Parma came into the new season with Roberto Donadoni still at the helm despite interest from bigger clubs. The questions were still there about the former national team coach's motivation as many felt he'd perhaps taken Parma as far as he could. The 2012/13 campaign saw the club achieve a top half finish but there didn't seem to be much urgency to progress further when a European spot was the aim. The start of the new season saw something of a continuation of that as Parma stagnated around mid-table for much of the early weeks. However, there was to be a significant turning point nearly half-way through the season after the team fell to a home defeat against Juventus. They wouldn't lose again in Serie A until they met the champions in the reverse fixture - a new club record of 17 matches without defeat. It was an incredible feat achieved by Donadoni and his side. Much of their success was down to a return to form for one of the most talented Italian players of his generation - Antonio Cassano. "Fantantonio" appeared to be on his last legs after a couple of underwhelming tenures at the Milan clubs but Donadoni took a chance on the ageing but still immensely talented forward. Cassano paid the manager back in spades as he rolled back the years - topping the goals and assist charts for the Ducali. Despite Cassano's form and that wonderful unbeaten run, Parma still needed a lot of luck to eventually qualify for Europe. They suffered a dip towards the end of the campaign as Torino really started to hit form. However, Alessio Cerci missed a stoppage-time penalty for the Granata which allowed Parma to pip them to 6th place. Nevertheless, the club's participation in Europe was thrown into doubt as they weren't awarded a Uefa licence due to a previous unpaid tax bill. The club appealed the decision with the High Court but were unsuccessful so all their hard work from this season has agonisingly turned out to be for nothing.
