There are no secrets. Palermo is in full-blown emergency mode and there does not seem to be an end in sight. After losses against Fiorentina, Bologna, Udinese and Lazio, the rosanero had a chance to turn the tide with a match against Genoa at the Luigi Ferraris. For the fifth consecutive game, however, Palermo came away with another loss.

The Sicilian club has suffered a bit of an identity crisis lately. Over the past three games, Palermo has put a different formation on the pitch. Cosmi, in his second game at the helm, decided to move away from the 3-5-2 module he used against Lazio to a 3-4-1-2 in order to provide more consistency to the attack. While the successive switches in formation are not the sole reason for Palermo’s problems, it certainly does not help a young team desperately looking for a way out of this rut.

Palermo actually played fairly well against Genoa. The defense looked more solid than it had in recent weeks, while the attack managed several decent opportunities. The rosanero also dominated the possession for large stretches of the match, but unfortunately that statistic does not win a club their matches. In a recurring theme throughout this season, Palermo gave up the winning goal in the 77^th minute – one that was incorrectly judged to be onside. It was a hard pill to swallow, since the Sicilians believed they had done enough to merit a draw at the very least.

Beyond the incredible five game losing streak, there is a more disconcerting statistic haunting the club. Palermo has gone 402 minutes without scoring a goal. For a team that once boasted the second best attack in the league just a short time ago, the drought is horrific. The team has not scored since Antonio Nocerino put in Palermo’s second goal in a losing effort from where the streak began back on February 13^th against Fiorentina. In the four matches that followed, the rosanero have conceded 11 goals while being held scoreless. Even though the focus has been centered on the defensive woes, clearly the attack has been missing a spark for over a month now.

Maurizio Zamparini spoke out – as he often does – about the loss to Genoa. However, rather than the usual outburst, the Palermo patron seemed resigned and exhausted. He mentioned the refereeing errors that have penalized the club all season while saying he did not believe there to be any “plot” against Palermo. The volcanic owner backed Serse Cosmi by mentioning that he has seen some progress within the team, but ultimately contemplated whether he had made the right decision to sack Rossi.

Of course, as only Zamparini can do, he dropped the bombshell to the press by stating if Palermo were to lose their next two games, he would step down as the president of the club. Naturally, Maurizio is no stranger to the overly-dramatic statement; yet, the patron truly seems tired of the world of calcio. As with any comment from Zamparini, it should be taken with a grain of salt. The likelihood of Zamparini resigning is slim to none even if the possibility of Palermo losing the next two games is relatively high.

With Palermo clearly in a major mess, the next two games certainly will not provide any respite.  The Sicilians return back to the Barbera after their two game absence but will face league leaders Milan. After Milan exited from the Champions League, the rossoneri can focus solely on maintaining their lead at the top of Serie A. Palermo will need to play a near-perfect match if they want to come away with points. Historically, the rosanero have always played well against top-level competition, but with the string of poor results weighing heavily on their minds, it will be interesting to see what kind of reaction the players give this Saturday.

Lorenzo Vicini