Parma F.C.

Parma

Full name	Parma Football Club SpA
Nickname(s)	[Il] Crociati (The Crusaders) [I] Ducali (The Duchy Men) [I] Gialloblu (The Yellow and Blues)
Founded	27 July 1913, as Verdi Football Club
Ground	Stadio Ennio Tardini, Parma, Italy (Capacity: 27,906 (22,885 presently authorised))
Chairman	Tommaso Ghirardi
Head coach	Pasquale Marino
League	Serie A
2009–10	Serie A, 8th
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

Parma Football Club (formerly Parma Associazione Calcio), commonly referred to as just Parma, is an Italian professional football club based in Parma, Emilia–Romagna that will compete in Serie A during the 2010–11 season, having finished in eighth position last season. Founded as Verdi Football Club in July 1913,^[1] the club changed its name in December of the same year. Parma have played their home matches in the 27,906 seat Stadio Ennio Tardini, often referred to as simply Il Tardini, since 1923.^[2]

Although Parma have never won a domestic league title and never competed for the major trophies until the 1990s, they have won three Italian Cups, one Supercoppa Italiana, as well as two UEFA Cups, one European Super Cup and one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. The club won all eight of these trophies between 1992 and 2002, a period in which it is also achieved its best ever league finish as runners-up in the 1996–97 season and threatened the dominance of the league's established powers^[3] – Juventus, A.C. Milan and Internazionale, who are now the only Italian sides who have had more success in Europe than Parma.

More recently, Parma's financial troubles, brought on in late 2003 by the Parmalat scandal which caused the parent company to collapse, have restricted the club's ambitions, having been under controlled administration until January 2007 and having to fight to stave off relegation, rather than compete for titles. Despite the recent downturn in success, Parma is an associated member and one of eight Italian clubs who form part of the European Club Association, which was formed after the dissolution of the G–14, a collection of Europe's most elite clubs which is the sole representative for clubs at European level.^[4][5]

History

For a breakdown of Parma F.C.'s season-by-season achievements, see List of Parma F.C. seasons

Early years (1913–1965)

The club was founded in July 1913 as Verdi Football Club in honour of famous opera composer Giuseppe Verdi, who was born in the province of Parma, adopting its unique white shirts emblazoned with a black cross on the front. By December of the same year, the club had changed its name to Parma Football Club. Parma began playing league football during the 1919–20 season, finishing second in the Emilian Championship qualifying matches. In 1922, the president at the time, Ennio Tardini, launched his plans to build a stadium for the club. The Stadio Ennio Tardini would be named after the Italian lawyer after he died before the stadium was opened the following year. Parma were participating in Emilian regional championship at this point, in which they would qualify to play nationally by performing well in their regional group. They achieved their first promotion from a regional league during the 1924–25 season, moving from the Seconda Divisione to the Prima Divisione, before becoming founding members of Serie B after finishing runners-up in the Prima Divisione in the 1928–29 season.

Parma made their debut in Serie B on 6 October 1929, beating Biellese 2–0. The team remained in Serie B for three years before being relegated to the Prima Divisione at the end of the 1931–32 season, the year before the club changed is name to Associazione Sportiva Parma. Having finished in the top two positions for three consecutive seasons in the Prima Divisione, Parma were accepted into the re-named third tier of Italian football for the 1935–36 season, Serie C, where they competed for the rest of the decade, achieving a best finish of fourth in 1939–40. After finishing as runners-up in 1941–42, Parma achieved a return to Serie B the next year, winning seventeen matches of nineteen and scoring 82 goals to top their group, before progressing to the final, where they would have won promotion but for their disqualification due to having alleged corruption on the final day of the season in their match against Lecco.

Italian football was then brought to a halt as World War II intensified, although Parma did make an appearance in the Campianto Alta Italia in 1944. Following the restart of organised football, Parma enjoyed three years in Serie B, then split into two regional divisions, before again being relegated in 1948–49 to Serie C after losing their relegation play–off by four goals to one against Spezia in Milan. Il Crociato then spent another five seasons in Serie C, where they finished second place on two occasions before gaining promotion once again in 1953–54 with the help of the prolific Czechoslovakian left-winger Július Korostelev, who scored 15 of the side's 45 goals.

Following this promotion, one of the most successful periods in the club's history began, as the team would spend eleven consecutive years in the second tier and consistently finish mid-table, in 1954–55, they would end up as high as ninth position, which represented a record for the club at that time. The stars of this era were Paolo Erba, who was named the capocannoniere, the league's top scorer, in 1956–57, and Ivo Cocconi, who set the club's appearance record, playing 308 times. Parma also made their debut on the European stage during the 1960–61 season, defeating Swiss side AC Bellinzona in the Coppa delle Alpi. The club's form dropped, however, and they were once again relegated to Serie C in the 1964–65 season, finishing last with just 23 points.

Yo-yoing between leagues (1965–1989)

Parma spent just one season in Serie C before they were relegated for a second successive season and found themselves in Serie D in 1966. The club was in turmoil and, having been ordered into liquidation by the Court of Parma in 1968, it was the absorption of local side A.C. Parmense that brought about a change of fortunes in both financial and sporting terms and led to a change of name to Associazione Calcio Parma.^[1] Parma topped their regional division in 1969–70, earning themselves promotion to Serie C, where they would remain for three years. The club crept back into professional football with promotion to Serie B during the 1972–73 season after a 2–0 play-off victory over Udinese in Vicenza, but would spend just two seasons in the league, although they did manage to finish as high as 5th in 1973–74, setting a new club record in the process. Relegation the following year saw the club return to Serie C, where they would stay until their promotion under Cesare Maldini in 1978–79.

Maldini-led Parma beat Triestina 3–1 after extra time in a play–off match, thanks to two goals from a young Carlo Ancelotti, who moved to Roma that summer. However, they only lasted a season in Serie B and began the 1980s back down in Serie C. In 1982–83, Massimo Barbuti arrived at Parma, a player who is still fondly remembered today as l'idolo della Nord, or the idol of the North. He was so called for his popularity amongst those sitting in the Curva Nord, where Parma's staunchest fans have historically sat during home matches at the Tardini. Parma returned to Serie B as champions after winning their division in 1984 with 18 goals form Massimo Barbuti and final day victory over San Remo with Juventus-bound Stefano Poli scoring the only goal of the game. Il Ducali's stay in Serie B was shorter than hoped as they spent just one season in the league, finishing third from bottom and being relegated as a result.

Parma continued to yo-yo between the leagues and returned to Serie B under Arrigo Sacchi in 1986 after finishing level on points at the top of of the league with Modena, having never previously seriously threatened to do so. Promotion was secured on the final day of the season with a 2-0 victory over Sanremese, a day on which Alessandro Melli, a player who would go on to play an important role in some of Parma's most famous triumphs and enjoy considerable success at the club in the process of doing so, scored his first goal for the Gialloblu. Parma's first season back in Serie B was a successful one, missing out on promotion to Italy's top tier by just three points and eliminating A.C. Milan from the Coppa Italia, a result that convinced their owner, Silvio Berlusconi, to hire Sacchi as the new manager of the Rossoneri. His replacement, Zdeněk Zeman, was fired after just seven matches and replaced by Giampieri Vitali, who secured two mid-table finishes before being replaced in 1989 by Nevio Scala.

Success with Scala (1989–1996)

Scala's Parma led Serie B at the half-way mark before distress at the hands of a stadium disaster in a match at home to Reggina in January and the death of owner Ernesto Ceresin in February see the Ducali fall to eighth, before a late run of form and victory on the final day against old rivals Reggiana with goals from Marco Osio and Alessandro Melli meant Parma secured a historic promotion to Serie A on 27 May 1990.^[6] After Parma's promotion, Calisto Tanzi increased his stake in the ownership of the club to 45% with the purchase of the deceased Ceresin's sons' shares and named Giorgio Pedraneschi as president. This would allow Scala to supplement the squad that achieved promotion from Serie B, which included central defenders Luigi Apolloni and Lorenzo Minotti and star striker Alessandro Melli, with players such as Tomas Brolin, Claudio Taffarel and Georges Grun.^[6]

The patch worn over Parma's badge in the seasons following their three Coppa Italia triumphs

Parma's first ever game in Serie A was a 2–1 defeat at home to Turin giants Juventus, which was followed by an inaugural Serie A victory 15 days later: 1–0 victory over Diego Maradona's Napoli.^[6] Parma ended ther first ever season in Serie A in sixth place, which meant they qualified for the UEFA Cup.^[6] However, the 1991–92 season saw Parma exit from the UEFA Cup to CSKA Sofia in the first round despite the notable additions of Antonio Benarrivo and Alberto Di Chiara. The club had more success on the domestic front, where they finished sixth in the league and prevailed in the Coppa Italia final against Juventus. Losing the away leg 1–0, Parma managed to secure their first ever major trophy when they won the home leg 2–0 with a goal from Alessandro Melli on the stroke of half-time before Marco Osio struck after on the hour mark.

Parma's squad was further improved by the summer arrival of Colombian striker Faustino Asprilla and they managed a first major international trophy in 1993 when an early volley from captain Lorenzo Minotti from a corner, an Alessandro Melli header and a late Stefano Cuoghi strike helped Parma to a 3–1 victory in the Cup Winners' Cup over Belgian side Royal Antwerp at Wembley Stadium in England on 12 May 1993.^[6] They also managed a record high finish of third place, but slipped to defeat in the 1992 Supercoppa Italiana against A.C. Milan. The following season, the club were successful in the European Super Cup; winning an all Italian final against AC Milan with new signing Gianfranco Zola as part of Parma's three-pronged forward line, alongside Brolin and Asprilla.^[6] Having lost the first leg at home by a single goal to nil, goals from new boys Nestor Sensini and Massimo Crippa were enough for Parma victory. The same season, however, they lost the Cup Winners' Cup 1–0 in the final against Arsenal and slipped to 5th in the league.

The next year, bolstered by the acquisitions of Fernando Couto and Dino Baggio,^[6] Parma would face Juventus in a two-legged final, as they did in the 1992 domestic cup final, only this time the prize at stake was greater: the UEFA Cup. Dino Baggio scored the only goal of the first leg – played in Parma – with a far post header from close range and he scored again with a neat lob over Angelo Peruzzi in reply to Gianluca Vialli's strike in the second leg, which was staged in Milan, to give Parma a 2–1 aggregate win and a second major European trophy. Parma lost the Coppa Italia final which pitted the same sides against each other over two legs 2–1. After four years of success, a trophy-less 1995-96, despite the signings of Hristo Stoichkov and Filippo Inzaghi, meant that Nevio Scala, winner of four of Parma's eight trophies won to date and longest-serving manager of all time, was replaced by Carlo Ancelotti. The man presiding over the club's affairs during this period, president Pedraneschi was also replaced by Stefano Tanzi, son of Calisto.

More trophies despite changeable personnel (1996–2002)

Ancelotti and Tanzo immediately overhauled the team that summer, signing Hernán Crespo, Enrico Chiesa and Zé Maria and selling Stoichkov, Couto, Inzaghi and Di Chiara.^[6] As the new leadership continued to make changes to the team, Zola, who scored 49 goals in 102 league games for Parma, was sold to Chelsea for £4.5M in November 1996.^[7] However, the side packed full of stars were guided to the club's best ever league finish under Ancelotti in 1997: second place and only two points behind the champions, Juventus. As a result, Parma made their first appearance in the Champions League, but having beaten Widzew Łódź to qualify for the group stages, further qualification and a quarter-final was in part denied by a Borussia Dortmund side led by Nevio Scala. This, coupled with a disappointing finish in fifth position in Serie A led to the job being passed to Alberto Malesani. A positive was the emergence of young talents Gianluigi Buffon, Fabio Cannavaro and Lilian Thuram, all of whom would later win World Cups for their countries.

A ticket to the 1999 UEFA Cup Final against Marseille, held in Moscow, Russia

Malesani's first business was the completion of the transfer of Juan Sebastián Verón from Sampdoria. Despite a disappointing finish in fourth place in Serie A, this season remains Parma's most successful ever, winning two cup competitions. On 14 April 1999, Parma and Fiorentina played out a 1–1 draw in the first leg of the Coppa Italia final with Crespo opening the scoring before compatriot Gabriel Batistuta equalised late on. Crespo scored twice in the second leg, played on 5 May in Florence, which ended 2–2, meaning Parma won on the away goals rule, lifting their second Coppa Italia. Just three days earlier, Parma had won their second UEFA Cup with a comfortable 3–0 victory over Marseille at the Luzhniki Stadium. Crespo capitalised on an early defensive error by the French defence to open the scoring, before a well-placed Paolo Vanoli header before half-time and an Enrico Chiesa volley secured the triumph.

Joy at an early season trophy, the Italian Super Cup after victory over league champions A.C. Milan, was somewhat tempered by the sale of Verón, who was replaced by the disappointing Ariel Ortega, and early Champions League elimination at the hands of Rangers. Parma went on to finish fourth for a second consecutive season in the league, level with Internazionale, but losing the play–off 3–1 against the Milan giants, consigning them to UEFA Cup football. In the ensuing summer, Hernán Crespo was sold to Lazio for a then world record transfer fee. The money raised from the transfer was used to fund the purchases of Matías Almeyda, Sérgio Conceição and Savo Milošević, but Parma would endure an unsatisfactory start to the season in the ownership's eyes. Although the sacking of Malesani made way for the return of Arrigo Sacchi in January 2001, Sacchi succumbed to poor health. New coach Renzo Ulivieri took over and led the side to fourth in the league once more, this time securing Champions League qualification, although Parma did lose the Coppa Italia final to Fiorentina 2–1 on aggegrate.

A disastrous start to the 2000-01 season paved the way for another early Champions League exit, this time at the hands of Lille, the sacking of Uliveri in October and the hiring and firing of Daniel Passarella just two months later. Pietro Carmignani, perennially associated with the side's youth team, was appointed head coach and secured the most recently won prize in Parma's trophy cabinet when Parma came up against Juventus in yet another major final. Juventus won the first leg in Turin by two goals to one; Hidetoshi Nakata scored an injury-time consolation to keep Parma in the tie. Parma won the second leg 1–0 with an early deflected goal from Júnior, giving Parma the victory on away goals and a third Coppa Italia triumph. By 2002, every player that started the 1999 UEFA Cup triumph over Marseille had been moved on out of necessity.^[6]

Financial turmoil and Ghirardi's purchase (2002–present)

Claudio Ranieri, who saved Parma from relegation in 2007

Cesare Prandelli was announced as the new man-in-charge of the Emilian side in May 2002.^[8] However, once more the winning players from the previous season were sold to raise money: Fabio Cannavaro went to Internazionale, Marco Di Vaio to Juventus,^[9] and Johan Micoud to Werder Bremen and Parma slipped to an early season defeat in Tripoli to Juventus in the 2002 Supercoppa Italiana, but the depleted squad managed to finish above expectations in fifth place with the goals supplied by Adrian Mutu and Adriano. The following season, The sale of captain-to-be Mutu to Chelsea, injury to star striker Adriano and the culmination of Parmalat's financial meltdown, which resulted in the arrest of president Calisto Tanzi, made life difficult for Parma, but they again finished fifth, in no small part due to the prolific Alberto Gilardino, who netted 23 league goals, a club record.

In the 2004–05 season, although Parma reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup, they plummeted to their lowest finish since promotion fifteen years earlier, appointing and relieving Silvio Baldini of his duties in the space of a few months and hiring Pietro Carmignani. All of this despite another 23 league goal haul from Gilardino. Parma's league position meant they had to contest a two-legged play-off against Bologna in order to stay in the top tier of Italian football. They won the play-off 2-1 on aggregate, having lost the first leg at home by a goal to nil. With the club still not having found a new owner, Enrico Bondi was made president and charged with securing a sale, continuing to sell Parma's most valuable assets, such as Alberto Gilardino, who left for A.C. Milan at the cost of €24M in the summer of 2005. The Emilian outfit ended the following season with a finish in tenth place, but the Calciopoli scandal sees their official position changed to seventh and assures them a return to the UEFA Cup. Players such as Daniele Bonera continued to be sold on for money and another new coach, Stefano Pioli, was appointed as the 2006–07 season approached.

On 24 January 2007, Tommaso Ghirardi was announced as new owner of Parma FC, following a public auction sale.^[10] Ghirardi, a 31–year–old entrepreneur and owner of Serie C2 club AC Carpenedolo, also became president of Parma F.C., ending three years of state-controlled management. Having qualifying for the Round of 32 of the 2006–07 UEFA Cup, Parma were eliminated from the competition by S.C. Braga, who prevailed by a single goal to nil in both legs; the home match was played behind closed doors after the Italian Government ruled that Parma's stadium did not meet requirements set out following recent riots in a league match in Sicily. On 12 February, second–last placed Parma fired head coach Pioli and replaced him with Claudio Ranieri^[11] who, against overwhelming odds, managed to avoid relegation to Serie B on the final day of the season.^[12], before leaving at the end of the season. In the 2007–08 season, Parma again battled with relegation. Three different head coaches (Domenico Di Carlo, Héctor Cúper, and caretaker Andrea Manzo) took charge that season, but none were able to preserve Parma's Serie A status, as they lost 2–0 at home to champions Internazionale on the final day of the season, Zlatan Ibrahimović eventually sealing their fate and consigning them to Serie B football after eighteen years in the top flight.

Parma's stay in Serie B started badly under Luca Cagni, who was sacked six games into the season and replaced by Francesco Guidolin who guided the club to joint top at the half-way mark and a second place finish, ending the season unbeaten at home and fired on with goals from Alberto Paloschi and Cristiano Lucarelli, finally securing promotion back to Serie A with a 2–2 draw on 16 May 2009 with two games left to play. Parma went on to finish the season in second place, 4 points behind eventual winners Bari. Parma's return to Serie A in 2009–10 started with good form, winning eight of the first sixteen matches and sitting in fourth position before Christmas. Although Parma's form dropped off in the new year, they did manage to finish eighth in the final standings, narrowly missing out on qualification for the Europa League, just three points behind rivals Juventus. Head coach Guidolin left the club for Udinese,^[13] swapping places with Parma's newly-appointed Pasquale Marino in the summer of 2010.^[14]

Colours and badge

The flag of the Duchy of Parma, the inspiration for many of the club's kits

Parma is characterised by having used two different colour schemes for their home kits in recent memory, as well as at their inception. Originally, the club wore yellow and blue shirts in honour of the city's traditional colours, which date back to 1545 when the Duchy of Parma was established,^[15] but white shirts with a black cross on the chest were soon introduced with inspiration from Juventus' colours. White continued to be worn as the main colour of the home kits for much of the remainder of the century, although often complemented with yellow, blue or both, rather than black. The club did, however, wear blue shirts with white shorts in 1950.

After decades in lower divisions, Parma were promoted to Serie A in 1990, where Parma immediately became a major force in the battle for major trophies, on many notable occasions in direct opposition to Juventus, who would become fierce rivals of Parma's. This rivalry rapidly led to the demotion of the white and black shirts to the away kit, and the side wore yellow and blue hooped shirts as their home kit for six seasons between 1998 and 2004 with navy blue shirts often worn as third choice in this period. This was a time of great success for the club, thus the shirts have become synonymous with Parma, often still called the Gialloblu (Yellow and Blues) today, despite a recent reversion to the traditional white shirts emblazoned with a cross after Parmalat's collapse. Yellow and blue are now Parma's away kit colours, used in various combinations since 2004, such as vertical stripes, hoops, crosses or as solid colour designs.^[16]

The old Parma A.C. logo, used until the name change to Parma F.C. in 2005

For the 2010–11 season, Parma will wear four different kits. Their first kit will bear the traditional black cross on a white shirt, this season adorned with yellow and blue trim on the collar and sleeves, along with black shorts and socks, topped with a more conspicuous badge similar to that used in 1993–94. The away kit is a blue shirt with yellow sleeves and shorts and blue socks, drawing on inspiration from kits worn in 1953–54, 1955–56 and 1956–57. It uses the same colours as the special edition Coppa Italia kit, worn only in that competition, which is a blue and yellow vertically striped shirt, complemented with blue shorts and yellow socks. The third kit uses colours not often used over the years by the club; a grey shirt with a single yellow hoop outlined with two blue hoops and a blue colour.^[17]

Parma's logo changed in 2005 to reflect the name change from Parma A.C. to Parma F.C., but the logo otherwise remains the same, encompassing the city colours of yellow and blue and the club's traditional black cross on a white background.

Sponsors and manufacturers

Parma have had their kits manufactured and been sponsored by a variety of companies, including parent company Parmalat for a period of eight years, since 1984.^[15] Their kits are presently manufactured by the global Erreà sportswear brand, whose origins are based in Torrile, which is about 13 kilometres north of Parma.

Stadium

Stadio Ennio Tardini, Parma's home stadium

Parma moved into their current stadium, the Stadio Ennio Tardini, in 1923 and have called it home ever since, although the stadium has since been overhauled and altered drastically from the vision of Ennio Tardini, under whose auspices the stadium was to be built, but who died before completion of the venue.^[1] Much of the renovation took place after the club's first promotion to Serie A at the start of the 1990s. The stadium's usable capacity stands at 27,906, but only 22,885 are authorised to enter at once.

The club train at Centro Sportivo Parma Calcio, Collecchio, which is located 15.4 kilometres to the south-west of the stadium.

Supporters

The supporters of Parma are represented by three main groups: il Centro di Coordinamento dei Parma Club (which represents the majority of the fanbase), l'Associazione Petitot and the club's ultras, Boys Parma, which was established in 1977. The Boys Parma occupy the northern end of the home stadium, directly opposite to where the away fans sit in the south stand.^[1] The ultras group currently associates itself with those of Sampdoria, Rangers and Empoli.

Rivalries

Juventus are now considered Parma's greatest rivals largely due to their recent duels, which include Parma's 1995 UEFA Cup victory, their first and third Coppa Italia triumphs and Supercoppa Italiana defeats in 1995 and 2002, as well as their 1995 domestic cup final defeat to The Old Lady. These six matches comprise nearly half of the fourteen major finals that Parma have participated in. Ironically, Parma's colours have their origins in those that Juventus wear, and the switch from white and black to a yellow and blue home kit in the late 1990s was initiated in order to distance and distinguish Parma from Juventus. Cremonese remain Parma's second closest rival, despite playing in the third tier of Italian football – two divisions below Parma. Modena, Vicenza, Bologna, Genoa and Reggiana have been considered rivals of Parma due to their close proximity.

Players

Current squad

As of 31 July 2010^[18][19]

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Nicola Pavarini 2 DF Rolf Feltscher 3 DF Luca Antonelli 4 MF Stefano Morrone (captain) 5 DF Cristian Zaccardo 6 DF Alessandro Lucarelli 8 MF Fernando Marqués 9 FW Hernán Crespo 10 MF Blerim Džemaili 11 FW Alberto Paloschi 14 MF Daniele Galloppa 16 GK Stefano Russo 17 MF Danilo Pereira 18 MF Massimo Gobbi

No. Position Player 19 FW Gabriele Paonessa 21 MF Sebastian Giovinco (on loan from Juventus) 22 MF Zé Eduardo (on loan from Maga) 24 DF Massimo Paci (vice-captain) 26 DF Marco Pisano 27 MF Matteo Mandorlini 29 DF Gabriel Paletta 32 MF Manuel Coppola 33 DF Andrea Rispoli 51 DF Paolo Hernán Dellafiore (on loan from Palermo) 80 MF Francesco Valiani 83 GK Antonio Mirante 86 FW Valeri Bojinov 92 GK Antonio Santurro

Out on loan for 2010–11

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 7 DF Paolo Castellini (at Roma) 13 DF Marco Rossi (at Bari) 34 DF Abel Gigli (at Atletico Roma) 56 DF Luca Tedeschi (at Crotone) 90 DF Riccardo Pasi (at Modena) 99 FW Cristiano Lucarelli (at Napoli) — MF Francesco Lunardini (at Triestina)

No. Position Player — MF Pietro Baccolo (at Südtirol) — MF Abdou Doumbia (at Atletico Roma) — DF Pablo Fontanello (at Gimnasia) — FW Gianluca Lapadula (at Atletico Roma) — MF Alessio Manzoni (at Brescia) — MF Filipe Oliveira (at Torino)

Youth team

For information on Parma's youth teams, see Parma F.C. Academy.

Former players

For a list of former players, see Category:Parma F.C. players, and for a list of player records, see Parma F.C. statistics and records

Club officials

Board room

^[20]

• President: Tommaso Ghirardi
• Honorary president: Diego Penocchio
• Chief executive officer: Peter Leonardi
• Board: Arturo Balestrieri, Marco Ferrari, Ottavio Martini, Susan Ghirardi, Justin B Rye
• Organising director: Corrado Di Taranto
• Technical director: Antonello Preiti
• Secretary general: Alessio Paini
• Team manager: Alessandro Melli
• Head of youth: Francesco Palmieri
• Resp observer: Pasquale Lanzillo
• Resp officer: Alberto Monguidi
• Press office: Robert Rhodes
• Legal advisor: Silvia Serena
• Finance director: Gian Pietro Fallini
• Security officer: Stephen Perrone
• External relations: Mirco Rise
• Training centre manager: Danfio Bianchessi
• China project manager: Giuseppe Dossena
• Sales and marketing team: G Sports Ltd (Martin Ferrari, Franco Bardiani, Matthias Incannella)

Presidential history

Parma have had numerous presidents over the course of their history; here is a complete list of them:^[21]

Backroom staff

^[22]

• Head coach: Pasquale Marino
• Assistant coach: Massimo Mezzini
• Goalkeeping coach: Catello Senatore
• Fitness coach: Giovanni Petralia
• Medical supervisor: Roberto Del Signore
• Health manager: Diego Lertora
• First team medic: Raffaele Ballini
• Masseur: Corrado Gatti
• Physiotherapist: Giorgio Balotta and Fabrizio Benecchi
• Rehabilitation therapist: Michele Toma
• Kit managers: Roberto Pelacci and Matteo Priori

Managerial history

Below is a list of Parma managers since the end of the First World War until the present day.^[21]

Name Nationality Years Violi, Porcelli and Spaggiari 1919–20 Percy Humphrey 1920–21 Riebe 1921–23 Guido Ara 1923–24 Gabbi and Forlivesi 1924–25 Carlo Achatzi 1925–26 Ghini and Stuardt 1926–27 Emili Grossi 1927–28, 1929–30, 1931–32 Raoul Violi 1928–29 Armand Halmos 1930–31 Crotti 1932–33 Tito Mistrali 1933–36 Alfredo Mattioli 1936–37, 1940–42 Elvio Banchero 1937–38 Pál Szalaj 1938–39 József Wereb 1939–40 Italo Defendi 1942–43 Giuseppe Ferrari 1945–46 Renato Cattaneo, Lombatti, Frione and Mistrali 1946–47 Dentelli, Giovanni Mazzoni, Dietrich and Tagliani 1947–48 Renato Cattaneo, Giuberti, Mistrali, Giuseppe Ferrari, Lombatti and Carlo Rigotti 1948–49 Carlo Rigotti 1949–50 Giovanni Mazzoni, Boni and Mattioli 1950–51 Paolo Tabanelli 1951–53 Carlos Alberto Quario 1953–54 Ivo Fiorentini 1954–56 Oliveri and Giuberti 1956–57 Čestmír Vycpálek 1956–58 Guido Mazetti 1958–60 Mario Genta 1960–62 Canforini 1962–63 Diotallevi and Arnaldo Sentimenti 1963–64

Name Nationality Years Oliveri and Giuberti 1956–57 Bruno Arcari 1964–65 Ivan Corghi 1965–66 Dante Boni 1965–67, 1968–69 Giancarlo Vitali 1967–68, 1969–70 Stefano Angeleri 1970–72 Antonio Soncini 1972 Giorgio Sereni 1973–74, 1981 Renato Gei 1974–75 Giovanni Meregalli 1975–76 Tito Corsi 1976–77 Bruno Mora 1977, 1983 Gianni Corelli and Visconti 1977–78 Graziano Landoni 1978 Cesare Maldini 1978–80 Domenico Rosati 1980–81 Giancarlo Danova 1981–83 Marino Perani 1983–85 Flaborea 1985 Pietro Carmignani 1985, 2001–02, 2005 Arrigo Sacchi 1985–87, 2001 Zdeněk Zeman 1987

Name Nationality Years Giampieri Vitali 1987–89 Nevio Scala 1989–96 Carlo Ancelotti 1996–98 Alberto Malesani 1998–00 Renzo Ulivieri 2000–01 Daniel Passarella 2001 Cesare Prandelli 2002–04 Silvio Baldini 2004–05 Mario Beretta 2005–06 Stefano Pioli 2006–07 Claudio Ranieri 2007 Domenico Di Carlo 2007–08 Héctor Cúper 2008 Andrea Manzo 2008 Luigi Cagni 2008 Francesco Guidolin 2008–10 Pasquale Marino 2010–

Honours

Parma have won eight major titles in their history, with all eight coming between in a period of ten years between 1992 and 2002.^[23] These honours make them the tenth most successful team in Italian football history in terms of the number of major trophies won, the fourth most successful team on the European stage, after Milan, Juventus and Inter and, along with A.C. Milan, the only club in Italy to have won more honours on the international stage than domestically.

National

• Coppa Italia:
  • Winners (3): 1991–92, 1998–99, 2001–02
  • Runners-up (2): 1994–95, 2000–01

• Supercoppa Italiana:
  • Winners (1): 1999
  • Runners-up (1): 1992, 1995, 2002

• Serie A:
  • Runners-up (1): 1996–97

• Serie B:
  • Runners-up (1): 2008–09

European

• UEFA Cup:
  • Winners (2): 1994–95, 1998–99

• European Super Cup:
  • Winners (1): 1993

• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup:
  • Winners (1): 1992–93
  • Runners-up (1): 1993–94

Minor

• Prima Divisione:
  • Runners-up (1): 1928–29¹

• Seconda Divisione:
  • Winners (1): 1924–25²

• Promozione:
  • Runners-up (1): 1919–20³

• Serie C:
  • Winners (4): 1953–54, 1972–73⁴, 1983–84⁵, 1985–86⁵
  • Runners-up (2): 1942–43⁶, 1978–79⁵

• Serie D:
  • Winners (1): 1969–70⁷

• Coppa delle Alpi:
  • Winners (1): 1960–61⁸

• Ciutat de Barcelona Trophy:
  • Winners (1): 2003

• Trofeo Costa del Sol:
  • Runners-up (1): 2010

Note 1: One of 3 parallel regional second tier divisions.

Note 2: One of 2 parallel regional second tier divisions.

Note 3: One of 13 parallel regional second tier divisions.

Note 4: One of 3 parallel regional third tier divisions.

Note 5: One of 2 parallel regional third tier divisions.

Note 6: One of 12 parallel regional third tier divisions

Note 7: One of 9 parallel regional fourth tier divisions

Note 8: As an Italian representative.

Club statistics and records

Antonio Benarrivo holds Parma's official Serie A appearance record, taking to the field 258 times between 1991 and 2004, while Hernán Crespo is Parma's all–time Serie A top scorer with 63 goals (as of June 2010), 62 of which came in his first spell at the club between 1996 and 2000 in just 116 matches.^[24] When Crespo left the club in 2000, Lazio spent a then world record sum of €43,600,000 to secure his services, which is now the sixth highest transfer free ever paid and, of course, a record in transfer fees received for Parma. The most Parma have spent on acquiring a player is the €32.2M spent on buying Hidetoshi Nakata from Roma in 2001.^[24]

As of the June 2010, although Parma had spent just nineteen seasons in Serie A, they had amassed the sixteenth most points in the league's history and had the best average points total per season in the history of Italian football's top flight. Perhaps reflecting this, Parma are one of just five clubs worldwide who have won major international trophies without having also won a national league title, along with Cienciano, Arsenal de Sarandí, Real Zaragoza and Bayer Leverkusen. The club were also the only side to represent Italy in European competition for every year between 1991 and 2005.

References

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} "Parma City Guide". Football Italia. http://football-italia.net/articles/cityguidepar.html. Retrieved 31 July 2010. 
2. ↑ "Il Tardini [The Tardini]" (in Italian). Official Parma F.C. website. http://www.fcparma.com/citta-e-stadio/il-tardini.html. Retrieved 29 July 2010. 
3. ↑ Mynk, K.C. (17 April 2009). "How the Mighty Have Fallen: The Decline of 10 Untouchable Football Clubs". Bleacher Report. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/157851-how-the-mighty-have-fallen-the-fall-of-ten-untouchable-football-clubs#page/4. Retrieved 1 August 2010. 
4. ↑ "ECA Members". European Club Assocation. http://www.ecaeurope.com/Default.aspx?id=1082680&MembershipView=List&MembershipType=1081824. Retrieved 1 August 2010. 
5. ↑ "About ECA". European Club Assocation. http://www.ecaeurope.com/Default.aspx?id=1085058. Retrieved 1 August 2010. 
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8} "Parma: '90s Phenomenon". 19 May 2010. http://ghostgoal.co.uk/2010/05/19/parma-90s-phenomenon/. Retrieved 31 July 2010. 
7. ↑ Marcotti, Gabriele (24 May 2005). "Tactical switch". London: The Times. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,762-1624346,00.html. Retrieved 20 July 2010. 
8. ↑ "Parma turn to Prandelli". UEFA. 16 May 2002. http://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/association=ita/news/newsid=23843.html. Retrieved 1 August 2010. 
9. ↑ "Di Vaio rides again". FIFA. 16 February 2009. http://js.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfootball/news/newsid=1029067.html. Retrieved 1 August 2010. 
10. ↑ "Ufficiale: Il Parma è di Ghirardi [Official: Parma is Ghirardi's]" (in Italian). Gazzetta dello Sport. http://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/Squadre/Parma/Primo_Piano/2007/01_Gennaio/24/ufficiale.shtml. Retrieved 29 July 2010. 
11. ↑ "Ranieri appointed coach of Parma". BBC Sport. 13 February 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/6356587.stm. Retrieved 1 August 2010. 
12. ↑ Stanco, Sergio. "La salvezza abita a Parma [Salvation lives in Parma]" (in Italian). Gazzetta dello Sport. http://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/SerieA/Squadre/Parma/Primo_Piano/2007/05_Maggio/27/CRONACA.shtml. Retrieved 29 July 2010. 
13. ↑ Carminati, Nadia (24 May 2010). "Udinese appoint Guidolin". Sky Sports. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11876_6170763,00.html. Retrieved 1 August 2010. 
14. ↑ Carminati, Nadia (2 June 2010). "Parma appoint Marino". Sky Sports. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11876_6185245,00.html. Retrieved 1 August 2010. 
15. ↑ ^{15.0 15.1} "Heraldry in Pre-Unification Italy". Heraldica. http://www.heraldica.org/topics/national/italy2.htm#parma. Retrieved 30 July 2010. 
16. ↑ "Le Maglie del Parma [The Kits of Parma]". La Storia del Parma Calcio. http://www.storiadelparmacalcio.com/collezione-parma/collezione-maglie-parma.htm. 
17. ↑ "Parma, le maglie della stagione 2010/2011! [Parma, the kit for the 2010/2011 season!]". 4 August 2010. http://www.tuttomercatoweb.com/parma/?action=read&idnet=c3BvcnRzYm9vazI0Lm5ldC0xNDczMw. 
18. ↑ "Rosa Stagione [Current Squad]" (in Italian). Parma FC. http://www.fcparma.com/component/campionato/?task=rosa. Retrieved 31 July 2010. 
19. ↑ "Ecco i numeri di maglia 2010/11. Giovinco prende il 21 [Here are the squad numbers for 2010/11. Giovinco takes 21]" (in Italian). Parma FC. http://www.fcparma.com/stagione/archivio-news/7207-la-battaglia-dei-numeri-di-maglia.html. Retrieved 7 August 2010. 
20. ↑ "Organigramma Parma [Organisation Parma]" (in Italian). Official Serie A website. http://www.legaseriea.it/it/serie-a-tim/squadre/organigramma/-/squadre/Parma/organigramma/1722. Retrieved 29 July 2010. 
21. ↑ ^{21.0 21.1} "I presidenti e gli allenatori del Parma Football Club [The presidents and coaches of Parma Football Club]" (in Italian). http://www.storiadelparmacalcio.com/storia-parma-calcio/i-presidenti-e-gli-allenatori-del-parma.htm. Retrieved 30 July 2010. 
22. ↑ "Staff Tecnico [Technical Staff]" (in Italian). Official Serie A website. http://www.legaseriea.it/it/serie-a-tim/squadre/staff-tecnico/-/squadre/Parma/staff/1722. Retrieved 29 July 2010. 
23. ↑ "Palmares [Honours]" (in Italian). Official Parma F.C. website. http://www.fcparma.com/storia/palmares.html. Retrieved 30 July 2010. 
24. ↑ ^{24.0 24.1} "Parma Club Records". Football Italia. http://www.football-italia.net/clubs/parrecords.html. Retrieved 30 July 2010. 

External links

Official

• Official website (Italian)

Independent sites

• ForzaParma
• Parma at legaseriea.it (Italian)
• Parma at skysports.com
• Parma at soccerway.com