Great Calcio Sides: Parma Of The 90s

Date: 27th July 2011 at 10:16am
Written by:

Parma were the darling’s of Italian football in the 90’s, with a typically un-Italian free flowing style of football they captured the imagination of  football fans across Europe. Like numerous 90’s crazes their time at the top was brief one, but one which will never be forgotten.

The 1989-1990 season saw the clubs first foray into Serie A, under the tenure of Nevio Scala and with the backing of owner Castillo Tanzi’s Parmalet millions and the signings of stars such as Thomas Brolin and Claudio Taffarel, little Parma secured an impressive sixth place finish in their maiden season in Italian football’s top tier.

Their meteoric rise only continued over the next few years, securing UEFA Cup football for the second season in a row, with another sixth placed finish as well as a first historic trophy, an Italian cup victory over the goliath’s of Juventus. By this time the Parma team sheet boasted the likes of Faustino Asprilla, named the sixth best-player in the world in 1996 by FIFA.

Over the next two campaigns Parma’s star continued to shine, with success in Europe in the UEFA Cup Winners Cup beating Antwerp of Belgium in the final. Their exploits in Europe that season didn’t stop the side securing a record high finish of third.

Bringing in Gianfranco Zola from Napoli proved to be a masterstroke by Scala, as the wonderfully talented playmaker flourished in the blue and yellow of Parma.

Helping the club to a European Super Cup win over a heavily fancied Milan side in the Autumn, it had seemed the  team from the provincial town of Parma had really upset the order of things in Italian football. Another season, and another European spot was secured finishing fifth.

The following season, with the arrivals of the influential Dino Baggio and Nestor Sensini, the side won another European honour, this time securing the UEFA cup for the first time with victory over Juventus.

Scala’s time love affair with Parma had come to an end in 1996, as a young and ambitious Carlo Ancelotti took the reigns. The coach’s unwillingness to supplement the creative tendencies of Zola (who had previously netted 19 goals in each of the past three seasons in Serie A) meant the little Sardinian was off to London to develop into the greatest player to ever grace Stamford Bridge.

Thus Ancelotti brought in a lethal Argentinean in the shape of Hernan Crespo, and the technically brilliant Enrico Chiesa to fill the void. A certain Gigi Buffon emerged through the youth-ranks, along with the arrival of a young and promising defender by the name of Fabio Cannavaro from Napoli, as well the imperious Lillian Thuram, the greatest Parma side of all time was rapidly taking shape.

Perhaps, this is the side that the majority of neutrals remember, fuelled by the increased TV coverage by Channel 4, many Italians based in England fell unashamedly in love with this side. Providing an alternative to the established heavier hitters of Italian football, for many a football fan Parma was their second team.

The neutrals were willing a scudetto title to crown the most remarkable of stories. A runners-up spot in 1997 was the closest they came, agonisingly losing out by two points to Marcelo Lippi’s Juventus (a side they had defeated in numerous cup final’s). The arrival of Veron from Sampdoria provided the fan’s with fresh hope for another inexplicable title charge the following campaign, this proved too much for a side who had been the serial over-achievers of the peninsula over the previous decade, eventually finishing a respectable 6th.

The end of the decade saw the side go onto claim their second UEFA cup title, in a fittingly emphatic 3-0 rout over Marseille. For team from a small town in northern Italy, more famed for it’s ham, and with a stadium holding a mere 28,000, the 90’s saw unprecedented levels of success. For that brief time, a small previously unheard of side who had never dared play their trade in the top flight, unceremoniously took on the established old guard of Italian football, capturing  countless hearts along the way.

Follow Enzo on Twitter.

If you to learn about some magnificent teams from Italy visit out Great Calcio Sides section.

Join Forza Italian Football on Twitter and Facebook.

We are always looking for new writers, so if you think you know Calcio, email us: forzaitalianfootball@snack-media.com

 

3 responses to “Great Calcio Sides: Parma Of The 90s”

  1. Rory Hanna says:

    Brilliant read. It’s interesting when you watch the video of their UEFA Cup win in 1999. All three of their goals were taken brilliantly, no tap-ins or sniffer goals. It’s hard to believe how star-studded Parma used to be: Cannavaro, Buffon, Thuram, Crespo, Veron, Chiesa…

  2. Enzo Filocco says:

    yeah all good goals..crespo was lethal. Even their side in the early 2000’s class.

  3. David Schiavone says:

    Veron.. not just any Veron …Juan Sebastian … A quality player