Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini needed only three games to fire Coach Giuseppe Sannino, making him the first coaching casualty of the 2012-13 Serie A season. But that's a lot slower than last season when Zamparini fired Stefano Pioli in preseason.

Palermo hired Gian Piero Gasperini as its new coach. He has been out of coaching since being fired five games into the 2011-12 season by Inter Milan. Italian clubs made 19 coaching changes last season.

The change came after Palermo tied Cagliari, 1-1, on the road Saturday for its first point in three games. Asked whether Sannino was going to get fired, Zamparini responded, "I prefer to get drunk than answer that. I will watch the game again, but I am worried ... I am worried we're going to get relegated."

After he dumped Sannino, for whom Palermo was his 11th coaching job, Zamparini was blunt: "Giuseppe Sannino got everything wrong. It was a huge mistake."