The Palermo has decided to separate from Leandro Rinaudo. He announced it through an official press release, deciding not to renew the contract expiring on 30 June 2024. After two seasons, the former Rosanero defender leaves the role of sporting director which will be entrusted to Morgan De Sanctis. He is the man chosen by the City Football Group to start the new rosanero cycle. Palermo beat the competition from Besiktas, convincing the former Napoli goalkeeper to accept the proposal as new sporting director.
The 47-year-old manager is fresh from his last experience at Salernitana which certainly did not end as he hoped. Not only the difficult issue linked to Boulaye Dia, who is effectively separated at home, but also the relegation of the Granata club which will be one of Palermo’s main rivals next year. The Rosanero club has formalized the arrival of Morgan De Sanctis as new sporting director. In the new sporting director’s staff there will also be an old rosanero star like Giulio Migliaccio which will bring a decisive contribution especially from the point of view of environmental knowledge.
The contract
De Sanctis will join Palermo from next July 1st and will join the Rosanero club with a multi-year contract. The new sporting director will work closely with Bigon in the hot summer of the transfer market which will see many issues in the foreground, especially that linked to the future of Matteo Brunori. Not only is the new sporting director official, Palermo also announces the new coach who will be former Empoli and Sassuolo player Alessio Dionisi.
Morgan De Sanctis’ goalkeeping career
As a footballer De Sanctis was a goalkeeper of great charisma and presence. Raised in the youth sector of Pescara, he spent a brief period at Juventus who bought him for 1.5 billion lire, before replacing him with Peruzzi. Exploded in terms of careerUdinese, defending the goal of the Friulian club from 1999 to 2007. 194 Serie A matches in 8 seasons in Udine. Then the parenthesis in Seville, Spain, but only as second goalkeeper. In July 2008 he decided to try the experience in Turkey, at Galatasaray, where he won the Turkish Super Cup, despite not taking the field. His rebirth occurred at the age of 32, in 2009, when he was purchased by Naples for just under 2 million. He remained in goal for the Italian club until 2013, gaining the satisfaction of reaching the Champions League with the Neapolitan club, also saving Gomez’s penalty in the round of 16 against Bayern Munich. He also won the Italian Cup in 2012. Then he moved to Rome in the summer of 2013, playing two seasons as a starter, before handing over to Szczesny. He ended his career in France, at Monaco, signing a contract at the age of 39, and won Ligue 1, albeit as a second goalkeeper.
Career as a manager
Unlike many of his colleagues, De Sanctis did not pursue a career as a coach but as a manager behind the desk. He started in Rome where in 2017 he was appointed team manager of the Giallorossi club. After completing the UEFA coaching course, in 2018 he passed the sporting director exam in Coverciano and opened the doors to his career as a sporting director. In the summer of 2020 he temporarily replaced Gianluca Petrachi as sporting director and a few months later obtained the qualification as a UEFA Pro coach. A year later he became Tiago Pinto’s deputy at Roma, mainly dealing with the contracts of the young boys in the youth sector . In that period he also worked on the transition of young people from the Primavera to the first team and also took care of partnerships with foreign clubs.
In February 2022 he leaves Roma, an environment very dear to him both as a footballer and as a manager. In June of the same year he took the place of a master like Walter Sabatini as sporting director of Salernitana. He worked in Salerno for about a year, before terminating the contract and making way for the return of Sabatini himself, in an already very complicated moment for the Campania club. In his career as a sporting director, some illustrious transfers should be highlighted, such as that of Ederson to Atalanta. But also different interesting incoming shots like Boulaye Dia and Tonny Vilhenabut also a veteran like Antonio Candreva, taken from Sampdoria. Now he is ready to lead the Rosanero transfer market to aim straight for Serie A.
