Dirty TackleThe caretaker manager who beat Inter only makes €9,000 a year
Despite sacking yet another manager (Stefano Pioli) before the delayed start the Serie A season, Palermo came up with a shock 4-3 upset in their opener against Inter. Since all but one member of the previous manager's staff were sent packing with him, Palermo owner Maurizio Zamparini promoted Devis Mangia -- a man hired to be youth team coach in June -- to the position of caretaker manager 10 days before the match. And now, after that one big win, Mangia is somehow Palermo's Arsene Wenger.
From Football Italia:
Speaking to Radio Kiss Kiss Napoli, the Rosanero owner revelled in the team's opening League win over Inter.
"We hope this is the start of long cycle with this Coach. I hope Palermo becomes the Arsenal of Italian football, and that Mangia becomes our Arsene Wenger."
If this were 2006, that would be a tremendous compliment. But now, I'm not so sure what Zamparini is trying to say. Then again, this is a man who has run through four managers in the last five months (three of which were offseason months, mind you) and Palermo fans even wrote him an open letter last season demanding that he stop acting like a nutjob. So trying to make sense of his words is pretty much a waste of time.
But being Palermo's Arsene Wenger is apparently worth more than €9,000 a year -- the figure Football Italia reports that Mangia is currently being paid. Zamparini said he would renegotiate with his new coach. And then he will probably sack him.
Photo: Getty
