Parma Calcio 1913 - An Italian Journey

[leckuno]

In 1999 a young Parma squad won the UEFA Cup which boasted one of the most exciting and young teams Italian football has seen in a long time. Starting with a young Buffon in goal, Lilian Thuram and Fabio Cannavaro in defence alongside the experience of Roberto Sensini who was the captain. Infront of the defence you then had Dino Baddio and Alain Boghossian. Down the wings were Diefo Fuser down the right and Paolo Vanoli with Jaun Sebastian Veron through the middle. Up top there was Hernan Crespo and Enrico Chiesa to bang in the goals.

Stefano Fiore, Fautino Asprilla and Abel Balbo also came off the bench as well in the final 20 minutes. Whats impressive about this is that every member of the squad who got game time in this final all made international appearances before they finished their career. Also what was impressive was that this was manager Alberto Malesani's first season in charge after taking over from former player Carlo Ancelotti.

Over the next few years the team was picked apart though before being declared insolvent in 2004. The club was reborn before being declared bankrupt in 2015. In July 2015 the club was reborn in its current reincarnation of Parma Calcio 1913 where it had to start again by joining the Serie D and working its way back up through the leagues. They got successful promotions and worked back to Serie A with back to back promotions. The hard work all starts now though as we try and get the team back to where they were 20 years ago ad its going to involve rebuilding the team and trying to stop the current Italian method of loads of loan players coming in. We will want to build a young and exciting team that the fans will want to come and see and hopefully take the league from Juventus.

The club are still playing at Stadio Ennio Tardini which has a capacity of 22,352. With the plan that we have in mind then we will hopefully be able to expand on this as we go and hopefully even build a new stadium.

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[leckuno]

The Beginning

As I was introduced to all the staff I knew there were going to be a lot of hard decisions to make around who was going to keep their job and who was going to be let go. It was made even harder that when I was getting to know them all they were telling me all about their families which made what happened next even harder to do.

With wanting the club to get back to where it use to be then we had to make the decision that was best for the club and that was to pretty much release every current member of the coaching, scouting and medical teams as they just weren't up to the standard that I wanted to be working with. There were a few sob stories and some tears as I had to have those tough conversations but I remained strong and cut the ties there and then. The hard work was now on to bring in my people that would be vital in taking this club back to the top again so we moved quickly to bring in a lot of people who were out of jobs beating off a lot of competition as we bring in 22 new staff members.

One of the most important people I managed to bring to the club is our new Head of Youth Development Filippo Galli who has won everything there is to win in League football during his time as a player at AC Milan but he also spent just shy of 10 years there as their Head of Youth Development bringing through a long list of players so I am very excited to have him.

Next I had to look at the playing squad and the first thing I noticed was the number of loan players we had at the club. We currently have 12 in total with 7 of them joining in future transfers over the next 2 years. This is something I want to stop at the club and look to have almost all of my players at the club on a permanent deal.

A lot of our permanent players were also older as well which is something we need to sort as we want a nice mix of youth and experience. I did let w players leave the club to free up some wages and were coming into the final year of their deals and let another leave on loan as I couldn't get anybody to buy him.

Alves may of been able to do a job for us but he wanted to leave for a final pay day so I was happy to oblige to free up his £25k wage bill.

For players coming in I looked to youth straight away at 2 positions I wanted to secure with talent for going forward and we bring in 3 players with 1 going straight into the first team

Rober is a young Spanish player who has bags of potential and with a £1,000,000 release clause it was a no brainier. Amad Traore is another young right winger who we bag from Atalanta for a compensation fee of £775,000. He was brought to my attention by my new scouting network so its good to see its already working. He ha dual nationality of Italian and Ivory Coast so it will be interesting to see who he chooses down the line. Finally we needed a new AMC and Almada was interested in joining so it was a no brainier for somebody who has bags of potential and could really succeed at the club.

Preseason was a successful one as we win every single one of our friendlies which should stand us in good stead going into the season. It also helped that we didn't try and overhaul the squad so they were able to bond well together and there wasn't new players coming in and team leaders leaving the club.

Being happy with how training has been going and with the squad at the moment the board have set some expectations which should be easy enough to meet for us.

We are certainly better than being in the relegation places come the end of the season and we should be mid table comfortably.

August/September

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[leckuno]

The Opening Games

I was confident of us hitting the ground running after preseason as we played our first competitive game in the Coppa Italia 3rd Qual. Rnd and we delivered as we run out well deserved winners to see us one round away from meeting expectations and we'll now face Friosinone in December.

The League then rolled around and I rallied the troops to go out and give their best and prove all the doubters wrong over the course of the season. We will not be going down without a fight. A trip to Torino was our first match and it didn't get off to a great start as we fell 1-0 behind in the 36th minute but luckily we got the equaliser 4 minutes later. In the 76th minute VAR came to our rescue and awarded us a penalty which Inglese scored to get us off to a winning start.

Next up was A.C Milan where we rushed to a 2-0 lead after 8 minutes thanks to two goals from Caprari. Ibrahaimovic then got two quick fire goals later in the first half befre Gagliolo was rulled onside by VAR in the final minute of the first half to ensure we lead going in at half time. Things went our way further when Bonaventura was sent off in the 58th minute for a horrendous two footed tackle. Kucka got the final goal of the game 3 minutes later taking advantage of the extra man.

We then ting a good set of results together before the final game of the month where we ran out 6-0 winners against Brescia who were suffering from a number of injuries but I don't want to take that away from my players as they played out their skins and out of the 6 goals scored we had 5 different scorers which Darmian getting the final goal of the game after the 63rd minute. Felt they should take their foot of the gas after that as we didn't want to totally embarrass them.

One thing I have been grateful for this month is the amount VAR has been in our favour giving us late penalties or chopping off goals throughout the game for off sides for the opposition. Long may it continue.

League Table

We are well above expectations but I don't expect it to last as there is a long way to go and a lot of tough games to play.

October

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[leckuno]

October

With us sitting at the top of the table I reminded the team that there is still a long way to go but to enjoy their moment being able to say their at the top. Sadly though it all went a bit to their heads as their performances didn't continue. Against Sassuolo we were robbed by a late VAR decision that ruled a goal with 5 minutes to go from Inglese offside to leave us with a draw. Napoli were up next and this was actually a very good result walking away with a point. Genoa VAR came back to haunt us again as through it Genoa were awarded a penalty in the 3rd minute which was scored so we were on the back foot now. After half time Iacoponi scored a glancing header from a set piece to get us the point. Lazio were the final game and going in I wasn't confident and I was right as they just dominated the game and VAR again awarded them the penalty for their second goal. We did get a consolation goal though thanks to Cornelius who was only on the pitch for a matter of minutes before he grabbed the goal.

League Table

We're still looking healthy in the League after a poor month but lets hope its not the start of a free fall. We will continure to take it one game at a time

November

The games against Inter and Juve are not games I'm looking forward to at all at the moment but we'll see what happens.

Transfers

So I've been busy this month and I called Gervinho and Kucka into my office as they are both important players for the club but both will be 33 by the time the season ends so I advised that we will be cashing in on them while we can to improve the playing squad going forward. Kucka will be leaving for Beijing Guoan for £5.25 million and Gervinho will be leaving for Club Brugge for £10 million.

We now have 2 months to find replacements for them so fingers crossed.​

 

[leckuno]

November

With 2 massive games this month it was important to remind the team that they were just to go out and try and enjoy the moment of playing teams like Inter and Juve and not to be too concerned if they lose.

First up though was Juventus and Ronaldo just ran rings about us and scored and excellent hat-trick before Iacoponi over hit a pass back to Sepe who had no chance of getting it. After a heavy defeat to Juventus it was important to show what we could do and with a change of formation we made sure there were 11 players behind the ball at nearly all times and we get very lucky to get away with a draw as VAR comes to our rescue and chopped a goal from Lukaku for being offside in the 80th minute.

The game against Lecce was important to get the win against the team sitting bottom of the league. We got off to a good start by being awarded a penalty which Inglese slots home in the 10th minute. It took a lot to break Leece down but we got the important 2nd goal through Gervinho in the 77th minute to secure us the 3 points.

League Table

December

Transfers

So I have been busy again off loading more players to enable us to bring in quality rather than quantity. First out the door was Gaston Brugman to KRC Genk for £3.1 million. Genk also came in for Vincent Laurini for £2.2 million. Simone Iacoponi is also leaving to join Spal for £1.6 million.

Incoming to replace Gervinho I have the pleasure of announcing that Antionio Marin will be joining the club for £10 million. He will hopefully go on to achieve great things at the club.

We still have £13 million left for a CB and CM so hopefully we can fill both those positions.

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ScottT I no, thankfully there is still a long way to go as well. Thats 1 replacement down and now got two more to go.

 

[leckuno]

December

We are still flying high above expectations in the European spots in the league at the moment so its important that we remain grounded and take it one game at a time and make sure the players don't get carried away.

First up was for the month was Cagliari who just couldn't handle us at home at all. Whats good is that even though Gervinho is leaving the club in January he is still giving his all as he got an excellent brace. In the cup we took a chance and rotated the squad a bit to play Frosinone and it paid off as we got a comfortable win to meet our expectations where we will be play A.C Milan in the first round. O

The Udinese result was a tough one to take s they are struggling at the bottom of the table and we had 2 goals chopped off for offside but ah well VAR has given us a lot of good results so it was bound to turn on us. In the game against Bologna we got off lucky here as Sepe got injured and we had to play the final 20 minutes of the match with Herani in goal as we had already used all 3 of our subs and he was brilliant.

League Table

January

Transfers

So this month I have made 2 transfers for the summer as I never realised until after I had accepted them. We have to young defenders coming in from Atalanta. Marco Varnier will be joining for £3.8 million and then Davide Bettalla joins for £9.75 million. Bettalla I was impressed with as he picked join us over Inter Milan. Both will be finishing their loan deals before joining where they will team up to more than likely becoming our starting Centre Backs.

Youth

Not a fantastic intake but it will interesting to see how the young Ukrainian turns out to be.

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[leckuno]

January

It was always going to be a tough month with games against Roma and A.C Milan in the league and Juventus in the Coppa Italia Quarter Final. We didn't get the month of to the best of starts losing to Sampdoria who we are a parent club for but we just didn't turn up at all for the first game back after the winter break. The game against Roma was always going to be a big ask as well and it didn't help that Antonio Marin got injured for 4 weeks as well.

Thankfully in the cup A.C Milan put out a weaker team and we took full advantage of them and progressed to the Quarter finals. The game against Torino was a needed win on the league as they would of overtaken us if we'd lost. There was a great end to the game with Kulusevski scoring a scorcher of a goal from 25 yards out in the 89th minute to win the game.

League Table

Its ridiculously close at the top of the table with only 1 point between 1st and 5th.

February

Transfers

With our new Centre Backs not joining until the summer it was important to bring in people who could not only play there but double up elsewhere across the back 4 so we bring in 3 young players who will look to develop at the club and leave at the end of the season.

We also managed to sign a new central midfielder in the form of Romario Baro who was transfer listed by Porto for £7.5 million. who can hopefully develop into a top class player at the club.

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[leckuno]

February

The month gets off to a great start with picking up a very important win against SPAL who is certainly a team we need to be beating in order to stay up this high in the table. The biggest win of the month though has got to be against Atalanta. We fell 1-0 behind after 18 minutes where Gomez took it past 2 of my defenders before sloting home. Caprari thwn got us back to 1-1 in the 29th minutes before Inglese scored in the second minute of added time to take us into half time 2-1 up. We came back out but were caught out after only 2 minutes Gomez scores another great goal to get it back to 2-2. I start shouting from the touchlines and it pays off with Kulusevski showing why Juventus invested in him when he made a bursting run from the right wing to put us ahead. He then got a second in the 82nd minute before Ramario Baro scores his first goal from the middle of the park.

The game against Fiorentina was a tough ask and they were the much better team as they beat us comfortably. Brescia were next up for us and just like the last time they lay down to us as we had 4 separate players score. It means in our 2 games we put 10 goals past them. Against Sassuolo we just didn't get going at all and were 2-0 down after 56 minutes before Almada pulling 1 back in the 76th minute.

League Table

March

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[leckuno]

March

A very short month as we only played two games as we decided to postpone the Lazio game due to international call ups so hopefully that pays off in the long term.

First up though was Napoli who are sitting below us in the table so have been far from their best so far this season. Thiago Almada showed his ability though with a well placed finish from just outside the box in the 22nd minute to give us the lead. In the second half we came out fighting again and Caprari go onto the end of a through ball to finish from 6 yards out to put us firmly in the driving seat. Milik though pulled one back with a neat finish in the 72nd minute which left a very nervy final 18 minutes but we walked away with the 3 points.

In the match against Genoa it was a different story though as we fell behind after 4 minutes before Cprari was brought down in the area in the 28th minute and we were awarded a penalty. Calm and collected Almada stepped up and slotted it home. Both teams went on to have plenty of chances but nobody could take them until there was a set piece where the ball got knocked just outside of the box where Baro ran onto the ball and riffled it into the top corner in the 85th minute to give us the 3 points.

League Table

March

Youth

The youth intake was disappointing this season and I don't expect any of them to last long at the club.

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[leckuno]

April

The opening two games of the month were always going to be tough and we didn't expect to get any points out of them but what was good was that we put up two good fights and were narrowly beaten in both games. We didn't let the defeats go to our heads though as we bounced straight back with an excellent win at home to Lecce. It was always going to be a good win when Kulusevski opened the scoring in the opening minute before Baro doubled it 3 minutes late. We have a knack of taking our foot off the gas when getting a few goals ahead to make sure that we don't embarrass anybody too much.

Cagliari were a team we needed to make sure we are beating and we got off to a lucky start when VAR offered us a penalty which Hernani slotted home in the 12th minute. We were then made to work for it for the rest of the game before Kulusevski got the 2nd in the 71st minute. Bologna was a very tough match and neither team took their chance in the first half as well entered the break at 0-0. Things got off to a bad start though as Krejci opened the scoring for Bologna 1 minute into the 2nd half and then Kulusevski saw a straight red in the 66th minute so we had to rethink how we were going to approach the rest of the game so we made sure we we started going on the counter attack and it pad off as Marin managed to make a run and get us the point in the 79th minute.

League Table

May

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[leckuno]

May

We go into the final month of the season knowing fine well that European football next season is now a real possibility if we can get a few wins. First up is Verona who we really should be beating but things didn't go our way as Borini puts them ahead in the 31st minute. For the rest of the game it looked like we just weren't going to beat their keeper but our never give up attitude paid off as Marin got the important goal with the final kick of the ball to ensure we walked away with a point. Against Udinese you know its never going to be a good game when your 1-0 down within 30 seconds and it certainly wasn't when they got the 2nd goal. Another game we should be winning and our lack of defenders cost us.

It was important that against Sampdoria that we got back on track as the final European spot was close to slipping between our fingers but thanks to an own goal from Colley in the 52nd minute we walked away with the 3 points. Our final 2 games could of been a lot easier but of course we end up with a few days in Rome. First up was Lazio who we took the lead against through Almada in the 8th minute before a disaster in defence let Caicedo slip through and slip it past Sepe for the game to finish 1-0/

We went into the final game against Roma knowing a win would secure Europa League football but sadly things just didn't go to plan. Everything was looking good at half time as we went in at 0-0 but Roma were the team that took their chance as Mkhitaryan scored a well placed finish to win the game for Roma 1-0. What we didn't realise at the time though was that Verona went on to score the only goal of their game in the 72nd minute to beat Torino 1-0 which meant we managed to hold onto 7th spot.

League Table

End of Season

Budget

The budget is quite low but we do have a fair few pre-arranged transfers where loan deals that are being made permanent that were arranged before I joined the club so we will need to make do with what we have and hope for some bargains to fill the gaps of where the loan players are also leaving the club.

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[leckuno]

Preseason

Due to the Eurpoa League qualifying we had a very short preseason so we used the first two rounds as friendlies as well due to the level of opposition. By the en of the friendlies we really got going with our new signings and that shows with us beating Viktoria Plzen 10-1 over the two legs. I feel we're really ready to tackle this season and try to improve on our 7th place finish last year.

Transfers Out

I have been very busy over the course of the transfer window so far with clearing out as many people as possible as with people's loan deals becoming permanent and players coming back in from loan it was important to reduce the size of the squad to allow me to bring my own players in. We luckily haven't lot anybody that we didn't want to and managed to bring in over £21,000,000 in transfer fees to allow us to bring in the players I need.

Transfers In

With the budget that we were given for the season it was important that we buy smart so every player we brought in on was either on the loan list or the transfer list. Willem Geubbels is a steal for £400k as he can develop into a top striker if given the game time he deserves so we've sent him out on loan straight away. Next with our lack of goals from strikers last season we have brought in Esposito in from Inter and have a clause to buy him for £15 million over the course of the season. He has the ability to become a world class striker for Italy so the clause will be getting activated when we can afford it.

Sergio Gomez joins from Dortmund and will be battling it out for the CM roles but he is another one for the future as well. Schiappacasse joins from Athletico Madrid and will be backup for Alamada this season and he is versatile enough to play across both wings as well if needed. He's Italian as well which helps meet a board target of signing Italians as well. Firpo joins from Barcelona on loan for the season and will be the starting RB. Vignato is one of the brightest prospects in Italian football and was placed on loan even though Bologna were relegated so he will battle it out for the RW as we have a buy clause of £10 million that we can activate if he plays well. With Brescia being relegated Tonali was placed on the transfer list and it took longer than I liked to sign him as we needed to wait on other players leaving first but luckily we managed to secure another of Italy's brightest prospects.

Finally we have signed Bernardo Sousa for a nominal fee as again he was transfer listed and is somebody we can sell for a profit in the future and make up the numbers. We still have £7 million to spend but it would need to be a very good player to make me send it just now.

Expectations

The board have a big ask in the Europa League and thats going to be tough to get through the group stages as we won't have a high seeding. The league should be easy enough to meet as we just need to finish mid-table. In the cup as always its just going to be the luck of the draw so we'll see what happens.

August

 

[leckuno]

August

So we get underway properly now and we have Legia Warszawa in the final qualifying round for us to reach the Europa League so we need to be at our best to make it and to start building the cash up. With the first leg being at home we relly needed to take our chances and we left it late as we scored all 4 goals in the final 15 minutes of the game to all but confirm progress. Next up in the league we face SPAL who Esposito single handily defeats with an excellent hat-trick.

Away to Warszawa we rotated the squad with the next game coming against Fiorentina and Gomez managed to sneak the winner with a well placed finnish 10 minutes from time. The game against Fiorentina was our first chance to test ourselves against one of the big boys from last season and our youthful team blows them away as we were 3 up after 16 minutes thanks to goals from Marin, Tonali and Firpo. The final goal came out of nowhere as Matteo Darmian got onto the end of a loose ball in the box to tap home to make it 4.

League

September

Transfers

So we didn't make any more signings over the rest of the transfer business and nobody else left the club either.

The big spenders though are as below

Europa League Group

We're expected to make the 2nd knockout round and we certainly have a tough group to try and get out of. We just need to make the most of our games at home here.

 

[leckuno]

September

We came up against Cagliari first and it was disappointing to only get a draw against them after our result against Fiorentina but a point is a point and thats all that matters. Our first game in th Europa League comes up and what a game it is as we are 2-0 down after goals in the 23rd and 33rd minutes. We come out after half time though a completely different team and attack from the off and make the breakthrough against Almada in the 60th minute. Betella then gets the equaliser 6 minutes later from a well placed header to get us an important point. We then sneak a win against Atalanta and Lazio.

Finally we come up against Genoa and get another big win as Esposito get 2 goals to show how good he is. Tonali and Marin also get on the score sheet to show how dangerous this young Parma squad can be before Cuenca rounds off the scoring with 2 minutes to go.

League

October

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[leckuno]

October

The months are definitely getting busier with the add in of the Europa League games so being able to rotate our squad is becoming more and more important. First up this month we welcome Red Bull Salzburg which we really need to make count for us if we want to get through our group. Esposito is really showing his worth to us as he opens the scoring in the 6th minute before grabbing the 2nd in the 60th minute as well.

Against Inter we have to rotate the squad a bit and it doesn't pay off as we took a lead after 3 minutes but in the second half Inter tore us to pieces to take the 3 points. Luckily after the Inter game we had the International break which allowed our players a bit of a rest and it meant that Torino weren't able to handle us as we walk away with the 3 points.

Next in the Europa League was a trip to Croatia to face HNK Rijeka and we race to a 3-0 lead in 20 minutes through Marin and Almada. We take our foot off the gas with the 3 points in the bag. We really struggle with the game after or European adventures as we lose 1-0 to Napoli.

The final game of the month was a disappointing result for us but was a great game for the neutrals as it really was a ping pong battle. Evandro opens the scoring in the 26th minutes before Marin responded straight from the kick off to get it back to 1-1. In the second half Alamada then gave us the lead in the 57th minute. We only lasted 11 minutes before Miazga rose above our defenders to head home. In the 81st minute on loan midfielder Lanzini finally gave Verona the lead again. I honestly thought the game was going to be over until the wonder kid that is Antonio Marin slots home just before the final whistle is blown to ensure we get a point which was probably a fair result for both teams.

League

November

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[leckuno]

November

The month starts off nice and easily for us as we face Benevento with Tonali, Esposito and Baro getting the goals. Our young players are really showing their worth now. The Europa League gae against HNK Rijeka the game was over in the opening 20 minutes when all 3 goals were scored. For a change we had a nice easy game afterwards for a change against newly promoted Trapani as Esposito gets another 2 goals in the league.

Next up was Sassuolo where Goldaniga put them ahead after 7 minutes. Esposito was on the score sheet again in the 17th minute. Amad Traore then got the 2nd in the 36th minute. The rest of the game was pretty boring right up until the 95th minute where Esposito was brought down in the box before Almada slotted home from the spot with the whistle being blown straight after.

We are then back into European action and I was expecting this game to be a lot tougher but MonchenGladbach seemed to lie down to us as Karamoh got us off the mark after 18 minutes. Marin then got the 2nd in the 55th before Tonali rounded off us scoring in the 86th minute before Haberer got the consolation goal in the 89th minute.

We always seem to get stuck with a big game after the Europa League games and this time Roma get one over on us to open up a lead at the top of the league.

League

December

Transfers Out

We've managed to arrange for a few players to leave the club that only joined in the summer but have no place in my squad. Alberto Grassi is leaving to join Watford for £4.8 million.

Yann Karamoh is joinging Real Betis for £10 million, Fabrizio Alastra is joining Lazio for £725,000 and Roberto Inglese is joinging Celtic for £10.5 million.

Transfers In

Wuilker Farinez is joining from Millonarios for £3 million and will become our first choice keeper. Stefano Turati will be joining from Sassuolo to go into the under 20's but will be promoted to the first team after the summer to act as No.2

Finally we will also be signing Matias Arezo will be joining from River Plate Montevido for £1 million amd will play back up to Esposito.

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[leckuno]

December

December brings 3 big games in a row for us at the start with us kicking the month off against A.C Milan who are struggling again this year and Esposito makes quick work of Milan with giving us the lead after 2 minutes. Almada then rounds the win off from the penalty spot in the 67th minute. With qualification already confirmed for the club I decided to rest some players with Juventus game in mind and the plan backfired as Salzburg beat us 2-0. Juventus are struggling so this was our chance to finally get one over on them and its a pretty bring game until substitute Inglese opens the scoring in the 85th minute and we look good value for the win until we just seem to shut off as Ronaldo grabs a goal in the 91st minute before Fernandinho then grabs the winner with the final kick of the ball in the 96th minute.

Udinese were thankfully much easier to break down as Sergio Gomez and Esposito put us 2-0 aheafter after only 26 minutes and Udinese grab a goal back n the final minute of the game through Barak. Citadella are the final team we face and we rotate a few players to give some players a chance and Traore grabs his chance with both hands as he score an excellent brace to put us 2-0 up before Esposito and Marin both add to the score sheet as well.

League

Europa League

January

Youth

Its looking like we will have a much better intake this year so hopefully we can get one or two players to come through that will break into the first team.

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[leckuno]

January

What a month as we get our first ever unbeaten month. We claim a bit win over Inter to get through in the Coppa Italia. We were really made to work for it as Inter went ahead through a penalty in the 35th minute. I had strong words with the team at half time and it seemed to work as Cuenca got the important goal in the 66th minute to get us back in with a chance. Its the usual man who wins the game for us with an excellent brace in the space of 5 minutes to win the game 3-1 and see's us into the next round to play Roma.

hot off the back of the Inter game with the team full of confidence Esposito gets the only goal of the game to get the 3 points from Fiorentina. We held onto this confidence right through to the Roma match where Gomez got us off to a great start when he scored a screamer in the 30th minute. After half time Almada got brought down in the ox just before he pulled the trigger. He got the best of them though as he slotted home the resulting penalty. Cuenca then rose above the defence to nod home in the 89th minute to see us through to the Quarter Finals.

We round off the month with a good win against Atalanta where Esposito and Marin get the goals for us before Toloi pulls one back.

League

February

Transfers Out

We shifted a lot of dead wood from the club to free up some transfer cash and wages to help strengthen the squad.

Transfers In

We work hard during the transfer window to search out and bring in players where necessary. The big signing of the window though has to be Jerome Onguene from Salzburg and we activate his release clause to bring him into shore up our defence. We also moved to make Vignato for £10 miilon. On deadline day we also brought in Tripaldelli on loan with a future transfer fee of £3.7 million being optional. Fianlly we bring in Moussa Wague on loan from Barcelona on loan with again a future optional transfer fee of £7 million. I see him as a natural replacement for Darmian who we will probably look to sell at the end of the season.

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[leckuno]

February

It one of our busiest months yet as we play 8 games this month. We better get use to it though as I want to be getting into the later rounds of European Football going forwards. 4 of the games are made up of the Coppa Italia Semi Final and The Europa League 1st Knockout Round. First up in Atalanta in the first leg of the Coppa Italia and it just doesn't go to plan as Atalanta gets a deserved victory after we play the majority of the game with 10 men. Just as well the 2nd leg is played in front of our own fans so we're still in it. The Lazio game was disappointing as well as Vignato got us the lead on the strike of half time. but Lazio came out raring to go and Sepe fumbled the ball into his own net in the 51st minute Marusic then gets the winner 10 minutes later.

In the 2nd leg of the Coppa Italia Marin is the saviour of the club as he gets the only goal of the game meaning that we make it to the final on away goals where we will face Italy. On a high of making the final we travel to Genoa and Vignato gets the only goal of the game in the 12th minute.

Now we turn towards the Europa League where we travel to Portugal to face Braga. Esposito gets us off to a great start with a well placed finish in the 6th minute. We looked good value and had plenty of chances but just weren't able to take them. Eduardo then pulls the goal back meaning the 2nd leg will be important. The usual tough match after a EL game and this time its Inter. Vignato gets the break through after 41 minutes with an excellent run while cutting in from the right. Barella then pulls it back from the penalty spot in the 61st minute. Baro then gets the winner in the 78th minute which was probably unfair on Inter as it was a pretty even game.

Next up is the 2nd leg against Braga where Almada gets us off to the start we wanted again as he scores the only goal of the game in the 8th minute to see us into the 2nd knockout round which sees us meet our expectations of the board. Against Torino we got extremely luck as they took the lead through Ansaldi in the 27th minute. We left it late as Espoito gets the equaliser in the 85th minute to ****** a point.

League

March

Transfers Out

It was a late deal in the Chinese transfer window but when Tianjin Teda offered us £15 million up front and another £5 million over the next 2 years then I bit their hands off to take it. We will be re-investing the money to bring in the players who have future transfers arranged at the club.

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[leckuno]

March

Villarreal didn't stand a chance as we travelled to Spain as Esposito is showing how good he is with getting the opening goal in the 9th minute with Almada putting the game to bed in the 78th minute to give us an important 2 goal lead going into the first half. With the Napoli game we rotate where necessary to make sure we're good to go for the EL 2nd leg. It sadly doesn't pay off as Fabian scores 2 good goals before Gomez pulls one back for us.

Villarreal makes us work for it at home as it takes until the 67th minute for Esposito to make the break through with a well placed shot. Vignato gets the 2nd in the 75th minute before Baro finishes the game off nicely with a goal in the 88th minute.

The Verona game was a game of two halves with all the goals coming in the first half. Fabio Borini put Verona into the lead after 36 minutes but our young striker Espositp grabbed a quick brace in the 43rd and 45th minute to grab the win. The second half was a boring half as things go. Benevento we through away the lead early on again as well but Esposito is at it again with the equaliser just before half time before Bettella grabs the winner in the 68th minute.

League

April

Youth

The youth intake is the best time of the year as we have 2 players who look might make the cut in the future.

The main standout plyer though is young Romanian Ovidiu Iordache. Could be be the next goalkeeping great to come out of the Parma youth ranks after Buffon.

Transfers In

With the money from the Darmain deal we have agreed to sign Moussa Wague and Alessandro Tripaldelli on permanent deals after impressing so far on loan. We have also agreed to sign Maxime Lopez on a free from Marseille in the summer who will provide additional back up to the central midfield roles.

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