Parma is a team associated with the most glorious era of Serie A for those of us raised on a healthy diet of free-to-air Italian football in the 1990’s. The now disgraced Tanzi family funded a ten year purple patch between 1992 and 2002 in which they collected four European trophies and four domestic cups but a Scudetto eluded the team who, during this time, were considered one of the Seven Sisters of Italian football.
Something has never quite felt right about seeing Parma as a super club, however, perhaps owing to the fact that since their formation in 1913, they have spent roughly twice as much time in Serie B and Serie C than the top flight. For me, this added to the charm and excitement of Parma’s glorious era, from which most of their All Time XI are drawn. The €10 billion book-fiddling scam at Parmalat in 2004 was a tragically operatic end to Parma’s success – perhaps fitting considering that the club were founded as Verdi Foot Ball Club, in honour of Giuseppe’s centenary year.
To briefly extend a theatrical metaphor, there are many understudies to this All Time XI who probably should have been afforded some time in the limelight. Please leave a comment or find me on twitter @HenryBellCalcio if you’d like to suggest these understudies make their way on stage!
Goalkeeper: Gianluigi Buffon (1995-2001 & 2021-)
Buffon’s place in this team isn’t quite as much of a shoe-in as one might expect. Luca Bucci elegantly represents the times before, during and after Calisto Tanzi’s ownership of the club and 1994 Brazilian World Cup hero, Cláudio Taffarel spent three seasons in Parma in the early 1990’s.
There can, however, be no one else to play in goal in this team. Buffon came through the youth academy and made his debut aged 17 during a highly memorable 0-0 draw with a very strong Milan team in 1995. In a career of over a thousand appearances for club and country, Buffon’s only European cup winners medal came during his first spell at Parma, lifting the UEFA Cup in 1999. His return to the club in 2021 has cemented his status as a Parma legend but, in my view, his 1997 penalty save against pre-injury Ronaldo was his greatest moment for i Ducali. His nearly-into-the-crowd celebration represented all the passion that Buffon would become famous for and it was the save which earned him the ‘Superman’ moniker.
Right Wing Back: Antonio Benarrivo (1991-2004)
One of two world class full backs in this side. Parma’s tactical set up during their glory years treated fans to wing back play which modern football has gone on to emulate. Benarrivo was a manager’s dream, being able to play on either flanks and his significance to the team cannot be underestimated. He has a complete set of Tanzi era winners medals, being on the pitch for the first Coppa Italia victory in 1992 through to the lifting of the same trophy in 2002.
Benarrivo is slightly unfortunate in that one of his most high profile games for Parma was a disaster. He was guilty of ball-watching for Gianluca Vialli’s goal for Juventus in the second leg of the 1995 Uefa Cup Final and was hooked by his manager at half time. The replacement right-back, Roberto Mussi provided the assist to win Parma the trophy. He does, however, more than make up for this one game with his wide play in 361 appearances across all competitions.
Centre-back: Lilian Thuram (1996-2001)
This All Time XI back three is entirely lifted from Parma’s team from the mid to late 1990’s. It remains one of the greatest centre-back partnerships in the history of Serie A and each defender played a unique role. Thuram’s contribution was perhaps the most dynamic of the three. He frequently brought the ball out of the back, utilising his pace and bravery on the ball but he also was a highly intelligent reader of the game, often breaking up attacks in the opposition half or near the halfway line.
Thuram could play this way knowing he had two more world class defenders behind him. A small but important detail is his position in this team on the right side of a back three. Many football fans remember him as a right-back under Lippi at Juventus or for France at the 1998 World Cup but Thuram was very much a central defender during his time at Parma. Truth be told, he was world-class in both positions and should be regarded as one of the best all-round defenders in the history of the game.
Centre-back: Nestor Sensini (1993-1999 & 2000-2002)
Sensini was the conductor of the middle part of the Parma back-line during the late 90’s era and this is exactly where he will be in this All Time XI. Early in his Parma career Sensini played in midfield, sometime even donning the #9 shirt but his best performances for the club came as part of the legendary back-line.
All three centre backs were not as tall as the average defender. Sensini is 178cm tall but his reading of the game, on the field tactical instructions and under-rated passing range more than made up for this and explains how he could continue to play top flight football until the age of 40. Parma won five trophies during his time at the club and his leadership and intelligence were a major factor in this. Perhaps his name should be more regularly introduced when discussion the legends of Serie A.
Centre-back: Fabio Cannavaro (1995-2002)
In 1995 Parma benefitted from Napoli’s post-Maradona financial collapse and signed Cannavaro for £6 million. A fee that represented the high regard that the then young Neapolitan was held in Serie A. Cannavaro’s arrival came as a twenty year old against Parma a few years earlier, marking Faustino Asprilla out of the first half an hour of the game (live on Channel 4) before an injury ended his contribution early.
Parma clearly never forgot and Cannavaro completed the left side of the back three. His ability to mark a star player out the game, learnt from Ciro Ferrara at Napoli, as well as absorbing pressure was a key factor in Parma being able to play hugely entertaining counter attacking football.
Left Wing Back: Alberto Di Chiara (1991-1996)
I believe this All Time XI is a combination of truly great partnerships across the field. Alongside Benarrivo on the right, Di Chiara completed the electric pair of wing-backs that took to the field in the first great Parma team of the 1990’s.
Both Di Chiara and Benarrivo were signed in 1991 and, looking back at footage of the side which lifted the Coppa Italia, Uefa Cup and Cup Winners’ Cup between 1991 and 1995, it is very easy to see how these wing backs could slot seamlessly into modern football.
Central Midfielder: Dino Baggio (1994-2000)
Baggio (no relation to Roberto) is one of the most underrated midfielders of the 1990’s. A midfielder with hugely impressive all round skills, he also became something of a UEFA Cup specialist, winning the trophy three times. His reading of the game and relationship with the defensive line were a joy to behold but perhaps his most telling contributions came in big matches, a crucial quality for a cup-specialist team such as Parma in the 1990’s.
Baggio scored in both legs of the 1995 Uefa Cup final, matching the same achievement which he accomplished with his previous club Juventus in 1993. Both his goals for Italy came in the 1994 World Cup and his composure in the 1999 Uefa Cup final was a key factor, alongside Veron, in Parma dominating the midfield battle against Marseille.
Central Midfielder: Gabriele Pin (1983-1985 & 1992-1996)
Another midfielder who learned how to lift trophies at Juventus, Pin’s elegant presence would fit well next to Dino Baggio at the core of this All Time XI. Pin is a shoe-in since he has represented Parma in Serie C, B and A over the course of two spells at the club. In many ways he personifies the curious mixture of lower league scrapping and top flight glamour of which Parma’s history comprises.
His Scudetto winning experience with Juventus wasn’t quite enough to get Parma over the line in 1995 but Parma’s early foray into winning trophies would not have happened without Pin’s silky talents as regista.
No.10: Gianfranco Zola (1993-1996)
Every great team needs a set piece specialist and Zola’s time at Parma was packed full of glorious goals scored directly from free kicks. He perfected this skill during his much documented apprenticeship at Napoli under Diego Maradona. As with Cannavaro, Parma benefitted from the uncertain financial future of SSC Napoli by signing Zola in 1994.
For two seasons Zola was a key figure at Parma, forming a spectacular strike partnership with Asprilla and combining set piece precision with long range strikes and Baggio-esque dribbles. Carlo Ancelotti made one of the few mistakes of his managerial career when he forced the Sardinian out of the club to accommodate his 4-4-2 tactics. If Zola had stayed to play in the vintage late 90’s Parma side, the Scudetto surely would have arrived at the Tardini Stadium.
Forward: Hernán Crespo (1996-2000 & 2010-2012)
It would be impossible to select anyone else up front for this All Time XI. Crespo is Parma’s all time leading goalscorer with 94 goals in 201 appearances over two periods at the club.
He managed to combine scoring goals prolifically in a Parma shirt but also saving his best performances for the biggest stages. 1998/99 was arguably Crespo’s best for the club, scoring 28 goals across all competitions which is still a club record. His strikes were spread out evenly in the league (16), the UEFA Cup (6) and the Coppa Italia (6) as Parma finished 4th in the league but won the cups with Crespo scoring in both finals. His lobbed goal in the UEFA Cup final perhaps summing up his strengths as a striker being a combination of superb technique and opportunism, seizing upon Laurent Blanc’s poor headed back pass.
Crespo returned to the club in 2010 and still has strong links to the area. He had a brief stint as vice-president in 2017 and still works as an international ambassador, in between his not entirely successful stints as manager of clubs around the world.
Forward: Enrico Chiesa (1996-1999)
Choosing the final slot in the team was so hard that I reached out to the followers of The Gentleman Ultra twitter account. Luckily the poll agreed with gut feeling: that Enrico Chiesa is the best man to partner Crespo up front.
Gilardino scored more for the club, Asprilla was more box office and Brolin more talented but of the four potential strikers to be in this team, Chiesa represents the spirit of the Parma glory years more than any other. The statistics partly tell this story. Chiesa has 16 goals in 18 European appearances and is the club’s all time leading goal scorer on the continent. When a football fan closes their eyes and thinks of Parma, glorious European nights in the 1990’s spring to mind.
It is too hard to split up the Crespo/Chiesa combination in a team of so many great partnerships. This can best be seen in Chiesa’s goal in the 1999 UEFA Cup final. A lovely chipped ball from Veron comes into the penalty area, Crespo dummies and lets it go through his legs for Chiesa to half volley it into the top corner. A sporting telepathy which meant that both strikers have their name immortalised as goal scorers in the last UEFA Cup final of the millennium.