Parma Calcio's rise back to Serie A in context
- Daniel Aguilar
- Aug 31, 2018
- 4 min read
Football at its core is entertainment. A form of entertainment that has become almost a religion for some of us the way we support our club with our unfaltering passion and pride. Football is a sport that also produces a lot of stories that will forever be carried on in history. There’s nothing better than reading about a story that affects one’s emotions in a good way.
Parma Calcio 1913 has gone through some serious hardship in the last couple of years but have found a way to jump over those obstacles. They came back to Serie A having been relegated all the way down to Serie D in a way no one could have predicted. To some of you, this might be news to you. In this post I will briefly explain Parma’s issue, how far they fell and their journey back to the top flight.
Parma had developed some serious debt, reportedly owing over $218+ million that they had to rely on investors to pay off. Unfortunately, all potential investors backed off since nobody wanted to deal with that amount of debt and they declared bankruptcy. Since they were unable to pay everything back by the set deadline, they were forced into relegation all the way down to Serie D. I can’t even begin to imagine how hurt and defeated Parma fans must have felt at the news of this.
Keep in mind that leagues below Serie A play out a little differently. In Serie D & C, there are 9 group’s consisting of 18-20 teams. The team in each group with the most points it automatically promoted into the next league. While those who finished 2nd-10th place in all groups enter a playoff system to decide who else gets promoted. In Serie B, the top two at the end of the season are automatically promoted into Serie A. While those who placed in 3rd to 8th place enter a playoff tournament to clinch the last promotion spot. I don’t want to confuse anyone on how this all works out so I’ll just provide the highlights.
During their first season in Serie D, they did everything they could to get each single point. In Serie D they ended up not losing a single game and only conceded 17 goals in total. They also secured first place in their group. They were immediately promoted in convincing fashion. They topped their league table and fought their way to promotion into the Serie C.
In Serie C, they weren’t as lucky which is understandable. The closer to the Serie A they get, the higher the difficulty. In Serie C they ended up in second place and entered the playoff system. Since they came in second, they automatically skipped the first round of the playoffs and went directly into the Second Round. Here’s how it played out:
Second Round:
Parma beat Piacenza 2-0 over two legs to reach the Quarter-finals.
Quarter-finals:
Parma defeated Lucchese 4-2 over two legs to reach the Semi-finals.
Semi-final:
Parma defeated Pordenone 2-1 to reach the final.
Final:
Parma defeated Alessandria 2-0 to win promotion into Serie B.
For those who didn’t clinch a first seed spot in their groups, the playoffs can be quite a pain. Against all odds Parma was able to course through all the competition to eventually win the last promotion spot. As you can see, they only conceded goals in two out of the four games and managed to score two goals in each match up.
In Serie B, they had a small yet clear drop from the season before as shown by the table below:
In four more matches compared to the year before, Parma…
Won (1) more game
Drew (1) less game
Lost (4) more matches
Scored (2) more goals
Conceded (1) more goal
Won (2) more points
They managed to concede only one more goal which is impressive having played four more matches than the year before. They were also able to score two more goals but suffered four more defeats which coincidentally, is the same amount of the difference in matches they played compared to the year before. They managed to finish in second place.
But don’t worry! Unlike Serie C & B, the top two in the standings get automatically promoted into the Serie A. This is where Parma’s long journey back to the Serie A ends. Having won promotion each year since they were relegated into Serie D is simply amazing. Even as a Juve fan, I just can’t hate on a team that had this kind of a success story.
The Serie A is on a whole other level. I think Parma is likely to be fighting relegation near the end of the season. Although I seriously hope they continue their rise within Italian football and manage to stay in the Serie A. With all that they went through, I’m sure they’ll continue fighting with that chip on their shoulders and help make our league more competitive.
On a different note, what better way to come back into the Serie A than with the release of a kit THIS nice. Apparently, I’m not the only one that felt this way since it apparently sold out in under 24 hours of it’s release. It has been a simply fantastic football story that is one of the many things that makes football, the beautiful game.
Thanks for reading!
Commenti