Carmelo Di Bella was a former Palermo player who made an immediate splash when he took over as coach in 1967 and took the club to Serie A promotion. By the 1970 - 71 season they had fallen back into Serie B but retained ambitions of a return. The loss of the talented right back Mario Giuberti to Internazionale made that task harder, though there were a number of new signings coming the other way - including the former European Cup winner Spartaco Landini. Influential midfielder Sergio Pellizzaro sayed on for another season on loan and the newcomers played their part in a respectable Serie B campaign.