Forza Italian Football and our friends at Copa90 are delighted to bring you an exclusive video, highlighting the rebirth of a new club, rising from the ashes of former Serie A giant Parma.
The footballing world was saddened to hear of the Gialloblu’s bankruptcy and subsequent demotion to Serie D in the summer of 2015.
The Crociati were one of the most feared teams in the late 1990s, but their demise was a swift as their ascension.
Two financial meltdowns along with years of economic mismanagement paved the way for the end of Parma Football Club and the birth of a new team, Parma Calcio.
Historically, the Gialloblu had always been an also-ran in Italy, but in 1989, with the coaching appointment of Nevio Scala, the club began a cycle of huge success.
Promotion from Serie B attracted the attention of Parma’s multinational conglomerate, Parmalat, and owner Calisto Tanzi would invest heavily in the subsequent years to build a squad of superstars.
Scala’s crowning glory was a UEFA Cup victory against Juventus, but he also won the Coppa Italia and a European Cup Winners Cup, before being replaced by a young Carlo Ancelotti.
Under Ancelotti, the club would achieve 2nd place in 1996-97, spearheaded in attack by Hernan Crespo and Enrico Chiesa and guarded at the back by soon-to-be legends Gianluigi Buffon, Fabio Cannavaro and Lilian Thuram.
In 2003, however, Parma’s decline had begun.
Creditors discovered a huge financial hole in Parmalat and Parma’s accounts and the conglomerate collapsed in 2003 in what would be Europe’s largest financial bankruptcy.
The club was immediately placed under administration and on the brink of extinction, were forced to sell their stars.
In 2007, there finally seemed a light at the end of the tunnel to the financial woes, when Tommaso Ghirardi took control from the administrators.
In 2013-14, Parma achieved a sixth place and a Europa League spot but were excluded from the competition due to unpaid taxes and so began the unraveling of Parma’s second financial disaster.
Under Ghirardi, Parma had around 250 players registered at the club, a record, but also a financial burden as wages failed to be paid.
Ghirardi sold the club in December 2014 to unknown Albanian businessman Rezart Taci, before it changed hands again in February 2015, when Giampiero Manenti bought Parma for €1.
The financial situation soon became unsustainable, with around €200 million debt and the team struggling to fund simple administrative costs such as travel to away games.
Parma were finally given €5 million by the FIGC and put in control of financial trustees to see off the season, as Manenti was found guilty of money laundering.
No new buyer was found and the club were demoted to Serie D.
Watch this incredible video made by our friends at Copa90, as the story unfolds of a new Parma rising from the depths of despair.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHCD7tfJmr8[/youtube]
