Player Focus: Dybala Finally Repaying Zamparini's Faith at Palermo

A delegation of Palermo emissaries are in Argentina to negotiate the purchase of Franco ‘The Mute’ Vásquez from Belgrano. It’s 2011. They’re sat around a table and treated to some barbecued Patagonian lamb. “It was delicious,” Luca Cattani, their former director of sport, recalled to Tuttosport. 

Also joining them for dinner was the president of Instituto de Córdoba, Juan Carlos Barrera. You can imagine the scene. Setting his cutlery down and dabbing his mouth with a napkin, he turns to Cattani and says: ‘So, you’re signing Vásquez? Well done, but I have a better player, a player who is a lot better than him.” 

Intrigued, Cattani considered this to be a lead worth following up. “The player was of course Paulo Dybala,” he revealed. “I watched him four times, but already after the first time, Maurizio Zamparini had decided to buy him.” The Palermo owner had experienced a familiar thrill upon observing Dybala. “I understood immediately that he was on another level like Cavani, like Pastore,” he said.  

You can understand the excitement at Palermo’s discovery. Dybala had only just turned 18 but he was lighting up the Argentine second division. He became Instituto’s youngest ever goalscorer, breaking a club record held by the 1978 World Cup winner Mario Kempes. His first campaign ended with 17 goals in 38 games. Dybala got a couple of hat-tricks and scored in six consecutive appearances. 

Known as ‘El Pibe del la Pensión’ after boarding with Instituto following the death of his father Adolfo, the kid looked like a phenomenon in the making. But his exploits had also come to the attention of Inter, Napoli and of course Porto. Do they ever miss a beat? 

Still, Zamparini was determined not to be beaten to his signature. He persevered through the complicated negotiations with a third party and benefited from the distraction caused by the hype around another player in Argentina. “We were helped by the fact that Lucas Ocampos was exploding [at River Plate] and all the attention of the big clubs was on him,” Cattani explained. 

A deal for Dybala was done in 2012. He cost Palermo around €12m. It was the most expensive transfer in the history of the club. Zamparini had sold Cavani to Napoli and Pastore to Paris Saint-Germain the previous summer for a combined €54m and hadn’t reinvested all of it. 

But when a court ruled €15.5m of Pastore’s transfer was owed to the player’s agent, Dybala’s signing took on an even greater luxury status. This is Palermo remember. Not Inter or Milan or Juventus or Roma. For them, the margins to get it right in the transfer market are even finer and this was a departure from buying the likes of Andrea Barzagli, Simon Kjaer, Pastore, Luca Toni, Cavani and Amauri low and then selling them high. 

First impressions, however, augured well. Dybala introduced himself with an outrageous goal in pre-season. There was excitement at the Favorita and great anticipation to see u picciriddu [Sicilian dialect for ‘the kid’]. But things soon got complicated. There was a delay in his registration. Beppe Sannino was sacked in mid-September. Dybala wasn’t on the winning side in any of his first five games in Rosanero. His first victory came along with his first goals, a brace in a 2-0 triumph over Samp in November.

It was built up as a possible turning point in their season. Alas, it wasn’t. Dybala didn’t find the net again until the beginning of the New Year in a 2-2 draw with Lazio and it was his last of the season too. Gian Piero Gasperini was axed in February then brought back later that month after results failed to improve under Alberto Malesani. By mid-March, however, he was out again and Sannino found himself reinstated. Zamparini had completely lost the plot. 

You have to sympathise with Dybala. He was in a new country, far from home, adapting to a different culture of life and football and playing at a higher level too. He needed stability, consistency in his coaching and a defined role. Instead there was only tumult. Palermo were relegated. Dybala was considered a Bidone, a flop. He resolved to stay and prove his worth, wishing to repay the owner’s faith. Zamparini to tell the truth never lost that faith but a reluctance to sell Dybala was also informed by the knowledge that he stood no chance of making a return on his initial investment.

The expectation was Dybala would thrive in Serie B. He now had a year’s experience in Italy and would be facing weaker opposition. But he continued to struggle. “Paulo has to wake up. He has be more consistent,” explained Palermo’s coach at the time Rino Gattuso. “He can’t think that a game is over after a couple of pieces of skill. He has to run more, lay on more assists, score more. He can’t get to the fifth game of the season without scoring a goal. I’m not saying it because I’m crazy but because I’m aware of what he can do.”

Inevitably, Gattuso was sacked not too long afterwards.  Promotion specialist Beppe Iachini arrived and Palermo began storming back to the top flight. Abel Hernandez, Kyle Lafferty and Andrea Belotti were scoring the goals. Not Dybala. Out for four months after suffering an injury in the derby with Trapani, he was only too happy to bid farewell to 2013. “There’s a little bit of everything in me,” Dybala said. “Anger, a desire for revenge. It’s vital for a striker to score.” 

His drought lasted 405 days and finally ended when he got the winner against Bari in March. He scored in two of his next three appearance as well. Something had clicked. A partnership with his compatriot Vásquez, who’d also been on the periphery, was blossoming too. Dybala brought promotion closer by scoring in wins against Reggina and Latina. Vásquez then clinched it with the only goal away to Novara. Both finished strongly enough to convince Zamparini to let his top scorers go over the summer. Hernandez went to Hull and Kyle Lafferty, the “unmanageable womaniser”, moved to Norwich. 

Still, it did seem a bit counter-intuitive. Palermo were parting with strikers who’d scored 25 goals, keeping those who’d hit just 9 and were expecting them to make the grade in Serie A. Fortunately they’ve done just that. Dybala has already scored as many goals this season as he did last. The pearl he curled into the far corner against Genoa at Marassi on Monday was not only technically accomplished, it was his third in a row and his fifth of the campaign. The skill he showed to beat Nicolas Burdisso in that game was also indicative of someone playing with great confidence. 

Dybala makes things happen. Ranked third for successful dribbles in Serie A [40] behind Vásquez and Mateo Kovacic, he’s a tricky customer. He opened the scoring and set up Giancarlo Gonzalez to take the three points against Cesena. He also got Palermo level and won a penalty on Udinese’s visit to Sicily. Had Vásquez put it away, that would have been another Dybala inspired victory. The 21-year-old, whose playing style has been likened to that of Giuseppe Rossi and Antonio Di Natale, has been in menacing form. He has hit the woodwork more than any other player in Serie A this season [3]. 

La Joya, as Zamparini calls him, has been like that to watch, particularly in the shock 2-0 win against Milan. Where better to score his first goal away from the Renzo Barbera than San Siro. Of course it helps that Palermo are putting him in scoring positions. Dybala is 4th in Serie A for total shots [42]. His performances have been so impressive Italy coach Antonio Conte is said to be monitoring him closely. The Argentine has Italian and Polish citizenship but seems inclined to remain true to the country of his birth. 

Valuing Dybala at €42m - that’s Pastore money - and predicting, quite absurdly, that he’ll become better than Messi, it seems that rather than sell his starlet Zamparini is negotiating to extend his contract beyond 2016. Grateful for the patience Palermo have shown - which is not something Zamparini is known for - Dybala told La Gazzetta dello Sport: “We’ll reach an agreement.” 

Understandably no one is more pleased with how things have turned out than Zamparini. “This is the Dybala I bought,” he smarmed. “I never had any doubts.” Upon seeing his protege finally come good, Zamparini can take pleasure in saying: “I told you so.” Maybe he was onto something after all. 

How good do you think Dybala can become? Let us know in the comments below