We’re in deep trouble
By: Francesco |
14 Comments
Just as things couldn’t get any worse, they did. More after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: We’re in Trouble
By: Francesco | 4 Comments
Today’s loss to Napoli was a bad one. More after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
Loss to Juve, didn’t expect much anyway.
By: Francesco | 3 Comments
Parma lost to Juventus 3-0, but it was a game that the Gialloblu’ were not really expecting much anyway.
Draw with Empoli before the big game tomorrow v. Juve
By: Francesco | 6 Comments
Parma drew with Empoli 1-1 at the Stadio Carlo Castellani in the basement brawl on Sunday.
Highlights:
We took the lead after Budan backheeled it to Gasbarroni, who crossed it for Lucarelli and the man from Livorno headed it in. After that we almost made it 2-0, Cigarini crossed it in and Lucarelli did a scissor kick but it hit the post. Empoli came back with a great goal from “The Atomic Ant” Sebastian Giovinco, who weaved through two defenders and then drilled it past a helpless Bucci. After that both teams were afraid to lose and each went home with a point.
We now go to Torino to take on Juventus in the make up fixture tomorrow. The Coop said that he doesn’t want the squad getting tired, so tomorrow we will see lots of players resting and lots of players who normally sit on the bench getting some playing time.
The predicted formation is:
Bucci; Zenoni, Couto, Rossi, Antonelli; Dessena, Parravicini, Mariga; Reginaldo, Morfeo, Corradi
It’s a tough encounter but if we pull off a shock win we would jump over two teams and move out of the relegation zone into 14th place. Even a tie wouldn’t be that bad.
The game will be on live on Raitalia (Rai International changed their name) and Fox Soccer Channel.
The most famous Juve-Parma is when Crespo scored a hat-trick in the 98/99 season and we won 4-2:
AVANTI CROCIATI
Quick News and Notes
By: Francesco | 1 Comment
Some quick Parma news and notes:
-Andrea Pisanu’s season is over. He had to have a knee operation and will be back next season. Pisanu was one of our most consistent performers this season and will be an essential part of the squad for next season.
-Lazio want Luca Cigarini (pictured to your left). Lazio president Claudio Lotito probably saw him play vs. Lazio and said to himself - “This kid’s good, I must have him!” Too bad he doesn’t know he’s 75% a Juve player next season. Supposedly Lazio would offer us some loans:
Fernando Muslera- yeah right, why don’t we just play with nobody in net next season.
Aleksandar Kolarov- yes please, this kid is the Serbian Roberto Carlos. His left foot is a cannon.
Riccardo Bonetto- no thanks. stop trying to give us your Serie B caliber players. Better off staying at Bologna.
Mourad Meghni- One of the many players dubbed as the “Next Zidane”. Unfortunately he never lived up to his billing, and I don’t think he ever will.
Simone Del Nero- A very technical player, wouldn’t be a bad option. Problem is he’s always injured.
-However Cigarini then said that he would love to stay, because the most important thing for a young player is to get playing time, and big club would not guarantee that.
-We just started a new soccer school in China, in Shanghai to be exact, and 1982 World Cup winner and now TV analyst Beppe Dossena is looking over the project. Chinese youth players from 7-19 years of age will be in the school and obviously the most promising players will make the trip to the peninsula. Also something tells me Ghirardi did this for the Chinese food.
Next game is a relegation battle vs. Empoli. I’ll get a preview up within a day or two.
Parma-Lazio 2-2, not a bad result
By: Francesco | Add Comments
Sorry I’ve been really busy, so I’ll just put up the highlights:
I’ll get up a better post later.
Parma-Lazio preview
By: Francesco | 1 Comment
After the tragic incident last weekend, where 28 year old Parma fan Matteo Bagnaresi was hit by a Juventus fan coach and tragically killed, Parma get back on the pitch at the Tardini to take on the blue side from Rome.
The Juventus game will be replayed on April 16th at the Stadio Olimpico in Torino.
Now we must focus on Lazio, a side who has had a disappointing season after a brilliant campaign last year, where they wound up finishing 3rd place, even after a points deduction. This season they have been very inconsistent, and are languishing mid-table, away from the European spots. However now they seem to be on a good run of form, beating Roma in the derby 3-2 with a last minute winner from Valeron Behrami, and drawing Inter 1-1 at home. They are a team that have quality players and if the are on form they are tough to handle. For more Lazio news, read Salvatore’s thoughts at the Lazio Offside blog.
Now on to the Gialloblu’ side of things. It looks like The Coop will go with the formation made famous by Milan, the Christmas Tree Formation (4-3-2-1). Lucarelli is out because of yellow card accumulation (the guy only arrived in January and he already got 5 yellow cards as a striker that most times came off the bench.) Coly is still unavailable, as is Mimmo Morfeo. It looks like we will start with Bucci in net, Zenoni-Paci-Falcone-Castellini as the defensive line, Mariga-Cigarini-Morrone in the center doing their best Gattuso-Pirlo-Ambrosini impressions, and Reginaldo and Gasbarroni supporting Igor Budan up front. It should be a good game, and Parma puts in some good performances at the Tardini. We need the three points, as we are on 29 points with Catania, Livorno, and resurgent Cagliari.
Here’s what happened when we played Lazio in November:
AVANTI CROCIATI!
Juve v Parma postponed, Parma fan tragically killed
By: Francesco | 6 Comments
Juve v. Parma was postponed after 28 year old Parma fan Matteo Bagnaresi was hit by a coach bus of Juve fans and died instantly. No other news has come out right now, but the way it’s described it seems to have been an accident.
RIP.
Ghirardi basically says Cigarini is going to Juve.
By: Francesco | 9 Comments
Usually there is tons of speculation of transfers during the season that most owners refute, but when an owner actually admits that something is happening, that’s when you to have to listen up.
Yesterday Turin-based newspaper Tuttosport (If you’re a Torino or Juve fan, read Tuttosport) asked Ghirardi if anything was happening with Luca Cigarini. Instead of saying what most owners would say, like “No, nothing, we’ll see at the end of the season”, he said: “It’s true, I just talked to Blanc (Juve director) yesterday. I want to forge a good relationship with Juventus. The personal relationship is already great, but I’m talking about possible transfers we can do together. Both clubs will gain something: We can give Juventus are young talents, and Juventus can give us players that don’t get enough playing time in Torino.”
So, it looks like Cigarini is a Juventus player for next season, especially with Ranieri there and all. Also, I wasn’t expecting the Gialloblu’ to keep hold of Ciga this summer anyway, so it is a big loss, but it’s expected. However, I liked what Ghirardi said in the second part. He wants Parma to be a Juventus feeder club. And that’s fine by me. Juventus has an excellent youth system that produces talented players, and they have good players that don’t get playing time and want to be loaned out. If we are going to become Juventus 2, be my guest.
And here’s my list of players that I’d want from Juventus (and don’t worry there is no ridiculous name like the return of Buffon or something):
1) Sebastian Giovinco - I can dream right? The U21 rising star will go back to Juventus camp this summer after his loan spell at Empoli. However, will Juventus really give him a first team chance next season, especially with all the talk that they want big stars? In the case that Juventus decides to send him out on loan for one more year we’d be the first choice club for him to go to. And how great it would be to have someone that makes the difference like Giovinco. Other fantasisti like Zola and Mutu floruished here, now it would be Giovinco’s turn.
2) Claudio Marchisio - With Cigarini gone, we would need a player to fill the central midfielder hole, and that would be Claudio Marchisio. Marchisio is another U21 star, and he’s the Juventus version of Daniele De Rossi. He is a strong center midfielder with excellent passing ability and technical skill with great defensive skills as well. It’s only a matter of time before he becomes one of the best midfielders in Italy. However Ranieri said earlier this year that Juve’s first reinforcement for next season would be Marchisio. Let’s see if he stands by his word.
3) Raffaele Palladino - If we don’t get Giovinco, the second choice would be Raffaele Palladino. Palladino is a former U21 starlet who can play as a support striker, playmaker, or on the wing. He is very talented with lots of skill and technique but he just lacks consistency, and that won’t get better if he never plays, which is his current situation. He would fit in well in a Cuper 4-4-2 and he already played with Lucarelli at Livorno. That’s a plus. The Juve fans call him “Raf Alladino” which means Aladdin, because he works magic with the ball.
4) Paolo De Ceglie - De Ceglie is an attacking left-back ala Zambrotta, and is a starter for the Italy U-21 team and for Siena in Serie A. He’s on loan but co-owned so it all depends if Juve really want him back. He is a very promising prospect and excellent at getting forward and crossing, and has good technical ability. He could be a good option for us.
5) Marco Marchionni - This is an idea. Marchionni was a standout with Parma before Juventus decided to snap him up before the 2006 World Cup. Unfortunately, the guy is always injured, so he never plays. Ranieri holds him in high regard, but depending on what Juventus do this summer I don’t think the explosive winger will get much of a chance next season, and a return to Parma would be a good idea.
6) Buffon - You know I had to say it.
PS- I found the Tommaso Ghirardi sex tape. Watch at your own risk:
I’ll get a Juve-Parma preview up tomorrow sometime.
Parma- 1 Good, 1 Bad
By: Francesco | 2 Comments
So I’m back from my trip to the Caribbean, where I met up with Tanzi and he showed me the bank where he hid all the Parmalat money. Another good thing was that the hotel had RAI International, so I got to see all the Serie A action on Wednesday and Saturday.
On Wednesday Parma got a great result, defeating Palermo 2-1 at home. Parma went down to 10 men early because McDonald Mariga was sent off, but the Gialloblu’ took the lead when a Gasbarroni free kick was sent in and Budan got his head on it. Cavani then tied it up for Palermo, he snuck in past the defense and finished calmly past Bucci. Then in the 90th minute it appeared that Dessena was fouled in the box (really I have to admit it was a little generous), and Budan stepped up and hit a perfect penalty to get Cuper his first win.
On Saturday Parma got a not so great result, losing to Siena 2-0, and the worst thing about it is that the 2 goals were conceded in the last 2 minutes. Granted, the penalty that Siena got in the 88th minute was a big gift (karma anyone?), Maccarone backed into Zenoni and fell down, and the ref pointed to the spot. Big Massimo Macaroni (English Premier League Commentator Pronunciation) stepped up and put it past Pavarini, who came on for an injured Bucci. Then 2 minutes later with Parma looking for an equalizer Siena went on the counter attack and Macaroni got his second goal of the game.
The next game is really tough, an away trip to Torino to take on Juventus, who are high flying after having beaten Inter away 2-1. This game will be really tough but with lots of hard work we can get a result. The last game vs. Juventus was that exciting 2-2 draw at the Tardini where Juventus fought back from 2-0 down to escape with a point.
The league table position is getting better. We are now on 29 points, tied with Catania, and only 2 points away from Torino. However on the other side of things we are two points away from the drop zone. This relegation battle will be very interesting.
I’ll get a Random Parma Video up this week.
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