After having ended the 2004-05 Serie A campaign in sixth place, Palermo automatically qualified to the next UEFA Cup for an historical first time.
The summer market was heavily conditioned by the sale of powerful striker Luca Toni to Fiorentina for €10mln in a highly controversial move.
Palermo also successfully passed to the UEFA Cup group stage, after having defeated Cypriot side Anorthosis Famagusta FC in a 6-1 aggregate win.
The club also succeeded to win its UEFA Cup round against the likes of RCD Espanyol, FC Lokomotiv Moscow, Maccabi Petah Tikva F.C.
Despite intensive activity during the January football market, which brought David Di Michele, Federico Agliardi, Cristiano Lupatelli and Denis Godeas to the club, Palermo continued not to win matches, and a 3-1 home loss against Siena convinced Maurizio Zamparini to sack Delneri and replace him with Giuseppe Papadopulo.