According to journalism criteria, the Palermo football team president, Maurizio Zamparini, firing the team coach should be published on the 15th page, in a really small column. But in our country it is an important news, because this professional class is the most “popular”, the most controversial and debatable at the same time.
Lovers of football, a fascinating sport, behave like passengers sitting near the driver: anxious passengers repeat all driver’s movements. Virtually they are at the wheel, their thoughts run as fast as the car they are driving. Each of us is the football coach of his/her favorite football team, in particular of the national team. Every defeat and every win depend on coach’s mistakes: his marking system was wrong, he neither allowed best players to play nor recognized opposite team’s countermeasures, and so on. The fact that the ball is round and that every single event during the whole match is enough to change results, is never taken into account. People call for a culprit, and usually the coach is the selected person.
All the mistakes made by presidents, sports managers, athletic trainers are of minor importance. The coach, trainer or “mister” has to lose his reputation, and his job too. Actually, Maurizio Zamparini tried to find a balance by firing sports managers as well, but sports managers’ firings percentage is ridiculous in comparison with coaches’ firings percentage. Therefore, they don’t count.
The firing of the coach is a fundamental way to show supporters who is the scapegoat. President form teams made up of useless, waste or “damaged” players. Then they pillory the coach nonchalantly. If the ratio between football society and coach is so unfair, why don’t coaches protest against it, instead of agreeing to any kind of decision?
There are several reasons why they behave like this, but the main one is the economical reason. Contracts safeguard fired coaches: they must be paid till the deadline (presidents firing coaches waste money); “mobility” allows dismissed coaches to be available on market, without image damages. To be fired by Zamparini, for instance, doesn’t change coach’s reputation.
Anyway, it is really striking to record so many firings in the country where rules safeguarding workers are the best of the world. But sport – football in particular – is another planet. The match is a show, actors have got used to audience’s or supporters’ inconstancy, and accept it. “Next time will be better”, they say. If Guardiola comes to train Palermo team, will results change? Since football ball is a traitor, we cannot answer, but to our mind, even the best coach in the whole world could do nothing without good raw materials at his disposal.
The young coach Mangia is the latest fired coach. His adventure has come to an end, at the moment. “Sic transeat Gloria mundi”, as Berlusconi said after Gaddafi’s murder, but his career continues. Guidolin, that was fired by Maurizio Zamparini, is thought to be the “master” of Italian football. It’s not a really nice experience to be the “championship star”, and then to be fired shortly after. Anyway, almost all the previous coaches weren’t able “to get into the saddle again” after the defeat during Catania’s derby. The results is painful and the president has to impute it to someone. Do you want him to accuse himself of the defeat?
