THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PALERMO, Sicily — Palermo’s coach didn’t last long.
Stefano Colantuono was fired Thursday and replaced by Davide Ballardini, five days after the team lost its Serie A opener 3-1 to Udinese.
“I didn’t have anymore confidence in Colantuono,” said team president Mauizio Zamparini, who has fired coaches 27 times at Palermo and his former club, Venezia. “I took this decision independently and only informed my closest colleagues this morning.”
Palermo was also eliminated from the Italian Cup in the third round last month by Ravenna, a third-division club.
Colantuono was hired by Palermo in July 2007 after a successful run at Atalanta, then was fired Nov. 26 following a 4-3-6 start and replaced by his predecessor, Francesco Guidolin. Palermo went 5-9-3 under Guidolin, who was fired by Palermo for the fourth time on March 24 and replaced by Colantuono.