FORZA PARMA! Where have all the Parma supporters gone? I think we had an excellent season, all things considered. We even had a chance to grab a Champions League place at one point, but I'm glad we are in Europe for the 13th straigth year. Next year we'll win the UEFA cup again and challenge for a champions' league spot, I hope. With so much young talent, we should be able to hold out own with the big boys... What have people heard about summer moves? Everybody keeps saying they want to stay and that they "believe in the project" at Parma, and I just hope they get the chance to follow through. Players like Frey, Adriano and Mutu will be in high demand though. And Nakata is apparently looking to move somewhere else after two somewhat disappointing seasons. Did anybody else notice that we had players out on loan with most of the other teams in the league? We basically saved Reggina from relegation by lending them Bonazzoli, Diana and Torissi! One big thing I want is for Appiah to return and actually play with us this year, but he's attracted the attention of so many big clubs, and we already have a stacked midfield, so I'm worried that we might not keep him. Forza Gialloblu!
Welcome to the boards, gialloblu. There used to be a couple of Parma supporters who would post here once in a while, but never consistently. Hopefully, you can get something started. As you posted somewhere else, Parma is, if nothing else, the most consistent team in Serie A. I remember jokingly predicting before last season they would finish 4th as always (seems it happened several years in a row for a while there). Didn't happen, yet they continually manage to get into Europe one way or another, no matter the players or the coach. The Tanzi family certainly sets a good example of stable and prudent management in this day and age.
And the best part of our "consistency" is that, for the past few seasons at least, we've done it while changing our team around wholesale sometimes. Good players rarely stay for longer than a year or two (we missed our chance with Thuram and Cannavaro!), and most of the time replacement players (Ortega, Milosevic, Djetou) can't quite make up for the losses. My favorite season that I've followed has to be 2001 when Renzo Ulivieri took over halfway through and guided us to 4th place with some fantastice results. I even got to watch some of those games, and it was great. The next year year was a bit of a mess, and this year, a real revolution and a really promising squad for the future--as long as we keep it together. It's such a shame we couldn't keep the 1999 UEFA and Italian cup winning side together! Buffon; Thuram, Sensini, Cannavaro; Fuser/Benni, Baggio, Boghossian/Fiore, Veron, Vanoli; Crespo and Chiesa. That is a ridiculously good squad! And of course, they only get 4th in the scudetto, so they have to qualify for the CL, and we all know what happens when we have to do that...Rangers and Lille...gah! Anyway, thanks for the welcome, and hopefully some more Parma supporters will appear...
Ah yes, that '99 squad was the Dream Team. We'll never see another Parma team like that -- at least for a long time. That was our year for the scudetto, but Malesani took just a wee bit too long to figure things out. After that, the Tanzis threw in the towel -- tho not completely. They are, as we know, a fairly class act, and their current "progetto" is going pretty well. I just hope we can hang on to Mutu and Adriano. I hear that Nakata is almost certain to leave, but that we may get Nakamura in his place, which wouldn't be too bad. Besides, Nakata was never very consistent for us. Hopefully, we can make a run for the UEFA Cup. But the mentality in Parma -- and Italy -- that they'll never really challenge for the scudetto (because they don't spend enough, or, like when they did, because Parma e' una provincial etc.) is so tiresome. That's why soccer has a great chance in the USA, where we believe we can achieve anything we set our minds to, regardless of history or tradition. Still, Serie A has seen a couple of little teams make great charges in recent years. Guidolin's (a guy I always thought would have been perfect for Parma) Vicenza was the most beautifully organized side in Italy for a couple of seasons. And then there's Chievo. Perhaps next year, Parma will seize the day and return to its glory days of the early '90s, when we took everybody by surprise and became a world powerhouse just a couple of seasons removed from Serie C. (Ah, Tino and Zola in their youth! What a glorious pair! With Brolin streaking down the flank...) But Adriano and Mutu -- man, that's a serious strike pair. Now if we could only BELIEVE.....
hello crusader! I completely agree! I know there is going to be quite a few people leaving the Tardini this summer, but that's because we have a huge squad full of people we didn't play much last year (Djetou, Torissi, etc). I hope the exodus doesn't extemd to Mutu and Adriano and Frey, or even Appiah. I saw Nakamura play against France last night, though, and he is excellent. If we get him, we won't need Nakata--I've wanted so much for him to succeed but he just doesn't seem to have found his form in Parma, so it might be best for him to move on. Are Brighi and Donati going back to Juve and Milan (he is still owned by Milan, right?). I figure Appiah would fit brilliantly in our midfield, and it would be a great shame to loose him before he ever really played a full season for us. We do have Gilardino and Bonazzoli, of course, and they are great, but I think they are still a year off the point where they can start all season for our team. Adriano is certainly still young enough that one more year with us won't hurt him, and Mutu, well, he should give us one more year and see where we end up. It would just be such a shame to break up this squad after a season, so I hope the Tanzis keep their word this time!
Well it looks like we're going to lose some top players for sure, like both Lamouchi and Frey. We should still field a competitive team, but this "nuova politica" is just hard to accept after so many great runs at the title. I just have a hard time accepting that Parma merely hope to finish in the UEFA zone now, and have thrown in the towel on their title ambitions.
Yes, but think what huge clubs stand in our way of even a CL place: Juve, Milan, Inter, Lazio and Roma have been CL regulars and almost all champions and they are among the biggest clubs in Europe. And it looks like Lazio may stay competitive even with their money problems. I mean, back when Fiorentina were around there we 6 huge clubs we had to compete with, plus good sides like Udinese and Bologna in varying measure. It's impressive that we finished in Europe for so long considering we've only been a top-flight club for 13 years. (Even Barcelona's record might end this year.) If you look at other championships, I think it'd be hard to find one with 7 big clubs like Serie A had, and so we've done very well. Just think, if Roma hadn't made the Coppa Italia final, they would have missed out on Europe. UEFA cup is a reasonable goal, and not an easy one in Italy. I just hope we can push for a CL spot next year, because its been a while since we've actually made the group stage... Adriano scored for Brazil today. The Eurosport anouncer was saying it was his first for Brazil, but he scored against Nigeria a week ago, so he was wrong. I hate it when anouncers are wrong--I mean, they are getting paid to do this job, and I know more than them! Anyway, that's a bit OT...
http://www.soccerage.com/en/13/o3024.html Apparently, Mutu is trying to cash in on his great season one way or another. He's well worth it, Parma! But then, maybe they have a replacement in mind, too...
http://www.soccerage.com/en/13/o3169.html Zauri to replace Junior? Where does Zauri play, because I thought he was a right sided midfield/defender and Junior is a left-back. I wish people would know what they were talking about...
I read on acparma.it that the club is likely to satisfy Mutu and give him a raise of something like half a million euros a year. apparently that should keep him at the Tardini, and it's actually a steal if you think about it. he'll be making about a mil a year, but i think anyone who's seen him play can see that he's not far from proving himself to be an elite player. adriano is staying as well, and of course has shown in the Cub that he's just a great center-forward. this strike pair compares favorably with Chiesa-Crespo of '99, and may even be better, even though my heart has a soft spot for the CC attack. Man, who many times did Crespo score on a heal kick that season? he was awesome. And Chiesa was ridiculously criticized for not scoring enough. man, he was all over the pitch, always dangerous and always creating. parma really screwed up by selling him the following season and investing in Ortega....but let's not go there. yeah, i agree parma's made a remarkable Euro run in perhaps the most competitive league. but allow me to be nostalgic for the days when we were considered to be in teh top three -- challenging for the title against Juve and Milan. Those were the days, and they are not easily forgotten. of course, if we can make a CL run and win another UEFA Cup next season (won't be easy with so many greats in UEFA, re Barcelona etc), then my enthusiasm will return to its late-90s level!
Ah, yes, poor replacements... I saw Ortega as the replacement for Veron, which obviously didn't work out, whereas Chiesa's replacement was Amoroso, who had lead the league in scoring for Udinese but who spent the whole season injured. I guess at the time they weren't awful decisions, but we had terrible luck with injuries (Boghossian, too) and our midfield was different every game almost, and it all fell apart. I have Champ Man 99-00, which means you start in that season...and Parma can win everything, no problem...but that's because the game thinks Ortega is really really good...
Yes, you're right: Ortega was Veron's replacement, Amoroso was Chiesa's. Both proved a wash. I just cannot understand how anyone could have thought Ortega could replace Veron, a towering talent. For as much as I'm grateful for the Tanzis, some of their decisions have been so questionable. I mean, Ortega had already proved at Sampdoria that he was no better than average and could hardly carry a team as playmaker in Serie A. Meanhile, looks like Junior is headed to Benfica.
I'm still here and still a very loyal Parma supporter. News just in. http://www.soccerage.com/en/13/o4098.html 06/27/2003. AC Parma officialized the swap deal that brings Sabri Lamouchi to Inter and Domenico Morfeo to the Tardini, late Friday afternoon. Under the terms of the deal, the 31 year old midfielder moves permanently to Inter, while Parma have the 27 year old Morfeo on loan for the next two years.
Domenico Morfeo is a good forward not world class but still effective, it's curious, if memory serves well he already played for 3 big clubs in Italy, both milanese teams and now Parma! He also played for a couple of minnows when he went on loan, oh yeah! Fiorentina
Morfeo is hardly a replacement for Lamouchi, whose skills at dictating the midfield pace will be badly missed. Even if Nakata stays, he has different skills and can't make up for Lamouchi's absence. If anything, Morfeo is more similar to Nakata. Let's just hope the Tanzis have another card up their sleeve. Meanwhile, in the grand tradition that has Parma as the chief farm club to Juventus, Appiah has been dealt the Agnelli court. What a shame, just when the player -- at 22 -- is finally ready to make a big impact in Serie A.
According to http://www.planetfootball.com/artic...31&cpid=21&title=Parma+say+stars+are+staying, Adrian Mutu is the new Parma Captain. Well done Adrian!
It's nice to see that the Tanzis appear to be hanging on to their top players for the new season. I feared we would lose at least two of Nakata, Mutu and Adriano. Now it seems we get to keep them all. What a boon. I really think we could see another grand Parma run in the UEFA Cup, if that strike pair stays healthy. I mean, after last year, Mutu and Adriano should just be ready to explode this season. If Nakata could finally string together a solid, high-caliber season, Parma will be a force to contend with once again. One worry, however, is the departure of Lamouchi. How will we manage without our midfield captain? I remember that Morfeo was a fine young prospect a few years ago, but I'm not sure that he has really developed into the promise he appeared to be. Still, he has great skills. Let's hope Prandelli can find a way to put him and Nakata on the pitch together, make the Japanese happier (he wants to play in the middle, apparently, and not on the wing) and thus provide the support for what should be one of Serie A's deadliest strike pairs. I'm starting to get excited about Parma for the first time in a long time. Now if the fans would just get off their arses and head to the Tardini....
Mutu sold to Chelsea. I guess, for Parma, the money was too hard to turn their back on. Suppose they need a new captain now. Bummer. http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/aug9g.html
I think the Tanzi's sleep in cash. Or burn it for heat in the winter. Because they sure as hell don't want to spend money to build a european power. And they are capable of doing so. Imagine this lineup: ----------------Buffon-------------- Bonera---Thuram---Cannavaro--Junior --------------Almeyda-------------- -----Ortega----Veron----Mutu------- ----------Crespo---Di Vaio----------
Ugh, Ortega. What a little shite. And Almeyda never produced for Parma the way he did for Lazio. And Di Vaio? He'd be Crespo's back up. Look, the Tanzis already built a European powerhouse. They won 2 UEFAs and a Cup winners cup, for Chrissakes. Their 99 team was the most talented roster in Italy but they still couldn't win the scudetto, and after that the Tanzis slowly realized they didn't want to lose money on football any more. Partly that's due to the fact that the people of Parma were never really very passionate about the incredible team they had, and often did not sell out the Tardini. Anyway, the reality now is we've become a "squadra di giovani", buildng up youth and selling it off to the highest bidder. Mutu is an awesome player, probably the best withdrawn forward in Serie A last year. Abramovich's cash was too good to refuse. I wonder who will start in his place. But it's another sad day for Parma fans who still dream about the past.