Last game Sunday 29th August PERUGIA V PARMA Perugia 1 Parma 1 Goals from Olive on 46' and Stanic on 77'. This is NOT a good start to the season. I thought, actually, that Stanic had started the game up front with Crespo, but RaiText had it wrong and it was Di Viao. Stanic came on for him on 53'. Cannavaro was substituted by Maini on 72'. Bookings to Fuser and Ortego. Rai Text finally gave up the ghost, so I will put in the team line-ups tomorrow. Perugia (4-4-1-1): Mazzantini 7.5, Daino 6.5, Ripa 6.5, Calori 6.5, Milanese 5.5, Esposito 6 (13' st Rivalta), Olive 6.5, Tedesco 6.5 (29' st Campolo), Rapajc 6, Nakata 6, Guidoni 5.5 (22' st Bisoli). (Subs not used: 24 Docabo, 16 Sussi, 5 Melli, 20 Tapia). Trainer: Mazzone 6. Parma (3-4-1-2): Buffon 5, Lassissi 6.5, Cannavaro 6 (27' st Maini), Thuram 6.5, Fuser 6.5, Baggio 6.5, Boghossian 6.5, Vanoli 6, Ortega 6, Crespo 6, Di Vaio 5 (8' st Stanic 6.5). (Subs not used: 22 Micillo, 3 Benarrivo, 19 Torrisi, 23 Serena, 25 Walem). Trainer: Malesani 6. Referee: Tombolini di Ancona 6.5 Angoli: 12-0 per il Parma Bookings: Mazzantini, Rapajc, Milanese, Fuser, Ortega Crowd: 15.000. Sunday 12th September PARMA V BOLOGNA Parma 1 Bologna 1 Goals from Signori on 47' and an Ingesson own-goal on 82'. It seems like we were lucky! And Stanic was sent off! Parma (3-4-1-2): Buffon 6, Lassissi 6, Thuram 5.5, Cannavaro 6, Fuser 5.5, Walem 5.5, D.Baggio 6 (35' st Breda), Vanoli 5.5, Ortega 5.5 (22' st Di Vaio), Crespo 5 (44' st Maini), Stanic 5.5. (22 Micillo, 3 Benarrivo, 2 Sartor, 23 Serena). Allenatore: Malesani 5.5. Bologna (3-1-4-2): Pagliuca 6, Paganin 6.5, Bia 6.5, Tarantino 6, Paramatti sv (11' pt Falcone 6.5), Binotto 5.5, Ingesson 6, Marocchi 6 (25' pt Ze' Elias 6.5), Nervo 6.5, Ventola 6 (35' st Sanchez), Signori 6.5. (12 Roccati, 15 Eriberto, 17 Lucic, 20 Wome). Allenatore: Buso 6. Arbitro: Rodomonti di Teramo 6 Angoli: 7-5 per il Parma Sent off: 41' st Stanic (doppia amm.) Bookings: Binotto, Tarantino Crowd: 22.000 Sunday 19th September INTER MILAN V PARMA Inter 5 Parma 1 Goals from (Inter) Zamorano 8, 64, Vieri 17, Moriero 39, Thuram og 72. (Parma) Crespo 14 This was very poor! So disappointing. Not a lot else to say really! All the people on the list who saw this game said that we were poor in every department, save for Buffon! It could've been 15-1!! We are lying in 3rd from bottom place! But it's early days yet! Teams Inter: Peruzzi, Panucci (booked), Blanc, Simic, Moriero (75' Dabo), Zanetti, Sousa (56' Cauet), Di Biagio, Georgatos, Zamorano, Vieri (77' Recoba) Parma: Buffon, Thuram (booked), Lassissi, Cannavaro, Fuser, Serena (46' Breda), D Baggio, Vanoli, Ortega (booked), Di Vaio (46' Amoroso), Crespo Fabio tackling somebody - Zamorano is it? From ESPN Soccer Christian Vieri scored one goal and assisted on three as Inter Milan demolished Parma 5-1 at the San Siro on Sunday to move to the top of the Italian league. Inter, which left an unfit Ronaldo out of the side, leads on goal difference over Fiorentina, Juventus and Lazio. All four teams have seven points after three games. At the San Siro, Paolo Sousa's own goal had canceled out Ivan Zamorano's 14th-minute opener when Vieri turned France's Lilian Thuram on the edge of the area and curled in his fourth goal in three starts beyond Gianluigi Buffon. Vieri then set up Francesco Moriero and Zamorano's second. Parma, yet to win a game, dropped to third from bottom and manager Alberto Malesani's fate now hangs in the balance. Vieri's inspirational evening began in the seventh minute with a defense-splitting pass for Zamorano. Buffon got a hand to the Chilean's shot but watched helplessly as the ball rolled in. Within seven minutes, Hernan Crespo slipped Dario Simic and saw his shot loop off Paolo Sousa's heel beyond Angelo Peruzzi. Parma's relief at stealing an equalizer was short-lived as Vieri conjured up his 17th-minute moment of magic, before setting up Moriero to volley Inter to a 3-1 lead in 39 minutes. Malesani sent on ex-Udinese striker Marcio Amoroso for his first appearance since recovering from injury. But Vieri crossed for Zamorano to slide home in the 64th, and Thuram completed the deluge with a 71st minute own goal as Parma's defense sunk without trace at a rain-soaked San Siro. From Eurosport MALESANI, TABAREZ FEEL THE EARLY SEASON HEAT ROME, Sept 20 - Parma coach Alberto Malesani and Cagliari boss Oscar Washington Tabarez became the first Serie A coaches to come under pressure this season following heavy defeats at the weekend. Malesani saw his side lose 5-1 at Inter Milan on Sunday and slump to third from bottom of the 18-team Italian league with just two points from nine. Cagliari, beaten 3-0 at Perugia on Saturday, are rock bottom -- the only side in the top flight without a point. While the Sardinians were never expected to set Italian soccer on fire, Parma's poor start comes as a surprise. Wealthy Parma won the UEFA Cup and Italian Cup under Malesani last term and added the pre-season Italian Super Cup last month, beating AC Milan at the San Siro. They finished fourth last season, earning themselves a place in the qualifying rounds of the European Champions League. But defeat (left) by Scotland's Rangers dumped them out of that competition and a shaky 3-2 win over Ukrainians Kryvbas Kryviy Rih in the home leg of their opening UEFA Cup tie last week has left their European aspirations in the balance. Parma face undefeated Lazio in their next league clash before their return leg in Ukraine. The results of those two matches could dictate Malesani's future. "I am entirely responsible for this difficult period, there's no point looking for other people to blame," he told reporters after his side's capitulation at Inter. "Straight after the Super Cup win I decided to step up our pre-match preparation but the result has been that our rivals -- all of them, not just Inter -- are playing better than we are." "I don't answer those kinds of questions," Malesani replied when asked if he feared for his job. "All I know is that I'll be going to work as normal to our training camp at Collechio on Tuesday morning." If Malesani does get the sack, at least he will have those three trophies to look back on from his time at Parma. Tabarez, in contrast, would have no such solace. The Uruguayan arrived at Cagliari in the close season for his first Serie A post since he was sacked by AC Milan in 1996 and has been in charge for just three games. His side played well against Lazio in their season opener but lost 2-1, were unlucky against Juventus in their second clash and lost 1-0 and were dreadful against Perugia, succumbing to three first half goals. "The Lazio and Juventus matches gave me positive signals for the future, even though we lost," Tabarez said. "This time, no. We played badly...I need a few hours to dwell on the reasons for such a bad performance." Malesani too probably has a few hours to turn Parma around. But in one of the most cut-throat domestic championships in the world, neither man will be granted much longer than that. Sunday 26th September PARMA v LAZIO Parma 1 Lazio 2 So what do you say about this??? At least it's better than the 1-3 last year?? Well I suppose so. Boghossian actually scored at both ends - and Almeyda scored their winner from a long, long way out! (I think it was a freak - he just hit it and hoped). Of most concern tonight, though, was a very bad collision between Salas and Benarrivo which left Benarrivo unconscious - but he is OK, thankfully. (The Italians were interviewing him from his stretcher). Looks to me like Malesani's (who was playing to the crowd by wearing a Parma player's shirt!) days are numbered. Depends what happens on Thursday (UEFA) I suppose. Benarrivo at the hospital Almeyda shoots from an awful long way out! Buffon can't quite believe it! Yes, that's how we all feel, Gigi! Parma (3-4-1-2): Buffon 6, Lassissi 6, Thuram 6, Cannavaro 6, Fuser 5,5, Baggio 5,5 (34' st Vanoli ), Boghossian 6,5 (23' st Breda ), Benarrivo 6 (28' pt Serena 4,5), Ortega 5, Crespo 5, Amoroso 5. (Subs not used: 22 Micillo, 19 Torrisi, 13 Stanic, 20 Di Vaio). Coach: Alberto Malesani 5. Lazio (4-4-2): Ballotta 7, Pancaro 6,5, Nesta 7, Mihajlovic 7, Favalli 6,5, Veron 7,5 (43' st Sensini ), Simeone 7, Almeyda 8, Nedved sv (7' pt Conceicao 6), Boksic 5 (28' st Lombardo ), Salas 6,5. (Subs not used: 28 Mondini, 2 Negro, 19 Anderson, 10 Mancini). Coach: Sven Goran Eriksson 7. Referee: Collina di Viareggio 7. Bookings: Favalli and Salas Spettatori: 21.801 Report from ESDN ROME -- Argentina's Matias Almeyda volleyed a superb winner from 30 yards as Lazio won 2-1 at Parma on Sunday, plunging the UEFA Cup holders deeper into crisis. With just two points in four matches, Parma is now third from the bottom in Serie A, with fans calling for the head of manager Alberto Malesani. The victory keeps Lazio level, at 10 points, with Serie A leader Inter Milan, which earlier won 1-0 at Torino thanks to Christian Vieri's fifth goal in four matches -- but Marcello Lippi's side has a better goal difference. Yet to win a league match this season, Parma's fortunes took another turn for the worse in the 26th minute when Antonio Benarrivo sustained a severe concussion in a clash with Marcelo Salas. After several anxious moments in which the player lay unconscious and motionless on the ground, Benarrivo was stretchered off to regain consciousness at the hospital, where he was reported in fair condition. Salas made himself even less popular with the Tardini faithful four minutes later when Parma failed to clear a corner and the Chilean's low shot was deflected past Gianluigi Buffon by France's Alain Boghossian. Boghossian made amends early in the second half, heading in the rebound after Dino Baggio hit the bar direct from a corner. Just when Parma looked as if it was handing Malesani a lifeline, Almeyda snatched it away with his 70th-minute volley that dipped over Gianluigi Buffon. Sunday 3rd October PARMA v VERONA Parma 3 Verona 0 We scored all three goals in the first half; Amoroso, Ortega and Crespo. That's all I can tell you really! Not on the TV or anything - and nobody seemed much interested in it on the list (including me for some reason!). This is odd seeing it's our first league win of the season and we've fairly shot up the table, but I suppose we really were expected to beat Verona. I don't even have the teams, which is unforgiveable, but here's a picture! Hmm, excuse me for being personal here - but you do have rather a plump rear, Fabio!! Saturday 16th October FIORENTINA v PARMA Fiorentina 0 Parma 2 Well here was a shock and a half! I was thinking it would end a boring 0-0 draw (although would've been grateful even for the point!) and then up popped Di Vaio and Boghossian with two late goals! Fabulous - really fabulous! We're 6th now! Just shows! From Nando: With Parma still looking a shadow of the side that beat Fiorentina in last season's Italian Cup final, the home team dominated but never really threatened. By the 83rd minute, the match looked destined for a dull draw, but Parma substitute Marco Di Vaio had other thoughts. Chasing down a long pass, the ex-Salernitana striker collided with on-rushing 'keeper Francesco Toldo on the edge of the area. The ball broke loose and Di Vaio stuck out a leg as he fell to toe-poke the ball home. In the dying seconds, Frenchman Alain Boghossian added a second off Diego Fuser's cross, and Fiorentina was booed off. Teams and things: (Thanks here to Marten who saved me from having to look them up! :)) Fiorentina: Toldo 5, Repka 5, Firicano 5, Pierini 6, Bressan 5.5, Cois 6, C.Amoroso 5.5 (85'Amor -), Di Livio 6.5, Rui Costa 5.5, Batistuta 6 (81'Balbo -), Chiesa 6.5 (75'Mijatovic -). CT: Trapattoni 5.5. Parma: Buffon 6, Lassissi 6, Thuram 6, Cannavaro 6, Serena 5.5, Boghossian 6.5, Fuser 6.5, Vanoli 5.5, Walem 6 (84'Maini -), Crespo 5.5 (93'Breda -), M.Amoroso 5 (63'Di Vaio 6.5). CT: Malesani 6. Referee: Tombolini. Scorers: 83'Di Vaio, 95'Boghossian. Corners: 5-2 Fiorentina. Booked: Cois(F), Vanoli(P), Di Livio(F), Thuram(P), Cannavaro(P), Boghossian(P). Attendence: 32000. Sunday 24th October REGGINA v PARMA Reggina 2 Parma 2 Crespo scored in the first minute and I was hoping for loads more. But we only scored one more (Hernan again) and they managed to score 2 also (is this a little obvious or what!) so all we came back with was a draw. Disappointing because if we want to have a shot at the title we really SHOULD be winning games like this. I know nothing else about this game; just followed it on the teletext! But I see we had Fabio's brother on the bench?!?! celebrating Hernan's second goal. Teams and things: Reggina (3-5-2): Orlandoni 6, Stovini 5, Cirillo 6, Giacchetta 5.5, Bernini 6 (30' St Martino S.V.), Baronio 7 (20' St Poli, 6), Pralija 7, Pirlo 7, Morabito 6, Reggi 5 (25' St Oshadogan, S.V.), Possanzini 7. (Subs not used: 22 Belardi, 4 Mercier, 9 Iannuzzi, 25 Die'). Coach Colomba 7. Parma (3-5-2): Buffon 6, Lassissi 6.5, Thuram 6, F. Cannavaro 5.5, Serena 6 (17' St Di Vaio, 5), Fuser 6.5, Boghossian 6, Walem 6 (17' St Maini, S.V., E 27' St Breda, S.V.), Vanoli 7, Ortega 6, Crespo 7.5 . (Subs not used: 22 Micillo, 3 Benarrivo, 26 Montano, 28 P. Cannavaro). Coach: Malesani 6. Referee: Messina di Bergamo, 6. Corners: 5-3 per la Reggina. Bookings: F. Cannavaro, Pralija, Stovini, Vanoli, Maini e Fuser per gioco falloso, e Boghossian per proteste. Crowd: 24.000. This is all I could find about the game! (Nando). Where are you Shanie?!?!? Italy under-21 stars Roberto Baronio and Andrea Pirlo both scored as Reggina twice recovered from Hernan Crespo goals to halt Parma's run of two successive wins with a 2-2 draw in Calabria. Sunday 31st October PARMA v BARI Parma 2 Bari 1 Some who watched this game (Marten!) expressed utter contempt for the way the team played! I have to say that it looked bad on teletext too! What is the matter with our forwards????? Fabio must be just about our top scorer!! Nothing else to add as I obviously didn't see the game and I can't find a write-up either. Not looking forward to Thursday's UEFA game. Teams and things Parma (3-4-3): Buffon 7, Sartor 6.5, Thuram 6.5, F.Cannavaro 7, Fuser 7.5, Baggio 6.5, Boghossian 6.5 (28' St Breda Sv), Vanoli 6 (14' St Serena 6), Ortega 7, Crespo 6.5, Di Vaio 7.5 (35' St Walem Sv). (12 Guardalben, 3 Benarrivo, 28 P.Cannavaro, 13 Stanic). Coach: Alberto Malesani 7. Bari (1-3-4-2): Mancini 6, De Rosa 5 (1' St Neqrouz 6), Ferrari 5.5, Innocenti 6.5, Del Grosso 6, Collauto 5, Andersson 6.5, Markic 5 (1' St Perrotta 5.5), Marcolini 6 (27' St Olivares Sv), Osmanovski 6, Masinga 6.5. (30 Gregori, 15 Bellavista, 21 Giorgetti, 24 Spinesi. Coach: Eugenio Fascetti 6. Referee: Farina from Novi Ligure 6.5. Corners: 9-4 to Bari. Bookings: Marcolini, De Rosa, Sartor and Ortega per gioco scorretto (wonder what that means!). Crowd: 19.359 Sunday 7th November PIACENZA v PARMA Piacenza 1 Parma 2 Well, we keep on winning; that's the main thing! There is lots about this game on the Official web site (if you're quick!), but not a lot anywhere else!! (Eurosport's comments: Goalkeeping errors from Flavio Roma cost Piacenza their seven-month unbeaten home record. In the 22nd minute Hernan Crespo took advantage of the goalkeeper's failure to hold a cross; in the 31st minute Alain Boghossian pounced on a loose ball when Roma fumbled Diego Fuser's mis-hit shot. Piacenza pulled a goal back with a 45th-minute spot-kick from Arturo Di Napoli. ) Here is a nice picture of Hernan though - and a picture of Alain, celebrating his goal a la Batistuta (I hate that celebration!) Pictures courtesy of Rai Teams and things Piacenza (1-3-4-2): Roma 5,5, Lucarelli 5,5, Polonia 6, Vierchowod 5,5, Manighetti 6, Gautieri 5 (24' st Piovani), Sacchetti 5, Cristallini 6, Mazzola 5,5 (34' st Dionigi), Rizzitelli 5 (40' st Stroppa), Di Napoli 6. (12 Nicoletti, 15 Delli Carri, 2 Lamacchi, 17 Morrone). Coach Simoni 5,5. Parma (3-4-1-2): Buffon 6, Sartor 6, Thuram 6,5, Cannavaro 5,5, Fuser 6,5, Boghossian 7, D.Baggio 5,5, Vanoli 6, Ortega 6 (19' st Breda), Crespo 6 (45' st Walem), Di Vaio 5,5. (12 Guardalben, 19 Torrisi, 3 Benarrivo, 13 Stanic, 23 Serena). Coach: Malesani 6. Referee: Bolognino from Milano 6 Corners: 13-8 for Piacenza Bookings: Vierchowod, Rizzitelli, Polonia, Cannavaro, D.Baggio, Sartor Crowd: 12.000 Sunday 21st November PARMA v CAGLIARI Parma 3 Cagliari 1 Well, this is really good - now in 4th place! :) (Until Juventus play Milan tonight). Crespo is also the 2nd best goalscorer in Serie A, with 6 goals! I did not watch this match or, indeed, follow it (watching Roma thrash Lazio 4-1!), but here is what Eurosport had to say about it on their Live commentary thing! 15.00 Kick-off in Italy. 15.39 Still scoreless between Parma & Cagliari. 15.50 Half-Time in Italy. 16.00 Second-halves begin in Italy. 16.03 Parma have made a change with Bredan coming on for Boghossian. Still 0-0 v Cagliari. 16.28 GOAL! Mayele gives Cagliari a priceless lead away to Parma! 16.31 GOALS! Parma score twice in two minutes to go in front against Cagliari. 16.43 We're approaching full-time now in Italy... 16.55 Parma have beaten Cagliari 3-1 while Inter are the day's high scorers with a 6-0 thrashing of Lecce. So there you go!! Let's hope we can do similarly on Thursday against the Austrians! Teams and things Parma (3-4-1-2): Buffon 6, Sartor 6,5, Thuram 7, F.Cannavaro 6,5, Fuser 7, Baggio 7, Boghossian 6 (41' pt Breda 6), Vanoli 6.5, Ortega 7 (29' st Walem 6), Crespo 6.5, Di Vaio 7 (45' st Stanic). (12 Guardalben, 6 Lassissi, 28 P.Cannavaro, 19 Torrisi). Coach: Alberto Malesani 6,5. Cagliari (3-5-2): Scarpi 6, Lopez 5.5 (7' st Zebina 5), Villa 5, Grassadonia 5, Mayele 6, Diliso 5.5, Berretta 6 (18' st Modesto), Macellari 6, O'Neil 6, M'Boma 7 (23' st Corradi), Oliveira 6. (12 Franzone, 5 Cavezzi, 19 Ametrano, 20 Sulcis). Coach: Renzo Ulivieri 6. Referee: Messina di Bergamo 6. Corners: 5-2 per il Parma. Bookings: Diliso per gioco scorretto. (anybody know what that means?!) Crowd: around 18.000 Sunday 28th November MILAN v PARMA Milan 2 Parma 1 This game was live on Channel 4 - and we wuz robbed (I wouldn't go as far as Malesani (below) though!). We did actually play better than Milan, who were worse than us!!! :)))) They were dead jammy on the first goal (a Boban free-kick, after a stupid body check by Fabio). We equalised immediately after half-time with Crespo (beat me to death if you wish, but I did not see the goal!!). And then they scored their winner just after that. Blow me down though, we SHOULD've got a point out of the game but dear Hernan BADLY kicked his penalty kick on 90 minutes and Rossi easily saved, so we got nought! (Collina btw had ordered Hernan to respot the ball, which had put him off slightly methinks). Disappointing (understatement!). However, here are a few pics: Crespo celebrates his goal Ortega works really hard - pity he can't pass! Fabio had a bitty game And here is what Malesani had to say: "I was not pleased with the result, but this Parma side did please me". This was Alberto Malesani’s commentary on the game against Milan, "the draw would have been a fairer result, but we were too prone to their dead-ball game. I think that Crespo struck the penalty well, but Rossi outdid himself". The Argentine striker himself had something to say on the subject: "It was a mistake that anyone could have made, but that doesn’t help much when you know it was decisive for the result". Teams and things Milan (3-4-1-2): Rossi 7.5, Sala 6, Costacurta 6, Maldini 7, Helveg 6, Albertini sv (21' pt Giunti 6), Ambrosini 6, Serginho 6, Boban 7.5 (18' st Gattuso 6), Bierhoff 6, Shevchenko 6,5 (48' st Leonardo) (40 Fiori, 14 Ayala, 19 Orlandini, 9 Weah). Coach: Zaccheroni 6.5. Parma (3-4-3): Buffon 6, Sartor 5.5, Thuram 6.5, F.Cannavaro 6, Fuser 6, Baggio 5 (23' st Walem 5.5), Breda 6.5, Serena 5.5, Ortega 4.5, Crespo 5.5, Stanic 6 (12 Guardalben, 6 Lassisi, 18 Maini, 19 Torrisi, 28 P.Cannavaro, 30 Ghidini). Coach: Malesani 6. Referee: Collina di Viareggio 6.5 Corners: 5-3 for Milan Bookings: Fuser, Ambrosini, Thuram, Gattuso, Stanic Crowd: 55,000. Sunday 5th December PARMA v TORINO Parma 4 Torino 1 Two goals from Crespo (now he is the top scorer in Serie A!), one from Ortega ('bout time!) and an own-goal ensured this comfortable win. Pity we had to concede and a pity that Ariel missed a penalty. Teams and things Parma (3-5-2): Guardalben 6,5, Thuram 6,5, Torrisi 6,5, F.Cannavaro 6,5, Fuser 6,5 (1' St Vanoli 6,5), Baggio 6 (15' St Bolano 6), Walem 7,5, Breda 6 (33' St Saccani Sv), Serena 6, Ortega 6, Crespo 7. (22 Micillo, 28 P.Cannavaro, 34 De Angelis, 33 Basso). Coach: Alberto Malesani 7. Torino (3-5-2): Bucci 6,5, Bonomi 5,5, Cruz 5, Cudini 5 (4' St Pinga 5,5), Asta 5,5, Diawara 5, Brambilla 5,5, Mendez 5,5 (18' St Ficcadenti Sv), Coco 6 (18' St Lentini Sv), Ivic 6, Artistico 6. (1 Pastine, 20 Galante, 15 Tricarico, 18 Crippa). Coach: Emiliano Mondonico 5,5 Referee: De Santis di Tivoli 6,5. Corners: 1-1 Bookings: Cudini, Cruz, Bonomi, Artistico, Ortega, Ficcadenti Crowd: 19.000 circa. Sunday 12th December VENEZIA v PARMA Venezia 0 Parma 2 Not too much trouble here, it seems - despite all our injuries - and Walem getting sent off (they were already down to 10 anyway, Konsel having gone a-walking off). Fabio (you beauty!) seems to have forgone his defending attributes to become our 2nd top scorer (?). And Crespo, who is still the leading scorer in Serie A! We are 4th, which is satisfying, if not perfect. Happy, happy Fabio! Not sure what's going on here! Teams and things Venezia (4-4-2): Konsel 5, Cardone 6 (28' st Budan), Pavan 5, Luppi 5,5, Bettarini 5,5, Valtolina 5,5, Volpi 5, Iachini 5 (15' st Pedone 5), Berg 6,5, Petkovic 6 (26' pt Casazza 6), Maniero 5 (3 Dal Canto, 7 Nanami, 15 Borgobello, 23 Brioschi). Allenatore: Spalletti 6. Parma (3-5-2): Micillo 6, Thuram 7,5, Torrisi 7, F.Cannavaro 7,5, Serena 7, Fuser 6,5 (39' st Breda), Boghossian 6 (25' pt Walem 5), Baggio 6,5, Vanoli 6, Stanic 5,5 (11' st Benarrivo 6,5), Crespo 8 (36 Filosa, 18 Maini, 6 Montano, 28 P. Cannavaro). Coach: Malesani 7. Referee: Rodomonti di Teramo 6 Corners: 7-2 per il Venezia Sent off: 25' pt Konsel (handling in the area); 39' Walem (second yellow) Bookings: F.Cannavaro, Torrisi, Iachini, Baggio, Vanoli, Pavan, Bettarini, Luppi, Volpi Crowd: Sunday 19th December PARMA v ROMA Parma 2 Roma 0 Saw this game live on Channel 4! A splendid win! We were by far the best team in the 1st half and both goals were GREAT! Roma came strong in the 2nd half, but Buffon made excellente saves on numerous occasions. The pitch was an absolute disgrace and just hope that the rest over the Christmas period will help the darned grass grow back! nice goal Hernan! state of the pitch! but Torrisi's first goal for us was fantastic! Teams and things Parma (3-4-1-2): Buffon 7, Thuram 6,5, Torrisi 7, F. Cannavaro 7, Fuser 6,5, Boghossian 6,5, Baggio 6 (38' pt Longo 6), Vanoli 7, Ortega 7,5 (27' st Serena), Crespo 7 (45' st Amoroso), Di Vaio 5,5. (22 Micillo, 3 Benarrivo, 4 Breda, 13 Stanic). Allenatore: Malesani 7. Roma (3-5-2): Antonioli 6,5, Zago 5, Aldair 5,5, Mangone 5,5, Cafu 6, Tommasi 6,5, Assuncao 5 (14' st Zanetti 6), Di Francesco 5,5 (35' pt Fabio Junior 6), Candela 6,5, Delvecchio 6,5, Totti 6. (34 Amelia, 23 Rinaldi, 19 Gurenko, 8 Alenitchev, 7 Bartelt). Allenatore Capello 5,5. Referee: Treossi di Forli' 5. Corners: 7-1 per la Roma. Bookings: Zago, Baggio, Thuram, Fabio Junior, Torrisi and Candela . Ortega and Totti for diving. Delvecchio for protesting Crowd: around 26,000 Thursday 6th January 2000 UDINESE v PARMA Udinese 0 Parma 1 I am very ashamed of myself, but I didn't even realise this game was being played! Oops! Still, we won it (with a goal from Di Vaio on 54') and remain in 3rd spot - only 2 points behind Juventus, who are now top. Don't have teams - nothing! Sunday 9th January PARMA v JUVENTUS Parma 1 Juventus 1 Oh Hernan!!! What a STAR!! Well, would you believe this!!!! Fabulous stuff! As this was a midday kick-off (for unknown reason), I was able to watch the Rai teletext!!!! Nothing was happening during the first half, but I was puzzled as to why Ortega had been left out of the line-up. After all, he has been doing quite well lately and has been improving bit by bit. Amoroso, who did start, however - I have grave doubts about. The 2nd half was more interesting! First, Torrissi got sent off (2nd yellow) and Del Piero scored a penalty. Then Dino Baggio got sent off also! This was on 77 minutes - and I figured there was no way we could get anything out of this game, which was devastating. Couldn't believe it when up popped "Crespo 92"!!! Fabulous!! Later, watched half an hour highlights of the game on Ch4. I must admit that we were very fortunate not to have been totally humiliated by Juventus, such was their apparent domination of the game. But that goal of Hernan's was absolutely PRICELESS! How strange to be pleased with a draw - sure am though! Well done boys!! Thanks Gigi!! Your saves were our saviour! Teams and things Parma - Buffon; Thuram; Torrissi (sent off 77); F. Cannavaro; Fuser (Serena 35); D Baggio (sent off 77); Dabo (booked); Vanoli; Amoroso (Ortega 78); Di Vaio (booked; Walem 60); Crespo Juventus - Van der Sar; Ferrara (booked); Montero; Iuliano; Zambrotta; Tacchinardi; Davids; Pessotto (Birindelli 87); Zidane; F Inzaghi; Del Piero Referee: Farina of Novi Ligure Goals: Del Piero (penalty) 69'; Crespo 92' Crowd: FULL HOUSE - 29,000 or whatever Report from Nando Crespo's late equalizer denies Juventus victory Argentine Hernan Crespo scored a last-minute equalizer as Parma recovered from the dismissal of Stefano Torrisi and Dino Baggio to hold Serie A leaders Juventus to an unlikely 1-1 draw on Sunday. The result extends Juventus's advantage at the top to two points, but second-placed Lazio can now regain the lead if it beats Bologna at the Olympic stadium later on Sunday. Parma remains third on 31 points, trailing Lazio on goal difference only. Juventus, which deservedly took the lead through an Alessandro Del Piero penalty in the 69th minute, was left to rue a series of glaring misses in front of goal. The Turin side had dominated the match and looked like coasting to victory after Torrisi was dismissed for the foul which led to Del Piero's penalty, and Baggio followed his teammate off the pitch in the 77th minute. But with the match deep into stoppage time, Serie A's top scorer Crespo dribbled into the area, slipped past Ciro Ferrara and beat Dutch 'keeper Edwin Van Der Sar with a diagonal shot for his 12th goal of the season. Sunday 16th January LECCE v PARMA Lecce 0 Parma 0 Eeks, sorry folks - but I have had other things on my mind - and by the time I got around to doing this, all the team lists and things had disappeared off of all the websites! So, have no real idea who was in the team. Let me try to remember though. OK, there was Buffon, of course - and Fabio and Lilian. Then there was Benarrivo and Serena (I often think that perhaps I could do the job as well as him!) Midfield comprised of Walem, Dabo (who I cannot rate for I do not know him - but he looks kinda useless), Vanoli - and I can't honestly recall the other - Longo perhaps. Up front, we had Crespo and Di Vaio. (I don't know why, but my cursor's disappeared!) When I looked at the Rai teletext, I cursed that Ortega had not started once again - and muttered something about whether Amoroso was YET AGAIN injured. But, it turns out that they both had flu. So perhaps can forgive that! At first glance, a 0-0 draw seems pretty awful, considering we really might've won this game in order to creep up on our rivals a little - but Lazio also only drew, so not so bad. We are STEADY, that is the word!!! So, that's all - know nothing else! Oh, but that we have dropped to 4th, just below Roma on goal difference. Ciao! Sunday 23rd January PARMA v PERUGIA Parma 1 Perugia 2 Tonight was Hernan's 100th Serie A appearance - and he marked it by having a hair cut!! (Am glad - I like long hair, but it just didn't suit Hernan!). Can you believe we LOST to these?!?!? These who have conceded 13 goals in their last 3 games - and scored NONE?????? (And they have a player called Hilario for goodness sake!!!) They (Parma) blamed FOG!! They blamed a 10 minute period of descending fog, during which Perugia scored twice! I love it!!!! Yikes, this is APPALLING! I hear people say that we played well - but, in all honesty, how could we have??? Ortega's last minute goal was far too late. Why couldn't WE have scored during the FOG??? And where was Vanoli?? WHY did Lassissi come on for Benarrivo when we were 2-0 down?? Questions, questions . . . . We are now 6th. Oh, and Amoroso is going to be out again with that ankle of his. He makes me really sick! And to think we let Udinese have Fiore!! GRRRHHHHH! Teams PARMA: Buffon, Thuram, F. Cannavaro, Sartor, Serena (Walem 66'), Benarrivo (Lassissi 70'), Longo, Ortega, Crespo, Di Vaio PERUGIA: Mazzantini, Calori, Ripa, Monaco, Hilario, Milanese (booked), Bisoli (booked), Tedesco, Olive (Sogliano 46'), Melli (Esposito 75'), Amoruso GOALSCORERS: Calori 25', Olive 34', Ortega 89' Sunday 30th January BOLOGNA v PARMA Bologna 1 Parma 0 Here's what Malesani had to say about this game: "We need to accept this result calmly and react positively to it. Our task now is to get back the side we lost somewhere en route between last year and this." And Crespo: "We did what we could to score, but we were unlucky." This is very disappointing again - but not so disappointing as last week's result (almost come to expect it now!), because Bologna are always difficult for us to play. However, HOW ARE WE MEANT TO WIN THE SCUDETTO IF WE KEEP LOSING?!?!?! Nah, I haven't given up yet - but nearly! We're EIGHT points adrift! Teams and Things BOLOGNA-PARMA 1-0 SCORERS: 48' Bia BOLOGNA (3-5-2): Pagliuca, Falcone, Bia, Dal Canto, Nervo (81' Eriberto), Piacentini, Paramatti, Marocchi (76' Ingesson), Tonetto, Fontolan (90' Zè Elias), Andersson (Subs: Eriberto, Ingesson, Orlandoni Boselli, Zè Elias, Gamberini, Kolyvanov). Coach. Guidolin PARMA (3-5-2): Buffon, Sartor, Thuram, Cannavaro F., Serena (86' Walem), Dabo, Longo, Vanoli (68' Di Vaio), Ortega, Crespo, Stanic. (Subs: Micillo, Cannavaro P., Lassissi, Walem, Breda, Benarrivo, Di Vaio). Coach. Malesani Yellow cards: 32' Stanic, 38' Paramatti, 41' Marocchi, 47' Tonetto, 70' Ortega, 90' Falcone, 93' Cannavaro Referee: De Santis Referee's assistants: Galvani and Mazzei Monday 31st January Forget the last two games - some GOOD news for once!! It's the last day of the transfer window in Italy - and we managed to farm Serena off to Inter in exchange for PAULO SOUSA!!!! Not a bad deal, imo!! Of course, it's only a loan deal - but who knows, if Sousa fits in!! He is coming primarily to stand in for Boghossian. Just hope HE keeps injury free! Oh, and our Dino got married today! The bride wore red trousers apparently! Sunday 7th February PARMA v INTER Parma 1 Inter 1 Whoops! I am VERY late in doing this! My apologies to anybody who actually reads this stuff - been busy with other things, you see! Well, we got this match live on Channel 4 and it was nice to see a decent crowd and a new pitch!! Sousa was in the starting line-up (although I do not personally think he contributed an awful lot to the game - but give the boy time!) and Serena was on "their" bench!! In the first half, we were by far the better team and how on earth we went in at half-time with the score 0-0 confounds me! However, Inter came alive a bit more in the second half (although, we were still the better team by quite a margin) and scored through Vieri (simple, opportunist - some might say a good goal, but not me! :)) It was one of the most frustrating games I have ever watched. We should have won it 3 or 4-1! But could we get that ball past the stevedour?!?!? 5 minutes into injury-time, we got a penalty! Not sure whether it actually should've been a penalty, but it was the least we deserved! (Well done, Mario - nice hair!) Could barely watch, remembering Hernan's last penalty kick against Roma - but he scored! Such a relief!! No chance of the scudetto now though, me thinks. :( Parma (3-5-2): Buffon 6, Sartor 6, Thuram 6.5, Lassissi 6.5, Fuser 7, Dabo 6.5, Sousa 6 (28' st Longo), D.Baggio 5.5 (36' st Di Vaio), Benarrivo 6 (25' st Walem 6), Crespo 5, Stanic 6.5. (22 Micillo, 24 Vanoli, 28 P.Cannavaro, 4 Breda). Coach: Malesani 6. Inter (4-3-3): Peruzzi 7, Panucci 5.5, Simic 6.5, Blanc 6.5, Cordoba 6.5, Cauet 6, Seedorf 6.5 (40' st Georgatos), Zanetti 6, Moriero 5 (1' st Di Biagio 6), Vieri 6.5, Recoba 6 (17' st R. Baggio 6). (22 Ferron, 3 Colonnese, 6 Serena, 16 Mutu):Coach: Lippi 5.5. Referee: Collina di Viareggio 5.5. Booked: Cordoba, Sartor, Benarrivo and Cauet for fouls. Vieri for protesting; Crowd: 29.000 Sunday 13th February LAZIO v PARMA Lazio 0 Parma 0 Something a little different today!! Certain people on the Parma list don't seem to think that it's much fun watching Rai teletext on a Sunday evening. They tend to think that watching the game on TV is preferable. Well, I have news for them!!! This proves just how exciting it can be - oh yes!! Ortega didn't play (wasn't even on the bench) apparently because he's had words with Malesani and is definitely out the door at the end of the season. (Now, there's a surprise!) I suppose we did quite well to hold Lazio to a draw - and, heck, we didn't concede anything - but I do wonder why Di Vaio didn't play in place of Mario. It would've made more sense imo. We're ten points off the top. Oh, well. Sunday 20th February VERONA v PARMA Verona 4 Parma 3 Parma, Parma, Parma - what are you doing??? We were winning 1-3 at half-time and then Dino got sent off and we went totally to pot! It shouldn't have been though - we can't blame Dino entirely (even although he was stupid). This is just TERRIBLE. I have nothing else to say. I could put in photos of our lads scoring, but they don't deserve it. Sorry, I am totally mystified by the seeming lack of character that now appears to exist in the squad and the defence appears to be a shambles all of a sudden. Today is a depressing day! Verona (4-3-1-2): Frey 6, Diana 5.5, Franceschetti 5,5, Apolloni 6, Falsini 6, Brocchi 6.5, Marasco 6.5, Colucci 7, Morfeo 8, Adailton 5.5 (1' st Melis 7), Cossato 6 (26' st Cammarata). (1 Battistini, 6 Gonella, 15 Italiano, 19 Salvetti, 25 Romano). Coach: Cesare Pradelli 7. Parma (3-5-2): Buffon 5.5, Thuram 6, Lasissi 4, F.Cannavaro 5.5, Fuser 6, Dabo 5.5 (24' st Di Vaio), Walem 6, Baggio 4, Bennarivo 6, Crespo 6, Stanic 6 (18' st Longo 5.5). (12 Guardalben, 2 Sartor, 4 Breda, 10 Ortega, 28 P. Cannavaro). Coach: Alberto Malesani 5. Referee: Paparesta di Bari 7. Corners: 3 - 2 per il Verona. Note - espulso Dino Baggio al 7' st per una gomitata a Brocchi; ammonito Dabo per gioco scorretto; spettatori: 15.905. Saturday 26th February PARMA v FIORENTINA Parma 0 Fiorentina 4 Well, if we thought that last week's defeat was bad - how about this one??? I have no words to say. Heck, Fior have been very poor themselves lately - and they didn't even play Batigol today!!! Malesani says he's not quitting - well, not sure whether that's the right attitude there, Alberto! You have to take some responsibility here I would think - like shifting the lads off to some military-like-run establishment during the week - that sure helped didn't it?!? We are still too offensive, imo. Offensive! Hah, what am I saying?? Well, we have an offensive looking line-up - but these kids can't seem to be able to score for toffees. Meantime, we leave HUGE gaps at the back. From the beginning of the season it was obvious that we needed a replacement for Sensini. We are SO short of defenders. Lassissi is chronic. AND we needed another forward as soon as it was discovered that our big buy, Amoroso was crook. I think we might get slaughtered by Werder Bremen on Tuesday. Parma (3-5-2): Buffon 5, Sartor 4.5, Thuram 5, Lassissi 4 (26' st Vanoli), Fuser 4, Dabo 5, Sousa 6, Longo 5 (35' st Walem), Benarrivo 5.5 (1' st Ortega 5), Crespo 4, Di Vaio 4.5. (12 Guardalben, 18 Maini, 4 Breda, 13 Stanic). Coach: Malesani 5. Fiorentina (3-5-2): Toldo 7, Repka 6, Adani 6.5, Pierini 6.5, Torricelli 6.5, Cois 6 (37' st Rossitto), Rui Costa 7.5 (39' st Okon), Amoroso 6.5, Di Livio 6 (22' st Tarozzi), Balbo 7, Mijatovic 6.5. (12 Taglialatela, 6 Firicano, 21 Bressan, 37 Vakouftsis). Coach: Trapattoni 7. Referee: Farina di Novi Ligure 6.5. Bookings: Ortega and Sousa. Crowd: 20.000. Sunday 5th March PARMA v REGGINA Parma 3 Reggina 0 Phew! That's a relief!! I was getting that I had to breathe in and out of a paper bag before daring to check the teletext!!! :) If we could just keep this up somehow, then we still have (remote) possibilities of a CL spot. Still very, very nervous about Thursday's game against Werder though. That'll be the most important game of the season so far, imho. Pics! You deserve it this week, boys!! (Thanks to Rai!) The short and the long of it! :) (psst! If you can bear to spend more time downloading pics, have a squiz HERE for a cutesy pic of Beckham which I found on a Liverpool fan's page!) Parma (3-4-3): Buffon 6, Sartor 6.5, Thuram 6, Cannavaro F. 7, Fuser 6.5, Sousa 6.5 (17' St Dabo Sv), D.Baggio 6.5 (34' St Breda Sv), Vanoli 5.5, Ortega 6.5, Crespo 6.5, Stanic 6 (1' St Di Vaio 5.5) (12 Guardalben, 3 Benarrivo, 28 P.Cannavaro, 25 Walem). Coach: Malesani 6,5. Reggina (3-4-1-2): Taibi 5.5 (1' St Belardi 7), Cirillo 5, Stovini 6, Giacchetta 5.5, Foglio 5.5 (29' St Reggi Sv), Brevi 5 (22' St Vargas Sv), Baronio 6.5, Morabito 5.5, Pirlo 5, Kallon 6, Possanzini 5. (19 Oshadogan, 10 Cozza, 23 Bernini, 29 Pralija). Coach: Colomba 5.5. Referee: Paparesta di Bari 6.5. Bookings: none Crowd: 18 mila circa (*about* 18,000 - don't they have a means of counting them?!?) Sunday 12th March BARI v PARMA Bari 0 Parma 1 Amoroso (back in style) scores our winning goal I know nothing much about this game, I'm afraid. I didn't even check the teletext, which is unforgiveable perhaps - but I was out! :) Anyway, looks like Amoroso is starting to earn his money (what's that so far - about £12m per goal?!). Nice to see him back - but it seems that we had lots of other "new" injuries, which is puzzling. Why do our players seem to be so puny?? Well, it's nice to win (especially with such a hotch-potch line-up) - and yes, well - I suppose we have a chance of qualifying for Europe now - but I still feel as though the season's over already. Bari (1-2-5-2-): Mancini 6, De Rosa 6, Garzya 6,5, Neqrouz 5,5, Collauto sv (25' pt Olivares 5,5), Perrotta 5,5, Andersson 6, Markic 5,5, Marcolini 6 (9' st Cassano 6,5), De Gregorio 5,5, Spinesi 6 (17' st Del Grosso 5). (30 Gregori, 6 Ferrari, 15 Bellavista, 21 Giorgetti). Coach: Fascetti 6. Parma (3-5-2): Buffon 7, Sartor 6, Thuram 6,5, Benarrivo 6, Breda 6, Dabo 6,5, Baggio sv (33' pt Bolano 6), Vanoli 6,5, Walem 6,5, Amoroso 6,5 (32' st Di Vaio 5,5), Crespo 6 (21' st Stanic 6). (12 Guardalben, 23 Zoboli, 28 P.Cannavaro, 32 Saccani). Coach: Malesani 6,5. Referee: Trentalange of Torino 6,5 Corners: 6-2 per il Bari Bookings: Vanoli, Sartor, Dabo Crowd: 30.000 (exactly??) LOOK AT THIS!!!!! WHAT IS IT?!?!?! Forget about cloning pigs - what *IS* this that our boys are meant to be wearing next season?!?!?!? They'll be a laughing stock!! (Excuse me and "sorry" for hawking this pic of your site Mattia - but it was kinda important! :)) Oh, no!! I've just read the email again!! It's not from next season at all - it's from 2nd APRIL - against Milan!!! I have to have a lay down!! Sunday 19th March PARMA v PIACENZA Parma 1 Piacenza 0 By all accounts, we were terrible. Still, 3 points are 3 points and that helps us enormously in trying to get that CL spot, Roma and Milan both having lost. Still, Piacenza are way bottom of Serie A and we could only manage to score with a penalty! And, fortunately, Piacenza missed the penalty they got! Parma (3-4-3): Buffon 6, F.Cannavaro 5.5, Thuram 6.5, Benarrivo 6, Fuser 6, Dabo 5 (14'st Walem 6), Breda 5, Vanoli 5, Ortega 5, Crespo 6, Amoroso 5.5 (20' St Stanic Sv). (12 Guardalben, 28 P.Cannavaro, 23 Zoboli, 37 Fabbi, 20 Di Vaio). Coach: Alberto Malesani 5. Piacenza (1-3-4-2): Roma 6, Lucarelli 6 (26' St Buso Sv), Delli Carri 6, Vierchowod 6, Polonia 6, Sacchetti 6, Cristallini 6 (37' St Morrone Sv), Mazzola 6, Lamacchi 6, Di Napoli 4, Gilardino 5.5. (12 Nicoletti, 21 Manighetti, 26 Statuto, 11 Rizzitelli, 20 Piovani). Coach: Daniele Bernazzani 6. Referee: Rodomonti of Teramo 6.5. Corners: 4-2 for Parma. Bookings: Dabo, Lucarelli, Ortega. Crowd: 18.000 (as usual!) CAGLIARI v PARMA Cagliari 2 Parma 3 Say what you like about Parma, but they ain't dull!!! We were winning 2-0 after only 4 minutes! Still leading 2-0 at half-time - and yet we somehow managed to let Cagliari come back at us and level the score at 2-2 during the second half! Thank goodness for Mario who scored our winner on 80 minutes! This is more like it though, Parma! Four wins in a row! 5th spot now (thanks to Roma losing to Lazio) - and still in with a shout of a CL spot. One question. Who on earth is Zoboli (bench)???? Ah! Diego, Marcio and Mario!! What I like most though about these pictures are the expressions on the "crowd's" faces and the hands on heads!!~ Cagliari: Scarpi 5,5, Lopez 5,5 (32' st Diliso), Villa 5,5, Zebina 6,5, Macellari 6, Mayele 4 (37' pt Corradi 6), Berretta 6, O'Neill 5,5, De Patre 6, Mboma 5,5, Oliveira 6. (12 Franzone, 31 Bianconi, 24 Modesto, 18 Abeijon, 10 Ametrano). Coach: Ulivieri 5,5. Parma: Buffon 6,5, F.Cannavaro 6,5, Thuram 6,5, Benarrivo 6, Sartor 6, Fuser 6,5, Dabo 6 (36' st Walem), Bolano 6, Vanoli 6, Crespo 7, Amoroso 6 (15' st Stanic 6) (12 Guardalben, 28 Cannavaro P., 23 Zoboli, 4 Breda, 20 Di Vaio). Coach: Malesani 6,5. Referee: Treossi of Forli' 6 Corners: 7-5 per il Cagliari Sent off: 36' st Gianfranco Matteoli for protesting Bookings: De Patre, Bolano, Mboma, Diliso, Macellari Crowd: 18,000 (c'mon Rai Sport!!! Wherever did you get that figure from!! It's always 18,000 it seems!!!) PARMA v MILAN Parma 1 Milan 0 Well, thank you Mr Day!!!!! Perhaps you will be lucky for us! I listened to this on the Real Player in Italian. Some of it I understood and it sounded an excellent game and one in which we had plenty of chances - however, some of those who actually saw the game seem to think otherwise. But we BEAT Milan, that's what counts and we are now joint 3rd with them and Inter!! (Ignore those who say we are 5th on goal-difference!). Thank you Hernan! You know, if a MIRACLE happened - we could even WIN it still! :)) Oh, I just noticed! Looks like Jose Marie got injured seeing as he was subbed on 7 minutes! How did that happen, I wonder?!? Nothing to do with Lassissi, I don't suppose! :) Parma (3-5-2): Buffon 7, F.Cannavaro 7.5, Thuram 7, Benarrivo 7, Fuser 6 (32' st Lassissi), Bolano 7, Sousa 6 (38' st Stanic 6), Dabo 6 (28' st Breda), Vanoli 6, Crespo 7, Amoroso 6. (12 Guardalben, 28 P.Cannavaro, 25 Walem, 20 Di Vaio). Coach: Malesani 6. Milan (3-5-2): Abbiati 6, Chamot 6, Costacurta 6, Maldini 6, Helveg 5 (25' st Serginho), Giunti 6, Albertini 5.5 (30' Leonardo), Ambrosini 6.5, Guly 6, Jose' Mari (7' pt Bierhoff 6.5), Shevchenko 5.5. (40 Fiori, 14 Ayala, 8 Gattuso, 15 De Ascentiis). Coach: Zaccheroni 6. Referee: Collina of Viareggio 6. Corners: 2-2. Yellow cards: Helveg, Giunti, Benarrivo per gioco scorretto Crowd: 25.919. TORINO 2 PARMA 2 Saturday 8th April I think that this is the first time we've played on a Saturday afternoon all season - might be wrong there though. Anyway, the darned radio broadcast didn't work - and there was no text on Rai - I beleive that the reporters are on strike. This follows (the strike) because there appear to be no reports on either Rai or the Gazetta websites. So, had to rely on Eurosport to bring the news of the game. Of all the players in the world to damned well equalise (and only a minute after Amoroso's goal which put us in the lead - asleep were we, Fabio . . . Lilian . . ?!) it had to be Andrea Silenzi!!!!! The ex-goal-whiz from Nottingham Forest! I never thought he'd ever get another team - let alone score against US!! :) Initially, it seemed a bit of a blow to "only" get that draw in the Delli Alpi - but, later, when Udinese did us a huge favour and beat Inter - it doesn't seem to bad. We remain in 3rd spot! For some reason though, I am feeling tense. We that CL spot in our pockets; can we hold on to it? Torino 2-2 Parma Sommese 19, Silenzi 75; Crespo 51, Amoroso 74 Torino (3-5-2) Bucci; Bonomi, Grandoni, Galante; Sommese (Coco 66), Diawara (Tricarico 46), Pecchia, Jurcic, Lentini (Silenzi 66); Ferrante, Pinga Subs not used Nista, Minotti, Crippa, Ivic Parma (3-5-2) Buffon; Cannavaro, Thuram, Benarrivo; Fuser, Bolano (Stanic 46), Sousa (Baggio 46), Dabo (Walem 90), Vanoli; Crespo, Amoroso Subs not used Guardalben, Lassissi, Breda, Di Vaio Referee Treossi (Forlì) Linesmen Gregori, Gini Fourth official Puglisi Bookings Pecchia 26, Galante 36, Grandoni 79, Ferrante 86, Pinga 89; Bolano 17, Dabo 44, Amoroso 84 PARMA 3 VENEZIA 1 Sunday 16th April Ooh, boys - you kept us waiting!!! I listened to this from the Official Parma site again - and was becoming resigned to a miserable draw - when up popped Hernan with that fabuloso second goal of his a minute from time! Course, Marco added a third, but the job was already done - and we are alone in 3rd spot! This is great, but I can't help wondering *if only* we hadn't had those yukky phases, then that scudetto could really well and truly have been ours! Still, if Lazio can just do us a big favour and start dropping oodles of points like they did at this stage of last season - then we could grab 2nd spot still - but it's not quite the same, is it?? Wow!! Yup, you can rejoice after that one, Hernan! Teams Parma 3 (Crespo 32', 89' - Di Vaio 91') Venezia 1 (Budan 19') Parma (3-4-3): Buffon 6.5, F.Cannavaro 5.5, Thuram 6.5, Benarrivo 6, Fuser 6, Baggio 6.5, Walem 6 (27' st Bolano 6.5), Vanoli 5 (38' st Sartor sv), Stanic 6, Crespo 7.5, Amoroso 5.5 (18' st Di Vaio 6). (12 Guardalben, 23 Zoboli, 4 Breda, 18 Maini). Coach: Malesani 6. Venezia (4-4-2): Benussi 5, Carnasciali 6.5, Bilica 5.5, N'Gotty 6, Bettarini 5.5, Valtolina 6.5 (41' st Ganz sv), Iachini 5.5 (14' st Maldonado 6), Volpi 6, Pedone 6, Maniero 5, Budan 6 (21' st Ginestra 5). (30 Bison, 5 Luppi, 25 Ibertsberger, 21 Berg). Coach: Oddo 5.5. Referee: Trentalange of Torino 6.5 Corners: 6-3 for Parma Bookings: Bilica, Valtolina, Iachini, Benussi, Maniero, Benarrivo, Pedone Crowd: 18.000 circa (!) ROMA 0 PARMA 0 Saturday 22nd April Listened to this on the radio again! I kept losing the transmission, so couldn't follow most of what was going on, so have little comment to make about the game as a whole. However, a point away to Roma is really good - and we are still in with an excellent chance of a CL place! Pity Milan won and have put us back to 4th place on goal difference. Don't slack boys! After this great unbeaten run of 8 games - we deserve a CL place!! Teams Roma (3-4-1-2): Antonioli 6.5, Rinaldi 6, Aldair 6, Zago 5.5, Cafu 7, Tommasi 7, Assuncao 6.5, Di Francesco 6, Totti 6.5, Delvecchio 6, Montella 5 (12 Lupatelli, 20 Mangone, 19 Gurenko, 4 Zanetti, 13 Blasi, 8 Nakata, 18 Poggi). Coach: Capello 6. Parma (3-5-2): Buffon 6.5, Sartor 5.5., Thuram 6.5, Cannavaro 6, Fuser sv (16 pt Paulo Sousa 5.5.), Bolano 5.5, Dabo 5.5. (25' st Stanic 6), Baggio 6 (40' st Maini sv), Vanoli 5, Amoroso 5, Crespo 6.5 (12 Guardalben, 23 Zoboli, 4 Breda, 20 Di Vaio). Coach: Malesani 6. Referee: Rosetti of Torino 5.5 Corners: 6-1 to Roma Bookings: Tommasi, Totti, Amoroso Crowd: 58.006. PARMA 0 UDINESE 0 Sunday 30th April Oh. Crespo has lost his scoring boots, hasn't he? He stated (in order not to put the gallopers on himself) that he wouldn't score again this season. But then again, they've all lost their scoring boots. Tragically, we slip to 5th, as both Milan and Inter gained 3 points and whoop above us. There have been plenty of lows this season, but I gotta say, this is one of the biggest(?). If there's no CL to look forward to next season then what?? UEFA? Yeah, I guess - but we've done that so many times already! Well anyway, I listened to this match on the radio and it did sound like we had plenty of chances and that Turci was having a game to remember - but I am still so very disappointed. Teams Parma (3-5-2): Buffon 6, Sartor 6.5, Thuram 6.5, F.Cannavaro 6, Stanic 6, Bolano 6, Sousa 6, Dabo 5.5 (32' st Walem 6), Benarrivo 6 (19' st Vanoli 5.5), Crespo 6, Amoroso 5.5 (20' st Di Vaio 5). (12 Guardalben, 6 Lassissi, 28 P.Cannavaro, 18 Maini). Coach: Malesani 5.5. Udinese (3-5-2): Turci 7, Genaux 5.5 (6' st Zanchi 6), Sottil 7, Bertotto 6, Alberto 6, Fiore 6 (35' st Locatelli), Giannichedda 6, Van Der Vegt 5,5, Bisgaard 5.5, Muzzi 6 (40' st Sosa), Warley 5. (22 De Sanctis, 30 Zamboni, 25 Pineda, 18 Esposito). Coach: De Canio 6. Referee: Borriello of Mantova 5. Corners: 9-1 to Parma (NINE!!! Don't we have any tall men to head in from corners?? No, s'pose we don't) Bookings: Giannichedda, Wan Der Vegt, Alberto, Muzzi, Crespo and Amoroso Crowd: 20.000 about. (The usual!!) Note: "Dabo 5.5" Who is he and why do they play him?? JUVENTUS 1 PARMA 0 Sunday 8th May We were robbed! OK, so Del Piero scored his first goal in open play since goodness knows how long - thanks to a spot of sloppy defending. BUT, Cannavaro scored a header from a corner, near the end of the game - but the referee disallowed it for an infringement on Ferrara. No way! The highlights shown on Channel 4 (good of them - my they have been very poor this season) - repeated this incident many times from all different angles - and no way was there a foul!! Because of other results (mainly that Inter lost) what this means is that, instead of simply needing to go out and beating Lecce next weekend to secure a CL place (albeit a playoff place) - then we are up against Milan, Inter and Roma for the two remaining spots - and anything could happen!! It's rather complicated, but what matters is that we do go out and WIN - and hope that results go well for us elsewhere. Teams Juventus (3-4-1-2): Van der Sar; Ferrara, Montero, Iuliano (68' Tudor); Conte, Tacchinardi (83' Zambrotta), Davids, Pessotto; Zidane; Inzaghi (86' Kovacevic), Del Piero - Coach: Ancelotti Parma (3-5-2): Buffon; Sartor, F.Cannavaro, Thuram; Fuser (46' Stanic), Bolaño, Baggio, Benarrivo (67' Di Vaio), Vanoli; Crespo, Amoroso - Coach: Malesani Referee: De Santis Scorer: 60' Del Piero Yellow cards: Tudor, Bolaño (Thanks to Mattia and Anya's website for the teams! :) For some reason, Rai have not included them in their report this week.) PARMA 4 LECCE 1 Sunday 14th May Di Vaio M. 2'pt Stanic M. 9'st Crespo H.12'st Lucarelli C. 26'st Stanic M. 42'st So, the end of the season? No, not quite!! While Lazio were gliding to an easy victory in Roma and Juve bowing out of lo scudetto in a flooded Perugia, Parma quietly went about their business and destroyed Lecce. We did our bit. However, unfortunately, Inter did their bit too - and as we finished on equal points (table below), we have to play a play-off game with them to decide who will get the 4th CL place. The game will be a one-off, next Monday or Tuesday - and will be at a neutral venue - most probably Verona. Eek, so more nail-biting!! Parma celebrated 10 years in Seria A by wearing a special shirt - based on the original "crusader" type they used to wear. I reckon it's dead cool! Wish we could wear it again!! Note also that Paolo Cannavaro came on to replace his older brother. Is that a first, I wonder? Mario and Hernan celebrate in style(ish shirts) Teams Parma (3-5-2): Buffon 6, Sartor 6.5 (22' st Lassissi sv), Thuram 7.5, F.Cannavaro 6.5 (37' st P.Cannavaro sv), Stanic 7, Bolano 6.5 (18' st Maini sv), Preda 6, D.Baggio 6.5, Benarrivo 6.5, Crespo 5.5, Di Vaio 6. (12 Guardalben, 25 Walem, 32 Saccani, 37 Fabbi). Coach Malesani 6. Lecce (3-5-2): Chimenti 6.5 (31' st Aiardi sv), Juarez 5 (25' st Pivotto sv), Viali 5.5, Savino 5.5, Balleri 5.5, Conticchio 5, Casanova 5, Bonomi 6, Colonnello 5.5, Lucarelli 6 (28' st Traversa sv), Sesa 6.5. (14 Sadotti, 18 Marino, 11 Biliotti, 20 Cipriani). Coach Bortoletto 6. Referee: Rodomonti di Teramo 5.5. Corners: 4-3 to Lecce. Sent off: Conticchio on 38' pt for two yellow cards. Booking: Viali Crowd: 18.000. Note: al termine della partita pacifica invasione di campo dei tifosi del Parma e del Lecce. Ha esordito in serie A Paolo Cannavaro, 19 anni, non ancora compiuti. So there! I think this is about the fans invading the pitch. What it says about Paolo Cannavoro is not so guessworthy! Final Standings Final standings P W D L F A Pts 1. Lazio 34 21 9 4 64 33 72 2. Juventus 34 21 8 5 46 20 71 3. AC Milan 34 16 13 5 65 40 61 4. Inter Milan 34 17 7 10 58 36 58 5. Parma 34 16 10 8 52 37 58 6. AS Roma 34 14 12 8 57 34 54 7. Fiorentina 34 13 12 9 48 38 51 8. Udinese 34 13 11 10 55 45 50 9. Verona 34 10 13 11 40 45 43 10. Perugia 34 12 6 16 36 52 42 11. Reggina 34 9 13 12 31 42 40 12. Bologna 34 9 13 12 32 39 40 13. Lecce 34 10 10 14 33 49 40 14. Bari 34 10 9 15 34 48 39 15. Torino 34 8 12 14 35 47 36 16. Venezia 34 6 8 20 30 60 26 17. Cagliari 34 3 13 18 29 54 22 18. Piacenza 34 4 9 21 19 45 21 Champions - Lazio Champions League - Juventus, AC Milan and either Parma or Inter Milan UEFA Cup - AS Roma and Fiorentina Relegated - Torino, Venezia, Cagliari and Piacenza Postscript Well, Parma lost the CL playoff to Inter. Lost it badly (3-1). I don't have time to write much on it - but, in a way, I am glad we did not get through. With the team we have right now, I reckon we wouldn't have got through the qualifier anyway - and that would've been even more disappointment. The UEFA Cup again though *sigh* :( We need new players, Mr Tanzi!! Desperately! Riku Soinenen's Table Back [homepage ] [ introduction ] [ index ] [ poems ] [ ac parma ] [ everton fc ] [ spanish football ] [ seattle sounders ] [ fantasy football ] [ football autographs ] [ football grounds ] [ football ground addresses ] [ personal, messages, horoscope ] [ plymouth, devon, cornwall ] [ bookmarks ] [ fruit dance ]