Shortly after the end of the World Cup, Bresciano was signed by Palermo on a four-year-contract, and made regular first team appearances in the Serie A and Europe. In October 2006 Bresciano scored what some – including Socceroos Assistant Coach John Kosmina – have described as the greatest goal ever scored for Australia in a full international match. In an Asian Cup qualification match against Bahrain, Mile Sterjovski received a cross-field pass which was played first-time back into the penalty area, Bresciano reacting quickly to turn his body horizontally and strike the ball on the volley into the net. The goal drew comparisons to his first goal for Palermo in Serie A, two months earlier, against Reggina on the opening day of the 2006–07 season. Bresciano was on the pitch on 2 February 2007, when violence broke out outside the stadium in the Catania-Palermo match. He was affected by tear gas as it drifted into the stadium and afterwards described the incident as "completely terrifying". He scored his ninth international goal against China in March 2007. A hamstring injury suffered in May caused him to miss the final round match for Palermo, Australia's friendly against Uruguay on 2 June and hampered his preparations for the 2007 AFC Asian Cup. However, he recovered in time for a warmup match against Singapore and played all of Australia's first two Asian Cup matches. He was substituted in the second half against Thailand and the quarter-final against Japan before the Socceroos' elimination on penalties. The Sydney Morning Herald rated the 71 minutes played against Japan as his best performance of the tournament, after average displays in the early matches.