Calcio’s Own Steinbrenner and Martin

By: Martha | November 26th, 2007

Calcio odd couple. Depending on how old you are, you may or many not remember the New York Yankees of the 70s and 80s, when Reggie Jackson was King of the World, whole villages lived in Thurman Munson’s mustache, and Willie Randolph was still in pinstripes. The stars came and went, but more often than not they were managed by one Billy Martin, simultaneously the bane of George Steinbrenner’s existence and the one man he couldn’t live without. The feeling was obviously mutual as, despite the Boss’ power to reduce him to tears, Billy kept taking the gig — five times, between 1975 and 1998 — even though he knew he would be fired sooner than later.

What does the have to do with football in the 21st century? Ladies and gentlemen, meet Palermo owner and chairman Maurizio Zamparini and his very own Billy Martin, Francesco Guidolin.

For those of you who don’t know, Zamparini is out of his damn mind — any follower of Italian football will tell you they hold their breath every time Zampa opens his mouth, because whatever comes out is bound to be entertaining. (So crazy hiring and firing are pretty much par for the course as far as he is concerned.) He first hired Guidolin to manage Palermo back in January of 2004, a job he agreeable left that summer, after successfully securing a the club a UEFA Cup spot. Hoping to rekindle the magic, Zampa rehired Guidolin at the start of last season but, after a fantastic start, things collapsed in December and never really got any better; following months of threats, bizarre statements (one of them involving an Easter egg) and anticipation in the press, Zampa sacked his manager in April.

This is where the crazy starts: In the wake of Guidolin’s firing, though the team claimed to be happy he was gone, they didn’t win anything and so, barely a month after he was fired, Guidolin was welcomed back and proceeded to win his last three games in charge. That, however, was not enough for the exacting Zampa, who replaced him over the summer with the younger and much balder Stefano Colantuono.

Though Palermo spent the first two months of the season hovering around a UEFA Cup spot, there have been a lot of dropped points lately and, following last night’s 5-0 humiliation by Juventus, Zamparini cut off another head, dumping Colantuono with semi-sincere thanks. At this point, you probably don’t have to ask who’s replaced him: That’s right, it’s Francesco Guidolin, unable to tear himself away from what is surely the least healthy relationship in his life.