Today in Serie A – May 29, 2004: Palermo Returned to Serie A After 31 Years! | OneFootball

The last time Palermo had featured in Serie A, TV broadcasting was still in black and white – so, nobody could enjoy the Sicilians’ unique pink jerseys, save for the loyal home fans who used to fill the stands at La Favorita Stadium. It was 1973.

Since then, the Rosanero endured some torrid times, collecting a few average seasons in Serie B but mostly spending their time in the third division. In 1987, they also had to go through a bankruptcy and restart from scratch with a new club.

However, things changed as the new millennium began, when entrepreneur Maurizio Zamparini acquired the Sicilian club. Zamparini, a short-tempered, serial coach-sacker, had previously owned Venezia and managed to bring the Venetian club back to Serie A after more than 30 years. He now wanted to do the same with Palermo, and did not hesitate to splash some cash to achieve his mission.

After a couple of settling-in campaigns, culminating in Palermo losing a heartbreaking promotion six-pointer at Lecce in the 2002/03 season finale, the time seemed to have finally come for the Rosanero.

The roster Zamparini built ahead of the 2003/04 season was absolutely out of Serie B’s league. There was the talented playmaker Eugenio Corini, who had a past with Juventus; there was midfielder Ighli Vannucchi, who had quite a few Serie A seasons under his belt. Moreover, there was Luca Toni who, at 26, was approaching his prime, yet surprisingly accepted a move one level down.

On the bench, Zamparini put the outspoken Silvio Baldini, whose brash personality was inevitably set to collide with his chairman’s. Needless to say, Baldini got the boot halfway through the season and was replaced by the experienced Francesco Guidolin – an absolute luxury for the second division of calcio.

Despite a few bumps along the way, Palermo’s boat cruised to promotion in an inflated Serie B league that had exceptionally opened its gates to 24 teams instead of the traditional 20 (It would be too long to explain why that happened – material for another time).

On May 29, 2004, the Rosanero welcomed Triestina – another once-glorious club who had not seen Serie A in decades – to La Favorita, knowing that a win would seal their promotion with two games to spare.

The writing was on the wall. At half time, Toni had already put his stamp on the proceedings twice, en route to becoming the Serie B capocannoniere with 30 goals after a thrilling head-to-head with Livorno’s Cristiano Lucarelli.

Triestina eventually halved the gap but, before full time, it was another Serie A veteran, Emanuele Filippini, who re-established a two-goal cushion and sparked celebrations in the Sicilian capital. The wait was over. Thirty-one years later, Palermo would feature again in Serie A – this time, in full color.