Great news for romantic fans of the glory days of Italian football, as Parma are on the road to recovery having earned promotion to Serie B via the promotion playoff on Saturday afternoon.
The 2-0 win over Alessandria means that Parma will be back in the second tier of Italian football and can continue their charge back to the top having been reformed in 2015.
Although they won Serie D in an unbeaten season at the first time of asking, Parma found Serie C to be a bit tougher and missed out on automatic promotion as they finished 2nd in Serie C Girone B behind a Venezia side managed by Pippo Inzaghi. For those unaware, there are three different leagues at Serie C level in Italy, with the league winners earning automatic qualification while the playoffs consist of teams from all three leagues.
If it sounds complicated, that's because it is, but Parma reached the final and claimed a priceless 2-0, with the goal that sealed the victory coming from Manuel Nocciolini's face.
He would have been dreaming about scoring the winner last night, although he may have wanted it to be a bit more skillful and a little less facial.
There were fantastic scenes as the club were presented with the playoff trophy at full time.
SIAMO IN SERIE B !!! #backtothefuture #parmanontifermare pic.twitter.com/KNjKylqdcc
— Parma Calcio 1913 (@1913parmacalcio) June 17, 2017
Il #Parma conquista la #SerieB, Il capitano #Lucarelli alza la coppa al cielo! ??️https://t.co/cDsxbGtHhM pic.twitter.com/EpDvFIwLQ3
— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) June 17, 2017
The club will be looking to bounce back into Serie A through the league next season, and we wish them well having fallen in love with some of their players and sides down through the years.
Well done lads, keep it going!
