Parma - Back to the big time!

[CAFCIan75]

May 18th 2008

The ball came across to him and as it bounced Zlatan Ibrahimovic connected beautifully and slotted the ball into the bottom right hand corner, 1-0 Inter, it was at that point that Alessandro knew that Parma were in serious danger of being relegated to Serie B.

Alessandro himself had been a part of the Parma side that gained promotion to Serie A on May 27th 1990 when he scored the first goal in a 2-0 victory over Reggiana. He had made over 200 appearances and scoring 60 goals in two separate spells for the club and he was a cult hero wherever he went. He had been part of a star studded Parma line-up that included Swede Tomas Brolin, Columbian superstar Faustino Asprilla and current West Ham United manager Gianfranco Zola. Together they had spearheaded Parma to an Italian Cup triumph and their biggest piece of silverware to date the 1992-93 Cup Winners Cup final in which Alessandro scored the second goal.

Ibrahimovic again, 2-0, game over. Alessandro slumped back in his chair in the directors box, he knew that his beloved Parma were about to be relegated following a 17 year stay in Serie A. Then it was confirmed as the referee blew the full time whistle Parma were down. The players sunk to their knees some were emotional and crying others were trying to console their inconsolable team mates. Alessandro wiped a tear from his eye as he made his way back into the executive lounge and made his way over to Chairman Tommaso Ghirardi.

“What now Tommaso” he said “Are we going to be one of those sides that get relegated, sell their best talent and never come back up?”

“To be honest Alessandro, I don’t know” said Tommaso “I am calling a board meeting for the 1st of July and I want everyone to attend with thoughts and ideas for the future of the club.”

“I have one thought for you to be going on with Tommaso” said Alessandro in a rather emotional tone “sack Francesco Guidolin as manager! No-one should be able to relegate this club and then be allowed to stay in employment. I could do a better job myself!”

Alessandro then left the Board Room and got in his car to drive home. This was indeed a dark day in the history of Parma FC.

1st July 2008

GAZZETTA di PARMA

FORMER STAR MELLI NAMED NEW PARMA MANAGER by Francesco Baldini.

Parma have today named former player Alessandro Melli as their new manager following the sacking of Francesco Guidolin last week. Melli (38) has signed a twelve month contract to manage the Serie B outfit who are looking to bounce back to Serie A at the first attempt.

Former striker Melli followed in his father’s footsteps when he signed for Parma as a sixteen year old in 1985. He made 199 appearances for Parma and was in their most successful side to date. He made a big money move to Sampdoria but it was unsuccessful and after one season he moved to AC Milan but after six months he was sold back to Parma and he went on to make a further 42 appearances. He finished his career with moves to Perugia and Ancona before returning once again to Parma this time as a Director before his stunning appointment as manager today.

Melli is a legend at the Ennio Tardini stadium and some are saying that Chairman Tommaso Ghirardi is using this appointment as an excuse to try and gain favour with the Parma fans following the disappointment of relegation last season.

Former captain Lorenzo Minotti told our reporters “Alessandro was loved by the fans here and if he shows the same commitment as a manager that he did as a player then Parma then this club will be back in Serie A in no time. I will be calling him to pass on my best wishes in the near future.”

Current Modena Assistant Manager Luigi Apolloni told me today “I think all this nonsense about Alessandro being appointed to please the fans is absolute rubbish. Alessandro has the ability to turn Parma around and get them back into Serie A at the first attempt”.

I Francesco Baldini will be reserving my judgement on the appointment of Alessandro Melli until I have watched his side play a few matches but only time will tell if this was a stroke of genius or just a temporary move to paper over the cracks of this once great club.

[The-Perfect-Fm'er!]

I'll be following, good start and good luck

[CAFCIan75]

* Thanks for the comments Perfect Fm'er, if I get half as many views and comments as your Villa story I will be happy.

Authors Note: I am not a huge fan of pre-season so this post will be a little brief and more detailed reports will appear when the season starts properly.

Alessandro had been appointed the Parma manager following the comments he made to Chairman Francesco Guidolin in May. Alessandro was offered the opportunity to manage the club he loved so much and take them back to Serie A. He signed a twelve month deal worth €3,700 per week and was given a budget of €3.5 million to spend on new players in an effort to secure promotion back to Serie A at the first time of asking.

July 2008...

Six players signed for Parma in July. Goalkeeper Alfonso De Lucia re-signed from Livorno for €625,000 and striker Denis Maccan signed from Brescia for €350,000. Alessandro also spoke to his old friend Franco Baresi at AC Milan and managed to secure loan deals for winger Alessandro Ruggeri and defenders Marcello Vinciguerra, Nicolò Motta, Nicola Pasini.

Striker Reginaldo who had been a disruption in training over the summer was allowed to leave Parma and he joined Cagliari for €425,000.

Alessandro had now assembled a squad he thought were capable of promotion and it was assessed as follows...

Goalkeepers: Alfonso De Lucia (24) will be first choice, Radek Petr (21) will push De Lucia for the first team jersey & Nicola Pavarini (34) has experience to pass on to the younger keepers but is likely to be released by the club.

Full Backs: Damiano Zenoni (31) will start as first choice on the right with Paolo Castellini (29) as the first choice left back. Loan signings Marcello Vinciguerra (17) and Nicola Pasini (17) will provide youthful backup with Gabrielle Bertolini (18) subject of much interest from AC Milan and Juventus lately also providing backup.

Centre Backs: Alessandro Lucarelli (31) is the club captain and will start as first choice partnered by either Nicolò Motta (17) or Marco Rossi (20). Magnus Troest (21) and Massimo Paci (30) will also provide adequate back up and will not let the team down when called upon.

Defensive Midfielders: Alessandro Budel (27) and Stefano Morrone (29) will contest the defensive midfield slot with Francesco Parravicini (26) providing additional experience as backup.

Attacking Midfielders: Kenyan McDonald Mariga (21) will start the season as first choice and Robert Trznadel (18) will provide backup though Alessandro decided he may look to bring in someone with a little bit of experience before the season starts.

Wingers: Alessandro Ruggeri (17) will start as first choice on the right with Mattia Bovi (19) as backup. Davide Matteini (26) and Julio César León (28) will compete for the left wing starting place. They also have Andrea Pisanu (26) who can play on either flank as backup.

Strikers: Cristiano Lucarelli (32) will be first choice striker partnered by either Alberto Paloschi (18) or new signing Denis Maccan (24). Vitaliy Kutuzov (28) will be backup and Danielle Paponi (20) will struggle for a Serie B start and may be farmed out on loan.

Saturday 26th July vs Sacilese (away)

Alberto Paloschi was the star of the show in Alessandro Melli’s first match as Parma manager. The eighteen year old striker scored a stunning hat-trick as Parma swept aside Serie D side Sacilese. It was easy to see why Paloschi is co-owned by Serie A giants AC Milan as he ran the Sacilese defence ragged for the 54 minutes he was on the pitch. Vitaliy Kutuzov, Mattia Bovi, Andrea Pisanu and a brace from substitute Cristiano Lucarelli completed a thoroughly comprehensive victory.

Line-up: Petr, Zenoni, Vinciguerra, Paci, Troest, Budel (Morrone 60), Trznadel (Mariga 45), Bovi (Pisanu 45), Matteini (León 60), Kutuzov (Lucarelli 60), Paloschi (Paponi 54).

FINAL SCORE: SACILESE 0-8 PARMA.

Thursday 31st July vs Acqui (away)

Cristiano Lucarelli continued his fine goal scoring form with a hat-trick as Parma raced into a 6-0 half time lead against part timers Acqui. Denis Maccan also scored two goals on his debut for Parma but was forced off after 38 minutes with an ankle injury which is likely to mean he will miss the start of the season. A penalty from Paolo Castellini and goals from Andrea Pisanu and Vitaliy Kutuzov ensured Parma registered their second 8-0 victory inside four days.

Line-up: Pavarini, Pasini, Castellini, Rossi, Lucarelli. A, Parravicini (Budel), Mariga (Trznadel), Ruggeri (Bovi, Zenoni), Pisanu (Matteini), Maccan (Kutuzov), Lucarelli. C (Paloschi).

FINAL SCORE: ACQUI 0-8 PARMA.

[James_W]

Awesome stuff mate, never seen a Parma story. Just a slight suggestion, perhaps after the final scored you could put down the scorers? I know it says it in the paragraph above, but it just makes it clearer. Keep it up mate.

[BenArsenal]

Very nice.

Good to see stories of quality sprouting up lately.

[CAFCIan75]

* James W – Thanks for the comments, I had not noticed about the scorers expect to see them from now on.

* BenArsenal – Thanks for your comments, from one of the more accomplished writers on here it means a great deal to know I am going in the right direction.

August 1st – 15th

The first two weeks in August were pretty uneventful for Alessandro though he did complete the signing of central midfielder Vincenzo Rennella on a free transfer. Rennella had been without a club since being released by AS Cannes in the summer of 2007. AC Milan made an offer of €925,000 for a 50% share in defender Gabriele Bertolini which Alessandro accepted. Although Milan was paying €925,000 they allowed Gabriele to stay on at Parma which Alessandro made sense for both the club and the player.

On the injury front Alberto Paloschi suffered a shin injury in the match with Astrea and is doubtful for the Italian Cup match against Arezzo.

Tuesday 5th August vs Centobuchi (away)

Parma continued their great goal scoring form in pre-season as they took their tally to 22 with a six goal demolition of Serie D side Centobuchi. Cristiano Lucarelli made it six goals in three matches when he fired Parma in front after 15 minutes. It was 2-0 four minutes later when Andrea Pisanu kept up his record of scoring in each of his appearances with a fine finish. Julio César León, Alberto Paloschi and Davide Matteini made it 5-0 before a stunning strike from Vitaliy Kutuzov completed the rout in the final minute.

Line-up: De Lucia, Zenoni (Pasini), Vinciguerra, Paci, Troest (Rossi), Morrone, Trznadel (Mariga), Pisanu (Bovi), León (Matteini), Lorenzini (Paloschi), Lucarelli. C (Kutuzov).

FINAL SCORE: CENTOBUCHI 0-6 PARMA (Lucarelli .C 15, Pisanu 19, León 55, Paloschi 75, Matteini 79, Kutuzov 90).

Sunday 10th August vs Astrea (away)

Alessandro kept his players locked in their dressing room for hour following today’s match as he felt they could of and should have won by a far more comfortable margin than they did. He reminded the players that they will have far sterner tests than today’s Serie D opponents and they need to show more focus in upcoming matches. Alberto Paloschi opened the scoring after seventeen minutes and the result was in doubt until Julio César León made it two a couple of minutes from the end.

Line-up: Petr, Pasini, Vinciguerra, Paci, Lucarelli .A, Budel (Morrone), Mariga (Parravicini), Ruggeri (Pisanu), Matteini (León), Paloschi (Kutuzov), Lorenzini (Paponi).

FINAL SCORE: ASTREA 0-2 PARMA (Paloschi 17, León 88).

[BenArsenal]

Me, accomplished? Heh heh. :o

(I should ask the others what they think. )

[The-Perfect-Fm'er!]

Are they still friendlies at the moment? Good Pre-season if they are!

[CAFCIan75]

* Perfect Fm'er Yes they are still pre-season the next post will feature our first couple of matches for the season. Perhaps I need to tell readers what each match is as I am in a country where people may not know the lower leagues, cheers

[Offspring8]

Ian, just thought you should know that I'm following this and I'm enjoying it too keep it going!

[CAFCIan75]

* Offspring8 – Thanks for the comments, glad you are enjoying the story.

Friday 15th to Friday 22nd August...

On the news front Vitaliy Kutuzov (2 years) and Davide Matteini (3 years) both sign new contracts at Parma much to the delight of Alessandro.

Also Swansea City accepted an offer of €1.1 million for their 26 year old central midfielder Ferrie Bodde. Ferrie started his career at ADO Den Haag and made 165 appearances for the Dutch Premier Division side before joining Swansea for €110,000. A profit ten times over seemed a good bit of business for Swansea Manager Roberto Martínez so a deal was struck pretty quickly.

Injury news this week Danielle Paponi suffered a twisted ankle in the match with Arezzo and will be out for a month.

Sunday 17th August vs Arezzo (home) Italian Cup, Second Qualifying Round.

Parma today progressed to the Italian Cup, Third Qualifying Round and a meeting with Serie A side Atalanta after they beat Serie C1/B side Arezzo at the Ennio Tardini Stadium. Alessandro was delighted with the second half performance from the players when they demonstrated a slick passing style not seen at the Ennio Tardini stadium in some time. The only downside was that Parma did not win by more than the one goal margin they won by.

The first half was a pretty cagey affair with Stefano Morrone having the best opportunity but his long range effort was tipped around the post by Arezzo goalkeeper Massimo Marconato. Alessandro Ruggeri making his Parma debut took a knock just before half time and Alessandro decided the best thing to do was to take Ruggeri of so the injury would not become serious. Alessandro rallied the boys at half time and told them that if they produced the style of football they had been showing during pre-season then they would be victorious.

The second half was a completely different match with Parma in a dominant mood from start to finish. The tone was set five minutes in but Morrone’s free kick was headed just wide by Vitaliy Kutuzov when he was well placed and should have done better. Alessandro bought on youngster Danielle Paponi on the hour mark and the move paid dividends straight away when Paponi got to the byline and drilled the ball across the six yard box for Kutuzov to tap home what would prove to be the winner. The remainder of the half was a battle between the Parma attack and goalkeeper Massimo Marconato with the Arezzo stopper coming out on top each of the three times he was tested. Crocefisso Miglietta almost forced extra time but his shot in the final minute was easily saved by Alfonso De Lucia. The final whistle was greeted by cheers from the Parma fans and Alessandro had been victorious in his first match as manager.

“Fantastic second half lads” he said “but we need to play like that the whole match next week if we are to get anything in Bergamo. Go home enjoy yourselves see you tomorrow afternoon for training.”

Line-up: De Lucia, Zenoni, Castellini, Lucarelli .A, Rossi, Morrone, Rennella (Mariga), Ruggeri (Pisanu), León, Lucarelli .C (Paponi), Kutuzov.

FINAL SCORE: PARMA 1-0 AREZZO (Kutuzov 67).

[CAFCIan75]

Saturday 23rd to 31st August...

In this weeks’ news Alessandro was delighted when Ferrie Bodde completed his move to Parma from Swansea City. Ferrie will be in line to make his debut against Vicenza next weekend.

Inter Milan won the Italian Super Cup with a 1-0 victory against AS Roma at the San Siro. Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored the winning goal in the second half.

Saturday 23rd August vs Atalanta (away) Italian Cup, Third Qualifying Round.

The first half started at a pace when Atalanta striker Sergio Floccari cracked one against the post when played through by Jaime Valdez. Alessandro was furious that his defence had allowed Atalanta to play their way through them and screamed furiously at Captain Alessandro Lucarelli telling him to tighten up. It seemed to do the trick as the rest of the first half belonged to the visitors with McDonald Mariga heading a Ruggeri cross against the bar and drilling one against the post from twenty yards out. Then a minute from half time came the moment that changed the match Luca Cigarini tangled with Stefano Morrone in the area and it looked like the Parma midfielder was pulling the Atalanta midfielders shirt but the referee waved play on. Coincidently Cigarini is co-owned by Parma and would probably have struggled to show his face in Parma again had it been given. Alessandro told the players to keep up the pressure on the Atalanta back line and hopefully their reward will come.

Four minutes into the second half the pressure paid off as Morrone laid the ball off to Mariga and the Kenyan midfielder cracked one from thirty yards in off the crossbar, a stunning strike 1-0. Alessandro ran down the touchline dancing a jig of joy and had to be reprimanded by the fourth official for overdoing it a little. Marino Defendi and Gyŏrgy Garics had opportunities to equalise but Alfonso De Lucia was equal to them. Vitaliy Kutuzov had an opportunity to make it safe ten minutes from the end as a left wing cross from Julio César León was headed against the bar by the Belarus striker. Alessandro was furious a player of Vitaliy’s quality headed against the woodwork when it was easier to score. His anger was short lived though as the final whistle went and Parma had secured a famous win. Alessandro raced on the pitch and shook each of his players by the hand and led the players over to the travelling supporters to show his appreciation for the support then had given his players this evening.

FINAL SCORE: ATALANTA 0-1 PARMA (Mariga 49).

Alessandro met with Gazzetta di Parma reporter Francesco Baldini following today’s victory.

Francesco Baldini: “So Alessandro you must be delighted with the performance from your team tonight?”

Alessandro Melli: “That’s an understatement Francesco. The lads were excellent from start to finish and in my opinion fully deserved the win.”

FB: “The supporters tonight really got behind the team. They were like a twelfth man out there?”

AM: “You could say that. I thought the fans were magnificent, if they show this sort of support throughout the season I think the players will respond and play the style of football these fans want to see.”

FB: “What are your thoughts on your next Italian Cup opponents Catania?”

AM: “They got themselves promoted to Serie A this year and will be tough opponents but after tonight’s display I am confident we can beat anyone.”

FB: “Well good luck for the weekend Alessandro and we hope to have a similar conversation after the match on Sunday.”

AM: “Thanks as always Francesco.”

Sunday 31st August vs Vicenza (home) Serie B Matchday One.

Alberto Paloschi gave Alessandro a winning start in Serie B today on his debut in a Parma shirt. The striker co-owned by AC Milan took just over ten minutes to open his account for the Serie B joint favourites.

Cristiano Lucarelli almost opened the scoring in the third minute when his left footed shot was well saved by Alberto Frison in the Vicenza goal. Ferrie Bodde almost made himself an instant favourite among the Parma faithful two minutes later but his thirty yard screamer beat Frison but crashed against the bar. Bodde did not have to wait long for instant stardom as twelve minutes in he played a peach of a pass through to Lucarelli whose first time shot was too powerful for Frison to hold and the ball fell perfectly for Paloschi to tap home and send the home fans wild. Paloschi and Lucarelli both had good chances to double the lead before half time but both were wasteful with their finishing. Just before half time Bodde struck a magnificently controlled half volley and if it was not for the superb diving save from Frison he would have been celebrating a goal.

“Keep it up lads” said Alessandro at half time “This game should be in the bag by now, show them why we are favourites to win this division tear them apart!”

The second half followed a similar pattern to the first with constant Parma pressure. Cristiano Lucarelli curled a free kick just over the bar and substitute Vitaliy Kutuzov had two good chances to seal the points but both times he was denied to Frison in the Vicenza goal. A momentary lapse from the Parma defence almost produced an equaliser as right back Simone Calori crossed for Alessandro Diamanti to head the ball just over with Alfonso De Lucia well beaten. In the final minute Paloschi thought he had doubled his tally when he slotted home a through pass from Bodde but his strike was ruled out for offside. The final whistle went and Alessandro punched the air with relief more than anything, three points on the opening day perfect!

FINAL SCORE: PARMA 1-0 VICENZA (Paloschi 12).

Other Matchday One results...

Ancona 1-0 Bari

Ascoli 1-1 Empoli

Avellino 0-1 AlbinoLeffe

Brescia 0-1 Pisa

Frosinone 1-0 Grosseto

Mantova 2-0 Cittadella

Piacenza 1-0 Livorno

Salernitana 0-0 Modena

Treviso 0-1 Sassuolo

Triestina 1-1 Rimini

[The-Perfect-Fm'er!]

Great to see you playing the italian way, 1-0!!

Nothing beats scrappy 1-0's

[CAFCIan75]

* Perfect Fm’er – Yes we are playing the Italian way at the moment! Haha I am tinkering with tactics as we seem to dominate matches and struggle to win.

31st August – 14th September...

Injury news over international week as Vitaliy Kutuzov injured his foot while playing for Belarus. He became the third striker injured and Parma had only played a couple of games.

Saturday 6th September

Mantova 0-1 Empoli

Sunday 7th September

AlbinoLeffe 2-0 Bari

Ancona 1-1 Sassuolo

Avellino 0-2 Rimini

Brescia 0-1 Livorno

Frosinone 1-1 Ascoli

Piacenza 0-0 Cittadella

Treviso 1-2 Pisa

Triestina 0-0 Modena

* Parma not in action due to International call-ups.

Saturday 13th September vs Livorno (away) Serie B Matchday Two.

Two of the pre-season favourites clashed at the Armando Picchi Stadium in Livorno where Alberto Paloschi continued his fine pre-season form of late with what turned out to be the winning goal despite a good second half showing from Livorno.

The first half an hour was pretty even with both sides having a couple of good chances. Alessandro Ruggeri put in a fine cross five minutes in but Davide Matteini headed straight at Luca Mazzoni in the Livorno goal. Two minutes later Stefano Morrone came even closer when he smacked a 25 yarder against the crossbar. Livorno began to take over after that with Francesco Tavano and Thiago Martins both shooting over when well placed. The game erupted into life after 35 minutes when Fabio Galante fouled Alberto Paloschi inside the area. Davide Matteini stepped up and slotted home the penalty to give Parma the lead. Five minutes later Paloschi doubled the lead when he headed home from six yards following good work on the left by Matteini.

Half time approached and Alessandro told the players to keep up the pressure on Livorno and to record a famous victory.

Alessandro’s plans were a little wrecked within ten minutes of the restart when Cristiano Lucarelli suffered an injury and was replaced by Denis Maccan who came on for his Parma debut. Alessandro Lucarelli and Julio César León were both booked within a few minutes of each other and with 25 minutes left Massimo Loviso split the Parma defence with a superb pass and Francesco Tavano raced through and slid the ball under the advancing Alfonso De Lucia 1-2 game on. The final ten minutes was all Livorno with Galante and Martins both heading straight at De Lucia when it would have been easier to score? Denis Maccan almost crowned his debut with a goal in the last minute when Parma caught Livorno on the break but he shot over from twelve yards. The final whistle signalled the end of the match and Alessandro jumped out of the dugout and onto the pitch to celebrate a famous victory and maintained his unbeaten start as Parma manager.

FINAL SCORE: LIVORNO 1-2 PARMA (Tavano 63/ Matteini pen 35, Paloschi 40)

Patrice Feussi scored the winner as Pisa maintained their 100% record and move to the top of Serie B. Rimini, Empoli, Sassuolo and Frosinone are close behind on 7 points. Treviso, Avellino and Vicenza still to pick up a point.

Other results...

Ascoli 0-1 Mantova

Bari 2-0 Avellino

Cittadella 1-2 Frosinone

Empoli 2-0 AlbinoLeffe

Grosseto 3-0 Piacenza

Pisa 1-0 Salernitana

Rimini 3-0 Ancona

Sassuolo 3-2 Triestina

Vicenza 0-2 Brescia

[george94]

Wonderful story so far buddy. I love Italian football stories, and, in particular, this one.

[tenthreeleader]

Gotta love those Italian stories. I enjoyed playing Serie C.

[CAFCIan75]

* Thanks for the comments George94 & Tenthreeleader, I played as Parma in an Italian version of the old Championship Manager series many years ago on my Amiga! so I decided to be them again and see if I could replicate the success I had with them all those years ago!

Sunday 14th – Sunday 20th September...

Sunday 14th September

Modena 1-1 Treviso. Treviso pick up their first point of the season though they are still in minus points following their four point deduction.

Wednesday 17th September vs Catania (away) Italian Cup, 4th Qualifying Round.

Alessandro’s unbeaten start came to an end in Catania today as the Serie A new boys knocked out his Parma side in the Coppa Italia 4th Qualifying Round. Alessandro got it tactically wrong in this match and Parma should have really been celebrating a win but were instead on the wrong end of a 2-1 scoreline.

The first half an hour was a cagey affair and neither side managed a shot on goal. The first real chance fell to Catania with Pablo Ledesma playing in Gennaro Sardo who chipped the ball to the far post for Davide Baiocco to head home and give the home side the lead. The home side dominated the remainder of the half with Ledesma and Sardo both going close.

Alessandro told his players at half time that he wanted to see more from them and Alessandro Ruggeri and Alessandro Budel were hauled off the pitch after shocking first half displays.

The second half started in pretty much the same way as the first with both sides trading possession but with very little end product. Then with seventy one minutes on the clock Ledesma played in man of the match Jorge Martínez and the Catania striker slotted the ball past Alfonso De Lucia to put the home side 2-0 up. It was not until the last ten minutes when Alessandro adopted a more attacking approach did Parma manage to get back into the match and with three minutes left McDonald Mariga cushioned a Stefano Morrone pass into the path of Julio César León who volleyed it low past Albano Bizzari in the Catania goal. At that point Catania shut up shop and held out for the remaining minutes to progress to the Coppa Italia 1st Round proper.

FINAL SCORE: CATANIA 2-1 PARMA (Baiocco 30, Martinez 71/ León 87).

Sunday 20th September vs Pisa (away) Serie B, Matchday Three.

Parma responded well following their Coppa Italia exit on Wednesday with a thoroughly professional performance to beat Pisa at the Garibaldi Arena. A goal in each half enabled Alessandro’s side to gain a valuable three points.

The first 25 minutes was backs to the wall stuff with the Parma defence restricting Pisa to long shots from Gaël Genevier, Ivan Radovanovic and Luciano Zavagno all shooting wide of Alfonso De Lucia’s goal. Parma took the lead on the break when a superb through pass from Ferrie Bodde found Alberto Paloschi in space and the teenage striker calmly slotted the ball past Davide Morello in the Pisa goal. Two minutes later Alfredo Cariello had the chance to square the match but he blasted the ball over the bar when well placed.

At half time Alessandro told his players to keep restricting Pisa to long shots and try and get a second goal on the break.

The second 45 minutes followed a pattern similar to the first half with Pisa creating opportunities and Parma scoring on the break. Alessandro Birindelli had a chance to equalise a minute after half time but his free kick was superbly tipped around the post by De Lucia. Then fourteen minutes from the end came the goal that knocked the stuffing out of the home side when just as Pisa adopted a 4-2-4 formation Stefano Morrone chipped a wonderful pass for Cristiano Lucarelli to chest into the path of Julio César León to strike it low and hard into the bottom corner. The Pisa fans were seen to get up and leave at that point as they knew their team were beaten. Four minutes from time León clipped the outside of the post with a free kick but the score remained 0-2 and gave Parma a third successive league victory and ended Pisa’s 100% record.

FULL TIME: PISA 0-2 PARMA (Paloschi 28, León 76)

Parma are now third in the league behind Rimini who moved to the top with a Adrián Ricchiuti penalty earning them a 1-0 victory over bottom side Treviso and Sassuolo who beat Salernitana 1-0. Vicenza moved out the bottom three after a thrilling 3-2 victory over Piacenza.

Modena 0-1 Brescia

AlbinoLeffe 0-2 Ancona

Bari 3-0 Triestina

Cittadella 0-1 Ascoli

Empoli 0-0 Avellino

Grosseto 1-0 Mantova

Livorno 1-1 Frosinone

Rimini 1-0 Treviso

Sassuolo 1-0 Salernitana

Vicenza 3-2 Piacenza

[The-Perfect-Fm'er!]

Shame you got knocked out the cup, 100% in the league though, KUTGW!

[CAFCIan75]

* Perfect Fm'er - League form does seem to be good at the moment. I never thought I would be saying this in September but "At least we can concentrate on the league!" now we are out the cup! haha

Monday 21st – Friday 26th September…

Tuesday 22nd September…

GAZZETTA di PARMA

PARMA FANS EXPECT VICTORY by Francesco Baldini.

It has been a few years since Modena last visited the Ennio Tardini Stadium and the Modena players and supporters can expect a white hot atmosphere when they visit Parma tonight.

Alessandro Melli has got his Parma side playing an attractive passing game and the Parma supporters will expect nothing less than a victory over their rivals.

Current ex Parma star Luigi Apolloni was today quoted in this morning’s Gazzetta di Modena telling the Modena fans that although he was a Parma player for thirteen years of his career his allegiance would be with his current employers Modena. These comments have somewhat angered a portion of the Parma faithful as they feel Luigi should remain loyal to the club that gave him a good living from 1987 and 2000.

Parma manager Alessandro Melli has moved swiftly to try to calm the angry supporters by saying that he had spoken to Luigi and he felt he had been misquoted by the Modena media in an effort to stir tension among the Parma faithful.

Alessandro said “Luigi gave the best thirteen years of his career to Parma and the club will always hold a special place in his heart, but like us all Luigi has to earn a living and he was offered a job at Modena. He felt the Gazzetta di Modena and misquoted his comments and he still loves Parma as a club but his job requires him to work hard to beat them on Tuesday night.”

I Francesco Baldini believe that Luigi is a legend at Parma and although he has made a difficult decision to work at Modena he should receive the welcome that any Parma legend should receive when he returns on Tuesday. I just home the Parma players can ruin his homecoming and give Modena a thrashing to send us all home happy. Good luck Alessandro and the boys.

FORZA PARMA!

Tuesday 23rd September vs Modena (home) Serie B, Matchday Four.

The Parma fans were most certainly the happier of the two sets of fans this evening as Parma maintained their 100% record and gained top spot in Serie B with a comfortable victory over Modena at the Ennio Tardini.

The first half started brightly with Julio César León going close with a header from an Alessandro Ruggeri cross. The remainder of the first half was all one way traffic as Stefano Morrone (twice), Ferrie Bodde (twice), León and Andrea Pisanu all went close for the home side.

Alessandro tried to get the lads going at half time with a motivational pep talk “We are all over these lads, we just need one goal to win it, I don’t see them troubling our back four in a month of Sundays. Now get out there and win it for those supporters.”

Alessandro’s motivational talk seemed to be doing the trick as Bodde (twice), León and Nicola Pasini (making his Parma debut) all had shots well saved by Giorgio Frezzolini in the Modena goal. Then with six minutes remaining came the chance that Alessandro had been waiting for Julio César León had earned himself a corner and as he shaped up to take it he noticed the Modena keeper too close to his near post. León whipped his corner in with pace and curl and watched as it sailed over everyone on the near post and over the head of the defender on the far post and into the top corner. Three quarters of the ground erupted as the net bulged León had given the Parma fans what they wanted a goal! Parma kept the pressure on and the full time whistle went without Modena having a single shot on target in the entire match.

Alessandro walked over and shook hands with his friend Luigi Apolloni and said “The fans all love you here, how about if I can get this side promoted you come and work with me in Serie A?”

“Let me think about it” said Luigi “though it would be great to come back here”

FINAL SCORE: PARMA 1-0 MODENA (León 84)

Salernitana beat ex leaders Rimini 1-0 with a goal from Celestini to move out of the bottom three and Frosinone moved into second place behind Parma with a 1-0 victory over Vicenza.

Ancona 0-0 Avellino

Ascoli 0-0 Grosseto

Brescia 4-1 Sassuolo

Cittadella 1-1 Empoli

Frosinone 1-0 Vicenza

Mantova 0-2 Livorno

Piacenza 2-1 Pisa

Salernitana 1-0 Rimini

Treviso 0-0 Bari

Triestina 1-0 AlbinoLeffe

[Offspring8]

Well that's true, you can now just concentrate on the league and put all of your eggs into one basket, so to say good luck

[CAFCIan75]

Authors note: for those of you who are interested I forgot to put down my line-ups for the last few posts so here they are…

vs Atalanta: De Lucia, Zenoni, Castellini, Lucarelli .A, Rossi, Morrone, Mariga, Ruggeri (Pisanu), Matteini (León), Lucarelli .C (Paloschi), Kutuzov.

vs Vicenza: De Lucia, Zenoni, Castellini, Lucarelli .A, Rossi, Morrone, Bodde, Ruggeri (Pisanu), León (Matteini), Lucarelli .C (Kutuzov), Paloschi.

vs Livorno: De Lucia, Zenoni, Castellini, Lucarelli .A, Rossi, Morrone, Bodde, Ruggeri (Pisanu), Matteini (León), Lucarelli .C (Maccan), Paloschi.

vs Catania: De Lucia, Zenoni, Castellini, Lucarelli .A, Motta, Budel (Morrone), Bodde (Mariga), Ruggeri (Pisanu), León, Maccan, Paloschi.

vs Pisa: De Lucia, Zenoni, Castellini, Lucarelli .A, Rossi, Morrone, Bodde (Mariga), Ruggeri (León), Matteini, Lucarelli .C, Paloschi (Maccan).

vs Modena: De Lucia, Pasini, Castellini, Lucarelli .A, Rossi, Morrone, Bodde (Mariga), Ruggeri (Pisanu), León, Lucarelli .C, Paloschi (Maccan).

Saturday 27th – Monday 29th September…

Saturday 27th September vs Sassuolo (away) Serie B, Matchday Five

The honours were even today in what could be summed up as a pretty boring match. Parma maintained their unbeaten record due to a fortunate own goal and Manager Alessandro Melli could be in trouble with the Italian FA following his post match outburst.

Serie C1/A Champions Sassuolo started the brightest and central midfielder Stefano Pagani had the chance to open the scoring in the second minute but his shot was well saved by Parma keeper De Lucia. Ferrie Bodde had a couple of good chances to give Parma the lead but failed to take them and they were punished after 35 minutes when a clumsy challenge from Alessandro Ruggeri on Riccardo Zampagna gave the Sassuolo striker the opportunity to make it 1-0 to the home team from the penalty spot, an opportunity which he took superbly by sending De Lucia the wrong way from the spot. It did not take Parma long to equalise when four minutes after going behind Julio César León raced down the left and drilled a low cross which Sassuolo defender Emiliano Salvetti could only divert into his own net.

The only noteworthy incident of the second half occurred when 65 minutes in Cristiano Lucarelli was tripped by Sassuolo defender Marco Andreolli in the penalty area but the referee waved play on. Alessandro on the touchline was furious and Cristiano Lucarelli got himself a yellow card for protesting a little too much. The rest of the half passed without incident and although Parma’s 100% record had gone they still remained undefeated.

When Alessandro Melli was interviewed by a local newspaper following today’s match he was quoted saying that he thought the referee was very biased towards the home side and to not give the penalty in the second half was an absolute disgrace.

Line-up: De Lucia, Zenoni, Castellini, Lucarelli .A, Rossi, Morrone, Bodde, Ruggeri (Pisanu), León (Matteini), Lucarelli .C, Paloschi (Maccan).

FINAL SCORE: SASSUOLO 1-1 PARMA (Zampagna pen 35/ Salvetti og 39).

Frosinone took over as leaders of Serie B with a goal from Eder enough to see off Pisa, Rimini also jumped above Parma into second with a shock 2-1 win over Brescia. Empoli remain unbeaten and Vicenza slipped into the bottom three at the expense of Cittadella.

AlbinoLeffe 0-0 Treviso

Avellino 0-0 Triestina

Bari 1-0 Salernitana

Empoli 2-0 Ancona

Grosseto 1-2 Cittadella

Modena 1-0 Piacenza

Pisa 0-1 Frosinone

Rimini 2-1Brescia

Vicenza 0-0 Mantova

Monday 29th September…

Alessandro sat down at his desk in his office at the Parma training complex and switched on his PC. His list of e-mails was on screen and one was from the Italian FA so he clicked on it…

Dear Mr Melli,

It has been bought to our attention that following the match between Sassuolo and Parma at the Enzo Ricci Stadium on Saturday you were quoted in the local news as saying you thought the referee was biased towards the home side and you thought he was an absolute disgrace.

Although we appreciate that football is a very passionate business we must adopt a firm stance when it comes to abuse of our officials.

We appreciate that in the heat of the moment that you may have said something which you may now regret and therefore we will on this occasion issue you with a written warning regarding your conduct in the above mentioned fixture. Should we have to write to you again about such an incident then we may be forced to levy a fine or give you a touch line ban.

Yours Sincerely

Mr Giancarlo Abete (President Italian Football Association).

Alessandro had been expecting some sort of response from the Italian FA so just to get away with a slap on the wrist was the best possible punishment he could have expected.

[The-Perfect-Fm'er!]

Still unbeaten, keep it up mate

[CAFCIan75]

* Perfect Fm’er yes still unbeaten mate just! To be honest I have a feeling Parma will do pretty well this season due to keeping most of their good players following relegation. I think the test for Alessandro will be keeping them in Serie A (that’s providing he gets promotion this season of course!). I have no idea what’s in store as I am only five games or so in front of what I am currently writing.

Wednesday 1st – Sunday 5th October…

Wednesday 1st October vs Grosseto (home) Serie A, Matchday Six

Parma put the disappointment of Saturday’s draw with Sassuolo behind them with an accomplished victory over Grosseto at the Ennio Tardini this evening. Two early goals from Cristiano Lucarelli earned them a good three points and sent them top of Serie B.

Parma were on the front foot from the first whistle and were unfortunate not to get a penalty in the second minute when Stendardo was all over Cristiano Lucarelli when trying to clear a Julio César León cross. León then curled a free kick over the bar on 5 minutes and it was evident Parma were going to make the early pressure pay and they were rewarded in the 8th minute when Denis Maccan making his first Serie B start played an outrageous flick through the Grosseto defence for Lucarelli to stride onto and tuck past Paolo Acerbis in the Grosseto goal 1-0. Parma continued their early domination and one soon became two when Zenoni was played in down the right and crossed for Lucarelli to bullet a header into the back of the net. Paolo Castellini and Lucarelli both had chances before the break but at half time it remained 2-0.

Alessandro was delighted with the first half performance but he warned his players not to take the foot off the gas and try and score more goals.

The second half began in pretty much the same fashion as the first with first Ferrie Bodde and then Lucarelli both having shots well saved by Acerbis. Lucarelli thought he had earned a penalty on the hour mark but the referee waved play on saying the wonderfully named Innocenti had played the ball. Substitute McDonald Mariga almost made it three but his shot from 30 yards cannoned back off the crossbar. Lucarelli had a good chance for his hat-trick in the dying minutes but his header was too weak and Acerbis got to it easily so the score remained 2-0 and Parma went top of Serie B

Line-up: De Lucia, Zenoni, Castellini, Lucarelli .A, Rossi, Morrone, Bodde (Mariga), Ruggeri (Pisanu), León (Matteini), Lucarelli .C, Maccan.

FINAL SCORE: PARMA 2-0 GROSSETO (C. Lucarelli 7 & 12).

Saturday 4th October vs Rimini (home) Serie B, Matchday Seven.

Parma remained top of Serie B with their second accomplished home performance in four days. New signing from Brescia Denis Maccan was the star performer with his best performance in a Parma shirt to date by some margin.

For the second match running Parma got off to the perfect start when a beautiful corner from Julio César León was superbly headed home by Maccan for his first goal in Parma colours. Rimini were almost back into it immediately when a free kick from Andrea Sottil. Daniele Vantaggiato who was a constant thorn in the Parma defence all match almost equalised after 15 minutes but his half volley was well saved by Alfonso De Lucia. Cristiano Lucarelli had two good chances before half time to make it two but both times he headed wide when well placed.

Alessandro reminded the players that it was only 1-0 and they needed another goal if they were going to make the game safe.

After a cautious start to the second half Parma got their reward when following a low cross from Alessandro Ruggeri Rimini defender Emiliano Milone tripped Stefano Morrone in the box and Parma captain Lucarelli stepped up and made it two. Lucarelli had three good chances in the last ten minutes to make it three but each time he was thwarted by Federico Agliardi in the Rimini goal. Full Time and another three points for Alessandro Melli’s men.

Line-up: De Lucia, Zenoni, Castellini (Motta), Lucarelli .A, Rossi, Morrone, Bodde, Ruggeri (Pisanu), León (Matteini), Lucarelli .C, Maccan.

FINAL SCORE: PARMA 2-0 RIMINI (Maccan 5, C. Lucarelli 56).

The top three remain unchanged but Brescia moved into forth with goals from Morfeo, Salamon and Caracciolo giving them a 3-1 victory over Pisa. Vicenza lost 0-1 to Ascoli and dropped to second from bottom at the expense of Avellino whose 2-1 victory over bottom side Treviso was not enough to take them out of the bottom three.

Ascoli 1-0 Vicenza

Brescia 3-1 Bari

Cittadella 2-1 Livorno

Frosinone 3-1 Modena

Grosseto 2-1 Empoli

Mantova 3-1 Pisa

Piacenza 2-1 Sassuolo

Salernitana 2-1 AlbinoLeffe

Treviso 1-2 Avellino

Triestina 2-1 Ancona

| Pos                            | Inf   | Team        |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st                            |       | [color="Blue"]Parma [/color]      |       | [color="blue"]7 [/color]    | [color="blue"]6 [/color]    | [color="blue"]1 [/color]    | [color="blue"]0  [/color]   | [color="blue"]11 [/color]   | [color="blue"]2[/color]     | +[color="blue"]9  [/color]  | [color="blue"]19[/color]    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd                            |       | Frosinone   |       | 6     | 4     | 2     | 0     | 7     | 3     | +4    | 14    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd                            |       | Rimini      |       | 7     | 4     | 1     | 2     | 9     | 5     | +4    | 13    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th                            |       | Brescia     |       | 7     | 4     | 0     | 3     | 11    | 6     | +5    | 12    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th                            |       | Empoli      |       | 7     | 3     | 3     | 1     | 8     | 4     | +4    | 12    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th                            |       | Sassuolo    |       | 7     | 3     | 2     | 2     | 9     | 10    | -1    | 11    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

[BenArsenal]

Top! Good stuff.

Parma belongs to Serie A. Bring back the glory days!

[The-Perfect-Fm'er!]

Great work, and already look certain for promotion!

[CAFCIan75]

* BenArsenal – Bringing back the glory days, that’s the aim!

* Perfect Fm’er – Thanks for the comment, Parma are looking good for promotion I just hope they can keep up the fine start they have had.

Wednesday 8th – Saturday 18th October...

Wednesday 8th October...

Salernitana 0-0 Vicenza – Vicenza miss the opportunity to get out of the bottom three following tonight’s draw.

Sunday 12th October...

Frosinone picked up a point away to Sassuolo to move within one point of Parma at the top. Brescia moved into third with a 3-2 win away to AlbinoLeffe and Vicenza moved out of the bottom three after goals from Fiore and Diamanti gave them a 2-0 win over Cittadella.

AlbinoLeffe 2-3 Brescia

Ancona 2-1 Treviso

Avellino 0-0 Salernitana

Livorno 0-1 Grosseto

Modena 1-0 Mantova

Pisa 0-1 Ascoli

Rimini 1-1 Piacenza

Sassuolo 0-0 Frosinone

Vicenza 2-0 Cittadella

* Parma not in action due to International call-ups.

Wednesday 15th October...

Frosinone moved to the top of Serie B with a 5-0 thrashing of Rimini. Goals from Pozzi and Vannucchi gave Empoli a 2-1 win in Livorno and moved them into 4th place. Parma now have two games in hand on their rivals.

Ascoli 1-1 Modena

Brescia 3-0 Avellino

Cittadella 0-0 Pisa

Frosinone 5-0 Rimini

Grosseto 1-1 Vicenza

Livorno 1-2 Empoli

Mantova 3-0 Sassuolo

Piacenza 0-2 Bari

Salernitana 1-1 Ancona

Treviso 0-1 Triestina

* Parma not in action due to International call-ups.

Saturday 18th October vs Avellino (away) Serie B, Matchday Eight

Parma moved back to the top of Serie B with a convincing victory over Avellino this afternoon. Manager Alessandro Melli is enjoying a fantastic start as Parma manager and already Parma are justifying their tag as pre-season promotion favourites.

Parma opened the scoring after ten minutes when Denis Maccan headed home a corner from Alessandro Ruggeri for his second goal in successive matches. Davide Matteini, Alessandro Ruggeri and Denis Maccan all had opportunities to make it two but each time they were denied by the acrobatics of Daniele Padelli in the Avellino goal. Alessandro Pellicori almost equalised for Avellino against the run of play on the stroke of half time but he dragged his shot wide when well placed.

Alessandro told his players at half time that they needed an early goal in the second half to calm their nerves and secure the win.

With Melli’s words still ringing in their ears Parma started the second half with in the best possible way when Cristiano Lucarelli twisted and turned his way past his marker before playing the ball to Ruggeri who laid it off for Matteini to tap into an empty net for 2-0. Maccan and Alberto Paloschi both wasted good chances to make it three before McDonald Mariga made the game safe when he beat Avellino keeper Padelli from 25 yards after 73 minutes. Eleven minutes from time Man of the Match Cristiano Lucarelli made it four with a wonderful volley following a clearance from Alfonso De Lucia. Avellino had a couple of opportunities at the end but never really troubled De Lucia in the Parma goal. Following goals elsewhere the result was enough to take Parma back to the top of the Serie B table.

Line-up: De Lucia, Zenoni, Castellini, Lucarelli .A, Rossi, Morrone, Bodde (Mariga), Ruggeri, Matteini (León), Lucarelli .C, Maccan (Paloschi).

FINAL SCORE: AVELLINO 0-4 PARMA (Maccan 11, Matteini 46, Mariga 73, C. Lucarelli 79).

Goals from Volpato (2) and Barreto gave Bari a 3-1 victory over leaders Frosinone and moved them up to 5th. Pre-season promotion favourites Livorno could only draw 0-0 with Vicenza and found themselves in the bottom three.

AlbinoLeffe 3-0 Piacenza

Ancona 1-1 Brescia

Bari 3-1 Frosinone

Empoli 2-0 Treviso

Modena 1-2 Cittadella

Pisa 0-0 Grosseto

Rimini 0-0 Mantova

Sassuolo 3-2 Ascoli

Triestina 1-3 Salernitana

Vicenza 0-0 Livorno

[CAFCIan75]

Monday 20th – Saturday 25th October...

Monday 20th October...

Youth Team goalkeeper Antonio Rossi today signed his first professional contract with Parma. The youngster signed a three year contract and Alessandro rates him as one for the future and a eventual replacement for Nicola Pavarini when he eventually retires.

In other news Julio César León became an Italian citizen.

Wednesday 22nd October vs Bari (away) Serie B, Matchday Nine.

Parma overcame falling behind inside a minute to record their 4th successive Serie B victory at the San Nicola stadium in Bari this evening.

Parma got off to the worst possible start when Bari opened the scoring after 45 seconds although the goal from Volpato was a goal of pure class. The classy striker received the ball thirty yards out dribbled past Marco Rossi, nutmegged Alessandro Lucarelli and drilled his shot under Alfonso De Lucia in the Parma goal. Volpato almost doubled his tally five minutes later but his shot was well saved by De Lucia. Alessandro Melli was seen shouting at his defence to get tighter on the tricky Bari striker. The rest of the half was pretty even with both sides hitting the woodwork Alessandro Gazzi for the home side and Stefano Morrone for Parma.

“I want to see a much improved performance from you second half “said Alessandro to the players at half time “Maccan, you have a knock so you are coming off, get changed Paloschi you are coming on”

Parma responded superbly to the half time dressing down they got when six minutes into the second half Morrone split the Bari defence and Cristiano Lucarelli drilled his shot first time past Jean-François Gillet and into the bottom corner. Parma were now getting on top of their opponents with first Alberto Paloschi and then Lucarelli going close. Then with seven minutes left the excellent Paloschi played in Morrone and the midfielder made no mistake blasting his shot high past Gillet. Bari went 4-2-4 in an effort to equalise but the Parma defence held firm and ensured a deserved victory.

Line-up: De Lucia, Zenoni, Castellini, Lucarelli .A, Rossi (Motta), Morrone, Mariga, Ruggeri, Matteini (Pisanu), Lucarelli .C, Maccan (Paloschi).

FINAL SCORE: BARI 1-2 PARMA (Volpato 1/ C. Lucarelli 51, Morrone 83)

Empoli 1-1 Triestina (Empoli moved into third)

Saturday 25th October vs Ancona (home) Serie B, Matchday Ten

Parma today continued their impressive form with a comprehensive beating of Ancona at the Ennio Tardini Stadium. Julio César León was the hero for the home side with two goals.

In team news Alessandro Lucarelli will miss today’s match through suspension after picking up four yellow cards in his opening nine league matches, Nicolò Motta will deputise. Parma got off to the perfect start when thirty nine seconds in Julio César León opened the scoring with a sublime 25 yard free kick following a foul by Matías Miramontes on Alberto Paloschi. It was 2-0 twelve minutes later when Cristiano Lucarelli headed home a cross from Alessandro Ruggeri. León had a chance to make it three just before half time but he headed into the side netting when a cross from Morrone found him unmarked at the far post.

Alessandro instructed his players at half time to keep up the pressure and make the game safe and to conserve energy for Tuesday’s match.

It was 3-0 two minutes into the second half when substitute Andrea Pisanu pulled his cross back to the edge of the eighteen yard box and León drilled his volley perfectly into the bottom right hand corner. Paloschi had a header saved by Júnior Costa and Ancona had a couple of opportunities to score a consolation goal before twenty minutes from time came the moment that ended the match as a contest. Edoardo Catinali had already been booked in the first half when León played the ball past him, a quick tug of the shirt, a yellow card closely followed by a red one and the visitors were down to ten men game over! Parma played keep ball for the remainder of the match content enough to sit on their three goal lead. The only downside for Parma was Man of the Match León suffered an ankle injury in the closing stages.

Line-up: De Lucia, Zenoni, Castellini, Motta, Rossi, Morrone (Budel), Bodde, Ruggeri (Pisanu), León, C. Lucarelli (Maccan), Paloschi.

FINAL SCORE: PARMA 3-0 ANCONA (León 1 & 47, C. Lucarelli 13)

The top four remained the same following today’s matches. A goal from Bjelanovic gave Vicenza a 1-0 victory over Empoli and moved them out of the bottom three.

Ascoli 1-1 Rimini

Brescia 2-3 Triestina

Cittadella 1-3 Sassuolo

Frosinone 4-1 AlbinoLeffe

Grosseto 2-0 Modena

Mantova 3-0 Bari

Piacenza 1-0 Avellino

Salernitana 3-1 Treviso

Vicenza 1-0 Empoli

Livorno 1-1 Pisa

Sunday 26th October...

Following his ankle injury sustained in yesterday’s 3-0 victory over Ancona Julio César León will be out of action for four weeks after tests revealed a badly sprained ankle.

[The-Perfect-Fm'er!]

Good second half response and then a good overall performance, keep up the great work!

[CAFCIan75]

Authors Note: To all of you who have been reading this story so far, due to an unfortunate incident with a young child, a glass of juice and my laptop you can guess the rest. Bloody kids!!! Basically my laptop was ruined and most importantly all my saved data and notes lost . I have a few days off so I plan on buying a new child friendly laptop! I wish to thank all of you who have followed my story and commented so far, it has given me the determination to start a new story in the near future. Once again thanks to you all.

Ian

PS: Can one of the moderators please kindly close this thread for me, thank you.

[BenArsenal]

Gah!

Pity. Was good while it lasted.

[george94]

That was unfortunate, but the lesson to be learnt is never have children: it will only end in disappointment. Anyway, I look forward to a future story fella, just keep the next laptop away from the devil child.