Parma were certainly one of the main disappointments of the season. They were expected to confirm all the good they had done in the previous campaign when Guidolin was the coach. Marino, who had taken his place, could count on a group of promising players, led by the Atomic Ant, Giovinco. However, Parma were never very impressive and their season seemed to be characterized by the draws more than anything else. Then, after the Christmas break arrived some new players like Amauri, Modesto and Palladino. One might have expected things to improve but they actually got worse. Just like all Marino's teams, even Parma entered a deadly crisis that brought them all the way down the table, just above the abyss. Thus, Marino was dutifully sacked and Colomba replaced him. After a defeat against Lazio that seemed to make them fall for good, the new coach succeeded giving a new life and some self-confidence to the players. All of a sudden, Parma became unbeatable and so they obtained four wins against top teams like Inter, Udinese, Palermo and Juventus and two draws, thus reaching safety. One wonders how far Parma could have gone had the team been in Colomba's hands a long time earlier. For sure they would not have risked accessing the relegation zone as occurred with Marino. Giovinco was by far the leader of the team, with his magics. Amauri too proved to be fundamental with his goals when he arrived from Juventus. On the other hand, Bojinov confirmed once again that he is no longer the poisonous striker he used to be at the beginning of his career.
