No fan could have dreamed of a season like this: Parma’s objective was to avoid relegation without suffering too much, but the team, wisely guided by Roberto Donadoni, reached an historical qualification to the Europa League in the year of the centenary. The dream, however, risks to vanish: the FIGC denied the UEFA license to the club because of bureaucratic issues related to delayed tax payments, for an amount of 300.000 Euros. Parma president Ghirardi, quite correctly in our opinion, underlined that it is ridiculous to think that a club pays 13 million for the UEFA license and then decides not to pay 300.000 Euros. He says that it is all just a big misunderstanding on FIGC’s side, and he is sure that the decision will be reverted by the Supreme Court of the Italian Olympic Committee. Even with this nightmarish (and ridiculous) perspective, Parma's season cannot be considered anything other than a success, and fans hope that next season the team will go back to play a European cup after 8 years of abstinence.

 

Results. After a good 10th place obtained in the 2012/2013 season, Parma’s objective was to repeat themselves. However, Donadoni’s team, after a slow start (only six points in the first seven games) started an irresistible march, recording 10 consecutive games undefeated between the end of the first and second half of the season, ended with four consecutive wins. The battle for Europa League was tight, but Parma came out victorious thanks to their ability to maintain their levels of performance also under pressure and to play effectively both at home and away: they obtained their Serie A record for number of consecutive away wins (5, together with Roma and Juventus).

 

Key player of the season. Easy to say, Antonio Cassano. Other than being the top scorer of the team with 12 goals, Cassano was their moral and technical leader. The game gravitated around him, and his assists, even more than his goals, helped the team scoring many goals and winning many key games. However, similar to last year, the successes in the second half of the season have been in the name of Amauri: the italo-brazilian scored 8 goals from January to the end of the season and, most importantly, scored two goals in the last game, when the qualification to Europa League had yet to be secured.

 

Flop player of the season. Parma’s weak point was definitively on the defensive sidelines, particularly on the left back side. Molinaro is a decent player and a hard worker, but does not possess the necessary skills to be an effective addition to the team’s offensive arsenal. Cassani displayed more initiative and a better passing ability, but his season cannot be considered a full success.

 

Best moment. It would be easy to indicate the 10 consecutive undefeated games, but in Parma fans’ hearts the best moment is definitely the last game, with the 2-0 win against Livorno that, coupled with the incredible tie of Torino against Fiorentina, granted the crociati an unexpected but well-deserved qualification to the Europa League. Amauri’s resurrection and the final, frantic moments before the end of Fiorentina-Torino will not be easily forgotten.

 

What do they need for the next season. First, and most importantly, they need to keep Antonio Cassano happy and motivated. The crazy talent from Bari Vecchia seems to have found his island of happiness in Parma, and the club has every interest in keeping things this way. Second, they should try everything they can to keep Roberto Donadoni as a manager: his tactical preparation, together with his ability to regenerate seemingly lost players like Schelotto, made him one of the main protagonists of this successful season. The coach is allegedly courted my many “more prestigious” clubs, including AC Milan, for which he has played for more than a decade. However, Parma right now seems to have better perspectives for the future, and another year there, with the perspective of playing a European cup, could be a good opportunity for Donadoni to further increase the value of his stocks. Third, they should try to find a good left back to replace Molinaro, arguably the weakest link of the team this season. Fourth, they would need a good midfielder, able to organize the game and trigger the incursions of the wings and of Parolo and to complement the talent of Cassano. Finally, they would need a good striker: Amauri is getting older and cannot play every game, Palladino does not possess the necessary ability to play for a team that wants to repeat itself at high levels.

 

2013-2014 season analysis: Roma | Napoli | Fiorentina | Inter | Milan