With the beginning of the new campaign, coach Rossi and his players were expected to fight for a place in the top four, just like the previous season, when they had failed qualifying to the Champions League at the very last second. During the summer, though, President Zamparini had let some experienced players go and signed in some young inexperienced ones. This certainly was the cause of an early elimination from the Europa League and of an array of ups and downs. Palermo were certainly playing one of the best football of the Serie A, especially when attacking with the wonder-boys Pastore, Ilicic and Pinilla, but they were far too fragile defensively. However, they seemed to be capable of riding in the top standings. Then, from mid-February onwards, they entered a coma and stopped winning. When they were thrashed at home by Udinese 7-0, Rossi was sacked and he was replaced by Cosmi. Cosmi's experience in charge of the team was a short one: apart from defeating Milan, he seemed unable to bring the team out of the crisis and thus Rossi was reinstated. His return caused some positive results and the achievement of the Italian Cup final. Despite losing against Inter, Palermo obtained a qualification to the next Europa League. Palermo depended too much on the inspiration of their wonder-boys and when they, quite naturally, had some falls, the team just would not work. Moreover, Hernandez, Miccoli and Pinilla himself all suffered from some serious injuries when they were mostly needed, thus limiting the offensive alternatives. Rossi could have obtained some better results with a more experienced squad.
