Parma had made a surprisingly good start in Serie A under the tutelage of new man and boyhood supporter Alessio Rinaldi. I Crociati sat in an impressive 4th place after 12 games, a mighty 15 points clear of the relegation zone, despite having a threadbare squad and no transfers, after Italy’s silly non-EU registration rules forced two real-life centre back signings to be sent out on loan.
Parma’s best performers thus far had been 24-year-old striker Mateo Pellegrino, who’d scored 11 goals in 14 games from a new left wing role, 23-year-old goalkeeper Zion Suzuki, 22-year-old centre back Alessandro Circati and 24-year-old midfielder Adrián Bernabé, who had 3 goals and a club-high 6 assists. And Rinaldi’s relatively safe 4-3-3 approach seemed to be bedding in nicely.
Parma returned from an international break with a tough game at home to champions Napoli. But they started well and took advantage as Circati poked home the opener from Bernabé’s cross. They went close to doubling the lead just after halftime as a smart passing move ended with full back Mathias Fjørtoft Løvik floating the ball over to top for Pellegrino to smash a shot against the near post. McTominay got a goal back and the points should have been wrapped up as Pellegrino was felled in the box, only for long-term injury returnee Hernani to put his penalty wide. But Napoli offered little, and Parma held on for a famous win.
Following the 13th round of matches, Rinaldi’s predecessor Cristian Chivu was sacked by Inter Milan, who were a lowly 11th in Serie A and joined a rotated Parma side in being knocked out of the Coppa Italia third round.
Parma endured a dire 0-0 at Verona before losing their unbeaten home record with an equally poor 1-0 defeat to Lazio and another at Atalanta. And they wrapped up 2025 at home to struggling Inter and it looked like another dire game was unfolding as nothing happened for 70 minutes. That was until midfielder Christian Ordóñez picked up the ball from a cleared freekick, stepped inside Barella and unleashed a beauty into the top corner. And, despite a late Inter really, Parma held on for another massive home victory.
Rinaldi Continues to Build Momentum
Rinaldi continued to move on players who weren’t up to it in January, selling ineffective attacker Adrian Benedyzcak to Genoa for £3.9m and midfielder Hernani to Neom for £550k before his contract expired. He then made his very first signing as a Football Manager, snapping up striker Brenner for £1.8m from Udinese – only to realise he can’t play for more than two teams in the same season…
Pellegrino earned a point at Pisa before striker Patrick Cutrone’s second-half strike earned a 1-0 win at home to Lecce. But Parma were much improved at home to Cremonese, with Bernabé opening the scoring before Cutrone tapped in a second. And, despite racking up 23 shots to 7, that was enough for an easy 2-0 win that lifted Parma into the heady heights of 3rd place in Serie A.
After losing 1-0 at Torino, Pellegrino earned a point at home to Roma before a tame 0-0 at Como. An injury-hit team started well at home to Fiorentina, with Pellegrino crossing for Cutrone to tap in before hitting the bar twice and forcing a string of great saves out of De Gea, who earned his team a point as they nicked a late goal. Crutone nicked a 1-0 win at Cagliari before a first goal of the season for Delprato and a brilliant counter for Oristanio to steer home ensured a comfortable 2-0 win over Verona.
Parma took that form into a big home game against 2nd-place Juventus. Pellegrino got his head to a deep cross, finding Cutrone to tap in the opener after an hour. The final 10 games began with Pellegrino’s early goal and another solid defensive effort earning a 1-1 at Napoli. A week later, a stunning counterattack saw Bernabé float the ball across for Cutrone to race through and slam past the keeper from 20 yards at Lazio. The hosts equalised from a corner only for Cutrone to immediately repeat the trick, which earned another vital away victory.
Parma got dominated by an in-form Atalanta, before an Acerbi own goal handed them a surprise 2-1 win at Inter, who were still struggling down in 11th, before Cutrone’s goal nicked a 1-0 win over Pisa despite racking up 25 shots and 13 on target. That kept Parma 3rd with 5 games remaining and, unbelievably, in with a shot at the title, trailing Juve by 4 points and Napoli by 3 points! And the only really tough game remaining was against AC Milan.
Game 1 – Leece (17th, away): The run-in began with a trip to relegation-battling Lecce. Parma started well with Bernabé whipping a cross in for Oristanio to steer home at the back post. Lecce took control of the game but Parma went closest as Cutrone’s delicious chip bounced out off the inside of the post. But they held on for a probably undeserved 1-0 win.
Game 2 – Genoa (15th, home): The penultimate home game began with Bernabé hitting the bar with a wonderful free-kick effort, then Genoa went down the other end and hit the post. But neither side really threatened a goal and they drew 0-0.
Game 3 – Bologna (10th, away): Bologna started brghter and had a goal disallowed on 23 minutes. 10 minutes after the break, Bernabé again went close with a free kick, but recycled the ball for Circati to tee up Pellegrino for opener. Bologna bossed the game and deservedly equalised, but Parma same so close to nicking it as young midfielder Ciardi’s long range shot cannoned back off the post in injury time.
Game 4 – AC Milan (12th, home): Milan, now managed by Big Ange, were performing even worse than their city rivals. Parma came out flying and landed the first blow as a corner was recycled and Oristanio squared it for Cutrone to tap into an empty net. But Milan equalised with a lucky deflected shot. Milan began to dominate, but Parma again held on for another draw that confirmed at least Europa League.
Game 5 – Udinese (9th, away): Parma came into the final day still 3rd, 1 point ahead of Atalanta and 2 clear of Roma. Parma were without the injured Pellegrino and suspended Emanuele Valeri, but started well as Ordóñez found the bottom corner from 20 yards. Udinese had the best of the game, but Parma doubled their lead against the run of play as Cutrone was sent through by Bernabé. The worst kickoff in history was punished by an immediate goal back, only for Bernabé to send a looping header into the far corner 30 seconds later! Suzuki made a huge save from a corner and Parma killed the game off with 10 minutes remaining through winger Tjas Begic.
Those final-day heroics saw Parma, unbelievably, wrap up qualification for the Champions League! They finished in 3rd place after 19 wins, 13 draws and just 6 defeats, scoring 49, which was the lowest tally in the top half of the table, and conceding an impressive league-low 26. This had been a wild season in Italy, with Milan and Inter finishing way down in 9th and 12th, and Napoli lifting the title on the final day.
Suzuki led the league with 15 clean sheets and a 92% save percentage, Valeri won the most tackles (126) and Ordóñez made the most interceptions (118). Pellegrino dropped down the top goalscorer list to joint-9th with Cutrone, scoring 15 apiece, and Bernabé led Serie A with 13 assists alongside Kenan Yildiz.
Massive Overachievement in Season 1
Rinaldi was pretty taken aback at how well his first season as a Football Manager had gone. Having not made any signings, he’d hoped for a lower mid-table finish, but exceeded all expectations to finish in a ridiculous 3rd place. He now had a massive challenge ahead, rebuilding a threadbare squad to be able to compete in both the Champions League and Serie A.
Pellegrino started the season like a train on fire but tailed off, eventually leading the way with 17 goals followed by Cutrone (16), Bernabé (5) and Oristanio and Ordóñez (4). Bernabé led the way with 13 assists followed by Oristanio (8) and Pellegrino (5).
Parma’s overachievement convinced chairman Kyle Krause to accept Rinaldi’s requests for improved youth recruitment, junior coaching and youth facilities in March. The same month, they got Rinaldi’s first youth intake at the club, led by two potential stars in attackers Giulio Marini and Domenico Di Silvestro.
Could Rinaldi work with minimal finances to strengthen the Parma squad to be competitive in Europe and in the league? Join us next time to find out!
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