Palermo appoint Panucci as technical director

Former Italian international defender Christian Panucci has been appointed as technical director of Palermo, the Serie A club have announced. Panucci starred for the likes of AC Milan, Real Madrid and Roma during his playing career and had been working as a pundit on television. The 38-year-old confirmed that he had been contacted by Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini last week. "Palermo are giving me a wonderful opportunity and I didn't need to think twice," he said. "It is time for me to come back into the game." The Sicilian club, who have not won any of their last four matches, lie tenth in the Serie A table with ten games of the season remaining.