Twelve months ago Parma had finished sixth, securing themselves a Europa League qualification place in 2013-14. Now the Gialloblu are heading into Serie B, coupled alongside a rather hefty €200 million debt on their shoulders.
It is a loss for Serie A and a sad end for a club who have been on a rollercoaster ride the past 20 years. From the highs of the 1990’s to the lows of the noughties, Parma fans have been through it all. The 2014/15 Serie A season was unfortunately the lowest of their entire history.
In a season where they were only out of the relegation zone once – the opening day loss to Cesena saw them sit 17th – it was clearly a sign of things to come for Roberto Donadoni’s men. They kept some attractive football on show and it was made evident in only the second game of the season, losing out 5-4 to AC Milan in one of the campaign’s best matches.
The games kept coming and the losses built up. They could not even muster a draw until their 15th match of the season, and by then they’d already lost 12 of them. Players were exiting and entering at will and wages were not being paid to any that were involved in the club.
Then president Tommaso Ghiradi sold Parma to Rezart Taci in December – this would be no early Christmas present for the Parma faithful and they’d soon be choking on their panettone when hearing the news that striker Antonio Cassano had walked out whilst seeing they had been sold on to another owner, this time Giampiero Manenti.
The club was in complete turmoil, losing game after game without even being able to pay the electricity bill at one stage. March saw the club placed under administration due to a variety of outstanding payments, mainly that of the wages that had not been paid since the beginning of the season. With the season entering its final third the fans still had moments to celebrate, if you could call it that.
On the pitch, Udinese gave Parma their first win in nine at the beginning of April before Juventus succumbed to the Gialloblu thanks to a solitary goal from Mauri. Parma had completed a quite incredible set of back-to-back wins whilst confined to the bottom of the league.
Off the pitch, with a week remaining of the season, troublemaker Cassano agreed to give up a percentage of the money he was owed to give his former team a fighting chance of being able to pay off some of the debt and be allowed to play in Serie B.
Unfortunately, a number of players – Amauri and Cristian Zaccardo to name a few – have not agreed to complete their paperwork.
It will be an interesting summer to watch the Parma case unfold, and all supporters of the beautiful game will be vying for the safety of the club and hoping they can at least compete in professional football for the foreseeable future.
Player of the Season
It is rather tough to pick out a stand out performer for a side who have only won six times all season.
Arguably, Antonio Cassano was their most talented player and also finished top scorer with five goals – despite walking out in January. For those who’d rather value a more professional player, captain Alessandro Lucarelli is your man.
He carried on playing even after voicing his displeasure and has attempted to shore up a pretty unreliable defence.
Goal of the Season
If their season had not been bad enough already, Parma conceded probably the goal of the season to Jeremy Menez’s incredible goal on the second round of the season.
On the other hand, there was an impressive strike from Jose Mauri which secured the 1-0 win over Scudetto winners Juventus.
However, the pick of the bunch came in the 2-2 draw versus Napoli, when Cristobal Jorquera netted this beauty in mid-March.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlQMmrzEk4Y[/youtube]
Best and Worst Signings
Unfortunately this is only a place for the worst signings regarding Parma. In all honestly, the acquisition of Paolo De Ceglie was the best and the worst – joining on loan from Juventus in September until the end of the season, but the loan was cancelled by the player himself four months later.
He did manage three goals, two of which came in the surprise victory over Inter back in November.
Francesco Lodi was a half decent player to gain on loan from Catania as well but a gluttony of poor signings surrounded this and they included Lucas Souza, Antonio Nocerino, Silvestre Varela and Cristian Rodriguez.
The Coach
Forgetting the dreadful results, the shocking points tally and the rather massive goal difference acquired, Roberto Donadoni has actually done well at Parma.
Since 2012, the coach guided his side to two impressive top 10 finishes even though they were expected to slip down the table and it was inevitable it would ensue during this campaign whoever was in charge.
Donadoni kept grounded however and remained true to the club despite interest from AC Milan. He kept his players somewhat positive and tried to keep some form of attractive football on show.
Alongside this, the coach discussed how the negative things can be learned from going forward and turned to positive outcomes following their confirmed relegation in late April.
