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Sicilian club Palermo struggling in Italy's top flight

Palermo midfielder Mark Bresciano, center, of Australia, celebrates with his teammates Morris Carrozzieri, left, and Simon Kjaer, of Denmark, after scoring during the Serie A soccer match between Palermo and Atalanta, in Palermo, Italy, Sunday, Jan 11 2009. AP Photo/Alessandro Fucarini
Roar Rookie
28th November, 2016
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So far in the 2016-17 season Sicilians, Palermo are facing pressure from the board as they sit in 20th and last place on the Serie A table.

Palermo the capital city of Sicilia located west of the Mediterranean island has always adored the game of football and their team US Città di Palermo is one of the most successful Sicilian clubs.

Even the likes of their rivals Calcio Catania, Messina, and Trapani, Palermo has represented Italy and Sicily in the UEFA Europa League on five occasions.

Palermo fans now watching their team struggle to compete in the current Serie A season must be heartbroken. The 2006-2009 era for Palermo seems to be the most prominent for the club as four players were part of the 2006 Azzurri squad that won the FIFA World Cup.

It seems as the Rosanero club are missing a striker like Fabrizio Miccoli who is the club’s all-time leading goal scorer with a total of 74 goals. It’s hard to believe that Palermo has let quality forwards like Andrea Belotti, Paulo Dybala, and Franco Vázquez leave the club in transfer windows over the 2014-15 period.

Even Australia’s former Socceroo Marco Bresciano has played for the club while the Australia-Italian spent his footballing career in Italy’s Serie A.

Another talking point is the poor home record for Palermo this season as they have somehow managed to lose all their seven home games so far. This horrendous record has now lowered the team’s self-confidence. The home stadium of Palermo Stadio Renzo Barbera should be intimidating to opponents as it has been a fortress in the club’s history.

The real problem for the Sicilian club is the lack of ability within the attacking game. The team has only managed to score ten goals in this campaign so far and seven of them have come from an exciting Macedonian striker named Ilija Nestorovski who is Palermo’s only real hope at the moment to ensure they survive this downfall.

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The Eagles need to search for a new midfielder who can bring more passing skills and can control the tempo of the game. This club is the best that there is to offer in Sicily at the moment and is the island’s only chance of winning their first Serie A title.

In the end its the small island of Sicily with its team Palermo competing against the mainland giants like Juventus, Napoli, Roma, and Milan. It will be a miracle for Palermo to hopefully someday win a Scudetto title but it’s not impossible as Cagliari won it in the 1969-70 season. Patience and youth development will be the key to success for Palermo in the future but for now, they must pick up some wins to survive the relegation battle.

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