Palermo is lost: Inzaghi takes action

Something has changed. Like in the masterpiece with Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt, but with an epilogue, at least so far, of the opposite sign. Palermo, which used to bring home the entire haul even against difficulties, both its own and those imposed by opponents, now seems to have lost its way just when the moment of the season required the final step: to climb that last rung of the ladder to finally consider itself fully in the running for the direct promotion waltz. Instead, there are missteps, stumbles. The great welcome from the many Rosanero fans who embraced the team returning from the unfortunate trip to Monza late at night was not enough.

And evidently, the heartfelt and confident speech delivered by Inzaghi on that occasion was not enough either. Simply because Palermo is gradually lowering its engine speed: it seems that the legs, and thus the mind, at this stage cannot match the speed of ambitions. Those of the fans, those of the coach, who appeared dark-faced on Tuesday night after the home draw against Juve Stabia, disappointed more than angry at a performance partially to be forgotten. The point is precisely this: rewinding the tape just a month and observing the consistency in the approach to matches and in reacting to difficulties, it would seem like watching another team. More compact, more focused, fresher in mind and in running. It cannot be ruled out that the defeat in Pescara at the beginning of March, the first after fourteen consecutive positive results, had a significant psychological impact. Especially because that loss effectively nullified the first great chance to get closer to the top positions. Disappointment was repeated last Saturday in Brianza, when against Monza, Inzaghi's team had to taste the bitter flavor of defeat in a direct clash that was perhaps decisive.

Only hypotheses, perhaps conjectures, to find an explanation for the moment of regression that has in the results only the tip of the iceberg: Palermo has changed, it appears tired of running and chasing, and at this crucial stage of the championship is effectively squandering the great haul earned during the four months of unbeaten play that had allowed it to get back in line for the decisive overtaking. Inzaghi's goal now is to quickly find the reset button: to learn from the obvious mistakes made in recent weeks - including the performances in victories against Mantova and Carrarese - to rediscover full joy in Saturday's away match in Padova and thus enter the last seasonal break still in the running for the big goal. Only then, after recharging the energies, can the final sprint be faced with the "dream" still alive.