Parma

Football club Parma represents the city of Parma and was founded in 1913 under the name of Verdi Football Club honoring Giuseppe Verdi, a famous composer born in the same province. Later the team took the name Parma Football Club. During the 1920s and 1930s the team was floating between Serie B and Serie C and the club’s performance did not improve much after the war as Parma usually included amateur players and did not receive financial support from aside.

Parma’s great rise from rags to riches started in 1990s as they were promoted to Serie A and the owner of the team invested money to support the progress. Shortly afterwards the first trophy came as Parma claimed the Coppa Italia defeating much stronger Juventus side by 2-1. The triumph on the international stage followed when the team celebrated victory in the Cup Winners’ Cup and the UEFA Super Cup where the Crusaders outclassed Milan 2-1.

Under the helm of Carlo Ancelotti Parma climbed to the second place in Serie A.

The season 1999/2000 gave the team true glory when the team clinched the Coppa Italia and the UEFA Cup with an impressive win over Marseille 3-0. The last major win came in 2002 as Parma took the Coppa Italia.

A decline of the team started in 2004 when the main sponsor Parmalat went through the financial slump. In 2007 the club hardly managed to escape relegation, yet the following season Parma was classed down to Serie B. It bounced back one year later and established itself as a strong mid position side finishing the 2011/2012 season on the 8th place.

Since 1923 the team plays home matches at Stadio Ennio Tardini that has a capacity of 27,900.

The nicknames of the team are the Crusaders, the Yellow and Blues, the Duchy Men.