Palermo v City: Five things about the Renzo Barbera Stadium | OneFootball

City will visit the Renzo Barbera Stadium for the Anglo Palermitan Trophy meeting with Palermo next week.

We face our CFG sister club at 20:00 (UK) on Saturday 9 August in Sicily, with the match globally available to watch live on mancity.com and our official app for CITY+ subscribers.

In the buildup to the tie that will see Pep Guardiola put the final preparations in place before the Premier League season begins, we’ve taken a look at Palermo’s history and their current squad as well as City’s connections to Italian football.

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Now, we find out a little more about the stadium that will host the game.

Year opened

Palermo’s home was inaugurated in January 1932 to the north of the centre of the island’s capital.

The very first game saw Palermo, who were already 32 years old at this point, beat Atalanta 5-1.

WATCH: SATURDAY 9 AUGUST: Palermo v City - Anglo Palermitan Trophy

It quickly became the symbol of Palermitan football, with the Italian national side using it on occasion too.

Name history

Originally named ‘Littorio’, the stadium was renamed Michele Marrone in 1937 in memory of a former Palermo player and an officer who died during the Spanish Civil War.

From 1945 onwards, it was known as La Favorita after the name of the neighbourhood in which it is located.

Then, in 2002, it was called the Renzo Barbera Stadium in honour of the chairman of Palermo during a key period for the club, with a sustained Serie A tenure and two Coppa Italia finals throughout the 1960s and the 1970s.

1990 World Cup

The stadium was used for three matches in the 1990 FIFA World Cup, with all three games played as part of Group F.

Netherlands and Egypt played a 1-1 draw in front of 33,000 on 12 June before a 0-0 between Republic of Ireland and Egypt five days later.

The final game there saw City man Niall Quinn score a second-half leveller for Republic of Ireland against the star studded Dutch outfit.

The only side in Group F not to play in Palermo was England, with Bobby Robson’s team playing all three games on fellow island Sardinia.

Concerts

Some of the very biggest names in the history of music performed at the stadium in the 20th century, including Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin and Black Sabbath.

They included two years of the Palermo Pop festival, which is considered the first ‘underground’ festival in Italy.

The summer of 2023 saw the return of big live events when Vasco Rossi performed at the stadium.

Capacity

The attendance record for a sporting event at the Barbera is 35,872 spectators, recorded on 9 May 2010 for a 1-1 draw between Palermo and Sampdoria in Serie A.

The most recent sell out at the stadium came in the final of the 2021/22 Serie C play-offs, when Palermo – who had become part of CFG just days earlier - overcame Padova to earn promotion to Serie B.