Di Mariano: “I want to be part of the renaissance of Palermo in relation to A. But now I’m thinking about salvation”

“Many people think that the negotiations started some time ago, but this is not true. Contacts intensified after the change of coach, and I wanted to come here when I left Lecce. I wanted to be part of the Palermo renaissance despite various offers.” These are the words Francesco Di Mariano, Palermo’s new striker, at a press conference on the negotiations that brought him back to the capital of Rosanero, where he was born: “This is my seventh year in Serie B, I’ve been through a lot and we’re only just getting started. We are a new team that is looking for an identity and it takes time, we need to stay positive, react and try to work, because this is the only possible way. As a goal, I think first of all to score 35-40 points, also because this year will be even more difficult than the last two that I won. We have to have the humility to be the first to get that many points, because even if important players arrive, first we have to create cohesion on the field. I am the first one who wants to get into Serie A, but this year the first thing to think about is a quiet escape. Missed A? In Venice, I was already coming to an end, and we did not find an agreement. Then Lecce, the club where I grew up, came forward and they accepted me. But here in Palermo there is none other than Lecce, this is a new club and we are laying the groundwork for the future. And I hope to get to the roof of this Palermo. In terms of goals against Venezia, I scored 8 before I got injured, the same number at Lecce, but we also have to look not only at goals, but also at what we do on the field, but I, would definitely like to improve myself. – Di Mariano then continues, also talking about his relationship with Palermo and his uncle Toto Squillaci. – At the age of thirteen, Palermo approached me, Sabatini and Massara were there, I was on trial with other boys. Then there was Lecce, but Rosanero no longer appeared, but I wanted to play. Skillachi? I left very little: my uncle saw him very little. I am here in Palermo and I am responsible because I am Francesco Di Mariano, not because I am his nephew. Corini: I just have to thank him for making me play at Novara, even though I was very young and my career started from there. Now I have reached maturity and I feel that I am ready to respect this shirt and these colors.