo, although committing the odd foul, were working superbly as a team and their slick football was causing the Londoners trouble at times. Di Michele tested Roy Carroll’s reflexes on 39 minutes with a header.

The Hammers responded dangerously though in minute 42. Tevez got on the end of a Bobby Zamora cross but Fontana got enough on the ball to tip it away for a corner. It proved to be a costly miss as Palermo took the lead with their next attack.

Aimo Diana assisted Caracciolo and the youngster netted from close range – even if the home side did appeal that the ball had gone out of play in the build up. Some defenders also appealed for offside.

Caracciolo, who struggled during his first year at Palermo last season, was looking in fine shape and impressed onlookers. It was no surprise that he tested Carroll again after the break with an 18-yard drive. The ‘keeper then blocked a Cristian Zaccardo header from the resulting corner.

The Upton Park boys, pushed on by their passionate fans, continued to search for the equaliser and went mighty close in the 78th minute. Yossi Benayoun crossed for Marlon Harewood – Tevez’s replacement – yet he was unfortunate to see his strike hit the post.

Palermo held on for a splendid win which has put them in pole position to reach the group stages of the competition for the second consecutive season.

West Ham: Carroll; Mears, Ferdinand, Gabbidon, Konchesky; Mascherano, Reo Coker, Bowyer (Etherington 59), Benayoun; Tevez (Harewood 78), Zamora (Cole 78)

Palermo: Fontana; Cassani, Barzagli, Zaccardo, Pisano; Diana, Parravicini (Guana 54), Simplicio, Bresciano (Biava 90); Di Michele (Capuano 80); Caracciolo

Ref: Johannesson (Swe)

http://www.channel4.com/sport/footba...s/wes-pal.html

Well, I'm surprised to say the least, especially after the much flaunted duo of Tavez and Machereno were added to the club.

However its no doubt that Palermo can defend with all their young guns.

Good win.

**Jager** · 15-09-2006, 07:04 AM

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Livorno 2-0 Pasching
Danilevicius 43 (L), Lucarelli 48 (L)
Stadio Picchi

Serie A minnows Livorno marked their UEFA Cup debut with a 2-0 win over Superfund Pasching at the Armando Picchi. Goals from Tomas Danilevicius and Cristiano Lucarelli were enough to ensure a first leg victory and put them in pole position to qualify for the group stages.

Boss Daniele Arrigoni opted to field the most competitive side possible for the club’s European debut with captain Lucarelli leading the line. Those who thought that the Amaranto may make a cautious start to the tie were quickly surprised after Cesar Prates’ dangerous run which caused panic in the Austrian defence after just two minutes.

Yet the home side did struggle to impose themselves on the game in the first period despite being highly fancied to collect the victory. After all, it wasn’t until minute 17 that they created their first real dangerous opportunity. Some good work by Marc Pfertzel on the left was met by a solid Lucarelli header at the near post which the ‘keeper expertly saved.

There was action at the other end too though. The away side went close through a Ketelaer volley which troubled the wrong side of the post, while Mayrleb’s header from a corner also went desperately close to delivering the first goal of the game.

The Picchi side ended the opening period in front. After Cesar Prates bought a save out of Schicklgruber, the ‘keeper was beaten on 43 minutes. Danilevicius headed into the goal at the second attempt to give his side the advantage.

Captain Lucarelli almost doubled the lead before the break, but he had better luck three minutes into the second period. The Italian international converged on goal before striking an accurate shot into the back of the net from the edge of the area. Livorno 2 Pasching 0.

The Amaranto were now starting to look on top and proved to be dangerous again on 51 minutes. Lucarelli was desperate to make an impression and he tried his luck with a cheeky chip shot, but his courage wasn’t rewarded with a goal.

Yet Livorno ‘keeper Marco Amelia was to prove crucial too. Pasching had a wonderful opportunity to get an all-important away goal when Da Silva found himself in front of goal, yet the Italian international underlined his ability with a fine save.

With a two-goal advantage and with the clock ticking down, the Austrian side seemed to accept defeat and Livorno didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks. Although they could have increased their lead through a wicked Pfertzel shot, a Stefano Morrone curler that hit the post and a Danilevicius effort, they will be happy to have collected a deserved victory.

Livorno: Amelia; Grandoni, Kuffour, Galante; Cesar Prates (Balleri 70), Morrone, Passoni, Vidigal (Filippini 81); Pfertzel; Danilevicius, Lucarelli

Pasching: Schicklgruber; Bubenik, Baur, Chalie, Ortlechner; Da Silva (Karatay 87), Mbock, Kabat (Kovacevic 59), Riedl, Ketelaer; Mayrleb

Ref: Kalt (Ger)

http://www.channel4.com/sport/footba...s/liv-pas.html

**Jager** · 15-09-2006, 07:04 AM

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UEFA Cup, Round One, 1st leg - 14/9/06

Sporting Braga 2-0 Chievo
Paulo Jorge 6 (S), Wender 92 pen (S)
Stadio Municipal, Braga

Chievo have a UEFA Cup mountain to climb after their nine men were defeated 2-0 at Sporting Braga. The Italian outfit fell behind to an early goal and conceded a late killer blow which may prove to be fatal in their European adventure this season.

Following their Champions League elimination to Levski Sofia, Bepi Pillon took his Flying Donkeys to Portugal for what looked to be a tough test on paper. That certainly seemed to be the case just six minutes into the tie when Braga rippled the net. Some slack Verona defending allowed Paulo Jorge all the time needed to comfortably give his side a 1-0 lead.

It was a another painful slap for the Italian minnows who opened their Serie A campaign on Sunday with a shock 2-1 home loss to Siena. They took their time to regain their composure but were finding it tough to break down Sporting, who didn’t really seem interested in really attacking the Gialloblu in the remainder of the first period.

Chievo carved themselves an opportunity on 16 minutes through Salvatore Bruno, but he dragged his shot wide of the far post. They then appealed for a penalty 10 minutes later when a Brago defender seemed to handle the ball in the area, but the Belgian official waved play on. The half ended with Chievo seemingly in control of the ball, yet they looked stale in attack.

The Portuguese outfit were quickly out of the blocks once the game resumed. Joao Pinto attempted to double his side’s lead with a right-footed 51st minute effort, before the woodwork saved the Italian boys just a few minutes later. First half substitute Maciel tried his luck only for the ball to strike the crossbar.

There was only one side in the game by this stage and it was unfortunately the hosts – who were much improved from the first 45 minutes. Only an excellent save from Lorenzo Squizzi, the club’s No 2 this season, kept out Maciel’s stunning strike.

That scare seemed to finally awake Chievo who managed to ask a few questions of the Braga rearguard. Denis Godeas, making his European debut for Chievo following his Palermo move, went for a spectacular overhead kick but his effort lacked power. The latter then wasted a 73rd minute opportunity as he shot wide of goal.

However, Chievo should perhaps have already equalised by that stage. Bruno got on the end of a corner, but the striker’s header was cleared off the line by a well-positioned Braga stopper.

It had looked like Chievo would leave Portugal with a 1-0 loss but things took a turn for the worse late on. Giovanni Marchese was sent off for two yellows, before Andrea Mantovani saw red too after giving away a penalty for bringing down Maciel. Wender stepped up to give his side a 2-0 win in injury time.

Braga: Paulo Santos; Luis Filipe, Paulo Jorge, Nem, Fernandes; Madrid, Hugo Leal; Ricardo Chaves (Maciel 41), Joao Pinto, Wender; Ze Carlos (Marcel 78)

Chievo: Squizzi; Malago, Mandelli, Mantovani, Marchese; Semioli, Sammarco (Brighi 59), Zanchetta, Kosowski; Godeas (Tiribocchi 78), Bruno

Ref: Verbist (Bel)

Sent-off: Marchese 87 (C), Mantovani 91 (C

http://www.channel4.com/sport/footba...s/spo-chi.html

**Jager** · 15-09-2006, 08:31 AM

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Guidolin remains cautious
Friday 15 September, 2006
Francesco Guidolin insists the job is only half done after Palermo’s impressive first leg win at West Ham United in the UEFA Cup. “This is only the first half of the encounter,” stated the tactician.

The Rosanero came away from the East End of London with a 1-0 win thanks to a solitary strike from Andrea Caracciolo just before the interval.

“I think Palermo played a perfect game. We were confident and scored a great goal, I think the result was right,” explained Guidolin, who has kicked off his return to the club with two consecutive wins.

“The team played a great match, we were very committed and we fought hard. We gave the right answer tonight, we gave our best,” he added.

It was a fighting display from the Renzo Barbera outfit who continually out-muscled The Irons in the battle for control of the midfield, with Mark Bresciano and Fabio Simplicio having particularly good evenings.

“I pushed Cristian Zaccardo into midfield because of his physical strength, we knew it would be a hard fight out there,” continued the Coach.

“With this particularly difficult draw we hoped to give a good and brave performance. We knew we had to fight hard, and we’ll continue this in Palermo.”

The second leg will be played on September 28 and Hammers manager Alan Pardew has already sounded a warning that Palermo’s slender lead will be jeopardised if they try and sit back on their advantage.

“Their organisation was always going to make the game hard, but it will be interesting to see how they approach things tactically in the second leg. We will be taking the game to them,” he revealed.

“We did enough to suggest that we can take something. If they decide to open up the game that will suit us as well if we get one or two breaks.”

Palermo chief Maurizio Zamparini was impressed by the victory and hopes the Barbera Stadium will be sold out for the return.

“It was a very good match, all the Palermo supporters can be extremely satisfied about this result,” said the fiery chief.

“We will now need all the support of our fans for the home game, I hope the stadium will be packed.”

Caracciolo, who was handed a spot on the starting line-up seeing that newly signed Amauri is cup-tied, was glad to repay Guidolin’s trust with the decisive goal.

“We proved we are a good team, who fights for every ball,” said the striker. “I was very excited to play, it was an amazing evening.

“I must compliment Palermo, this was not an easy match to win. As for myself, I am at the team’s disposal and I will work hard to be ready to answer the Coach’s call – whenever that may come.”

http://www.channel4.com/sport/footba...ia/sep15a.html

**Jager** · 15-09-2006, 06:32 PM

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Pioli 50 per cent happy
Friday 15 September, 2006
Parma boss Stefano Pioli was satisfied with the 1-0 UEFA Cup win at Rubin Kazan, but is aware that qualification is yet to be secured.

The Gialloblu netted a valuable victory and away goal through Daniele Dessena, but suffered against the Russians who missed a penalty just minutes before the end of the game.

“This result does not guarantee us the qualification for the group stages,” reminded the tactician.

“We need to keep our concentration and remember that there is another match to play.

“I believe this was a positive debut, against a dangerous side whose physical condition is definitely better than ours,” continued the Ducali boss.

“I was sure that all my men would do their best on this important occasion and I was right to believe so.

“Zlatan Muslimovic? He is a player with many qualities, he proved that in the action leading to Dessena’s goal. I am sure he can do very well.

“Unfortunately he suffered a light injury in the final minutes and we will assess his condition in the next days.”

Parma, who drew their first Serie A game of the season with a 1-1 against Torino, are next in action on Sunday evening when they face Milan.

http://www.channel4.com/sport/footba...ia/sep15b.html

TheDevil · 16-09-2006, 12:29 AM

Great game for Palermo. I think the Hammers took Palermo too lightly.

Rosa · 17-09-2006, 02:14 PM

I thought Palermo would win, not sure why though as the odds seemed to be stacked against them

**Jager** · 18-09-2006, 06:59 AM

The odds were stacked against them. Winning away at West Ham is a miracle really.

Juventino90 · 19-09-2006, 10:03 AM

West Ham seem to have lost their balance with the two Argentines, I see Palermo progressing now...

**Jager** · 19-10-2006, 07:18 PM

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UEFA Cup, Group H - 19/10/06

Eintracht Frankfurt 1-2 Palermo
Streit 45+1 (E), Brienza 49 (P), Zaccardo 87 (P)
Commerzbank Arena

Palermo kicked off the group stages of the UEFA Cup with a 2-1 win against draw-specialists Eintracht Frankfurt. The German outfit did take the lead in the Group H tie, but goals from Franco Brienza and Cristian Zaccardo gave the unrecognisable islanders the three points at the death.

Palermo started the match with a radically revamped starting XI from their usual set-up. Boss Francesco Guidolin clearly went into the tie with one eye already on Sunday’s trip to Milan and his line-up significantly underlined that fact.

Andrea Barzagli, Fabio Simplicio, Aimo Diana, Marco Bresciano and David Di Michele amazingly all started on the bench. While key striker and summer signing Amauri was ineligible after he had already found the net twice for Chievo in the Champions League earlier this season.

Nevertheless, Palermo were hardly outplayed in the opening 45 minutes by a German outfit who have won just one and drawn six of their seven Bundesliga games so far this term. Saying that, veteran ‘keeper Alberto Fontana had to make a smart save on eight minutes from a Meier back-heel.

The Rosanero’s best chance of the half fell to Andrea Caracciolo, who netted in the last round against West Ham, soon after. He tried his luck from a favourable position, but he didn’t do enough to really test Proll. The ‘keeper was also alert on 19 minutes when Brienza tried to play in Caracciolo as he exited his area to clear the danger.

The Sicilian boys did look like they would end a pretty unspectacular first half on level terms, but that wasn’t to be the case. With one minute of added time on the clock, the home side took the lead. The ball fell to Streit on the edge of the area and his left-footed strike rippled the net.

Guidolin opted to keep faith with his starting line-up after the break and his belief was rewarded on 49 minutes. Brienza, positioned in front of the German custodian, controlled a free kick with his chest to fire home the equaliser.

After a Rehmer header ended up over the crossbar for the hosts, Palermo should have doubled their goal tally on the hour mark. A disorganised Eintracht rearguard allowed the ball to find Ciro Capuano, yet he couldn’t capitalise on the golden opportunity.

That was a let-off which seemed to awake the home side who were struggling to break down a tactically sound Italian outfit. Yet with the help of a speedy counter attack, they went within millimetres of making it 2-1 as Amanatidis’ effort struck the post with Fontana beaten in minute 67.

With the clock running down, Guidolin turned to the experience of Diana and Bresciano to bolster the Rosanero’s midfield – in the knowledge that a draw away to Frankfurt would be a more than acceptable start to the group stages.

A win would have been even more welcome though and that was collected thanks to a Zaccardo goal. The Italian international defender perfectly collected a Roberto Guana cross to head past Proll in the 87th minute.

Palermo, who also had to thank Fontana for the win with a late free kick save from Streit, are next in action on November 2 against Newcastle at the Stadio Barbera. Turkish side Fenerbahce and Celta Vigo make up the section.

Eintracht: Proll; Rehmer (Ochs 64), Kyrgiakos, Vasoski, Spycher; Huggel, Kohler; Thurk (Fink 85), Meier, Streit; Amanatidis

Palermo: Fontana; Zaccardo, Biava, Dellafiore, Pisano; Munari (Diana 61), Parravicini, Guana, Capuano (Bresciano 74); Brienza (Simplicio 89), Caracciolo

Ref: Yefet (Isr)

http://www.channel4.com/sport/footba...s/ein-pal.html

skeeta · 24-10-2006, 06:20 PM

Zamparini (the president) has an interview in today's Gazzetta where he says that they are for real and have a genuine shot at the scudetto because the refs are no longer biased against clubs like Palermo (interestingly, he also says that he thinks that Palermo would never have lost at home to Atalanta with the "old" refs).

And they are getting a shirt sponsor this weekend, and hope to have a new stadium by 2009.

Personally, I think it is great that Palermo seem capable of a credible challenge. Guidolin seems to be a nice guy, they play attractive football and their president is a constant thorn in the sides of the powers that be (as well as being a bit of a nut).

This should prove to be the most interesting Serie A season for some time; the only regret is that Della Valle fell into Moggi's trap (otherwise the Viola would be in the mix).

**Jager** · 24-10-2006, 07:02 PM

I think its wonderful, and I wish them the best.

I heard about the shirt sponsor and the stadium. Excellent news.

skeeta · 01-11-2006, 04:17 PM

It would be great for the league to have a "surprise" winner, and the rosaneri have the potential to be one of the best supported teams in the entire country.

**azzurri** · 01-11-2006, 04:27 PM

Dont get me wrong, Palermo r doing well, but take away the pt deficits from Lazio, Fiorentina, Milan, and put Juve back in serie a, and they wouldn't be near the top of the table right now. Its a watered down scudetto this season.