Serie A Preview 2009/10: Parma

Main Transfers: Davide Lanzafame (Bari), Christian Panucci (Roma), Valeri Bojinov (Manchester City), Jonathan Biabiany (Modena), Daniele Galoppa (Siena), Antonio Mirante (Sampdoria)

Outlook: Gone are the days when Parma were one of the heavyweights of Italian football and now just being back in the Serie A should be reason enough for them to be happy. Not that they can bank on that given that they look to be in for a tough season with a squad that is full of veterans and inexperience youngsters.

The return to Italy, and to Parma, of Valeri Bojinov is intriguing because he looked set to become quite a player before injury wiped off the past two seasons of his career whilst Christian Panucci will be out to prove that Roma were wrong to get rid of him but you have to wonder whether it is too little for them to stay up.

Manager: Having seen his career go down in ruins after a number of negative experiences at Palermo (where he kept being sacked and then re-hired), Francesco Guidolin chose Parma as the place to restore his credibility and did so to a certain degree by taking them up. Getting them to stay there will be a big challenge but Guidolin is expected to try and do so by going with the flow of much of the Serie A and switch to a system that includes the tridente (i.e. three strikers)

Key Player: After two seasons at Siena, midfielder Daniele Galoppa was probably looking for a move to a bigger side then Parma, especially as he was constantly linked with Inter and he made his Italy debut (along with half of the Serie A) in a mid-summer friendly with Northern Ireland. It is difficult to determine whether this is a move forwards or backwards for him but what is certain is that Parma will need his surging runs from midfield.

One to Look Out For: Constantly named as a future Italian international, striker Alberto Paloschi (pictured) didn’t really excel in the Serie B but still scored eleven goals which is quite impressive for someone so young. Indeed, that has served to further raised expectations and the nineteen year old should be a regular starter for Parma as he tries to convince Milan that he is good enough to return home.

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