Ailing club look to end tough season on a double high

Parma have the UEFA Cup final in their sights but they currently lie just one point above the relegation zone in the Serie A...

A glance at the Serie A standings will reveal that a number of teams are still haunted by the relegation spectre despite occupying mid-table positions. That said, the real battle to avoid the drop begins with Lazio who are just five points above the red zone.

Although they had to severe their links with several key players, much more was expected of Lazio, last season's Italian Cup winners. They are not the only underachieving team this season.

Fiorentina and Parma are two other clubs who have had a topsy-turvy campaign so far. Together with Lazio, Siena, Chievo, Brescia and Atalanta, Fiorentina and Parma are still involved in the battle to escape demotion to Serie B.

Before the start of the season, both Fiorentina and Parma were touted as potential outsiders for a UEFA Cup berth. But, with only nine league games to go, their UEFA Cup aspirations have long disappeared and all they can realistically aspire for is a trouble-free finish to an otherwise turbulent season.

For Parma, this season is almost a replica of the 2001/02 campaign when they had made an indifferent start under the charge of veteran coach Renzo Ulivieri. The Emiliani went through three coaching changes as first Daniel Passarella, and then Pietro Carmignani, were given the reins of the team.

In that particular season, Parma just managed to stay up as they finished the campaign five points above fourth-from-bottom Verona. But this is not the full story of Parma's interesting year in 2001/02.

Parma fans will doubtless be delighted if their favourite team end this season on a high as they did in June 2002.

After making sure of their Serie A status, Parma went on to beat the then champions Juventus in the two-legged Coppa Italia final.

History seems to be repeating itself for Parma as this season, they have again reverted to Carmignani after an uninspiring start.

Parma may be out of the Coppa Italia but they stand a very good chance of lifting the UEFA Cup for the third time in their history following success in this competition in 1995 and 1999.

Interesting to note is Carmignani's rotation of his squad this season. The Parma coach has been fielding a largely untried and untested team in their UEFA Cup commitments but usually relies on the established players for the league games.

This season's Parma have enough quality and resources to emulate their 'double' success of three years ago by avoiding relegation and lifting silverware. But the real battles on the two fronts start in earnest next week. Parma currently stand one point above the relegation zone and their upcoming away matches against direct rivals Reggina and Chievo will have a big impact on their salvation hopes.

In the UEFA Cup, Austria Vienna, CSKA Moscow and Auxerre do not present insurmountable hurdles for Parma in their quest to reach the final, due to be staged in Lisbon on May 18.

If Carmignani's side harbour any aspirations of taking part in this competition again next season, they have no choice but to win it, given their precarious position in the league.

It is very hard to imagine Parma triumphing in Europe's second best competition but, at the same time, suffering relegation to the Serie B. How's that for a contradiction?

Carmignani knows only too well that he has to get his tactics and team selections right between now and the end of the season. If his team finish out of Europe and in the relegation zone, then 2004-2005 will go down as a disastrous season for Parma and probably mark the end of their 14-year history in the top flight.

On the contrary, if Carmignani steers Parma to UEFA Cup success and survival in the domestic league, then 2004-2005 could give this financially-stricken club a much-needed boost.

Serie A statistics...

1st away win for bottom-of-the-class Atalanta who have revived their hopes of extending their stay in Serie A for another season by conquering Sampdoria's Luigi Ferraris Stadium for the first time in nine years. It was a must-win game for both sides. The visitors started like a house on fire as they took a third-minute lead through the up-and-coming Ayodele Makinwa. From the outset, Atalanta were better on the ball and more focused. On the other hand, Sampdoria, still reeling from their 0-1 defeat to joint leaders Milan at San Siro and their elimination from the Coppa Italia at the hands of Cagliari, were not up to their best. Although they created a number of scoring chances, including a 17th minute penalty miss, Walter Novellino's Sampdoria kept travelling in circles and it was a no surprise that they succumbed to their second consecutive defeat - their first at home since going down to Milan on October 30. In one week, Sampdoria have slipped from third to fifth in the standings and were ousted from the Italian Cup. By stark contrast, thanks to Sunday's hard-fought victory, Delio Rossi's rejuvenated Atalanta continued to edge closer to UEFA Cup hopefuls Parma in fourth-from-bottom place. In another basement clash at the Bentegodi Stadium, Chievo came from a goal down to overcome Brescia for the second season running.

2nd home league win on the trot for Champions League hopefuls Inter who added to Fiorentina's woes in a five-goal thriller. Despite dominating for long stretches, Inter were not capable of closing the game and this factor enabled Fiorentina to remain in contention until the last kick. This win propelled Inter to third place whereas, by contrast, Fiorentina, who have only gained three draws from their last 10 away games, remain in relegation trouble. For the record, these two sides have last shared the spoils on November 16, 1996 (2-2). Cagliari, who in midweek booked a place in the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia, continue to travel badly as they had to rely on a Nelson Abeijon injury time goal to salvage a draw against 10-man Livorno. This was Cagliari's first positive result after three consecutive away defeats. The most recent of two Cagliari wins in eight league visits to the Armando Picchi Stadium dates back to October 9, 1955 (2-0 in Serie B). Mid-table Messina and Bologna figured in a dull, almost lifeless, encounter (0-0) at the Giovanni Celeste Stadium.

8th straight league victory for buoyant Milan as the Rossoneri scored twice in eight second-half minutes to beat Roma at the Olympic Stadium for the second season running. This was Roma's fourth successive league defeat. The home side, under the charge of new coach and former club stalwart Bruno Conti, were off to a promising start. Roma seemed a much improved side than the team that had lost so comprehensively to Cagliari a week before. However, after the break, the defending champions turned the tide in their favour with two quick goals which enabled them to keep up with the pace of Juventus, who on Saturday had to sweat to beat Reggina 1-0. Like Milan did in their match against Roma, Juventus stuttered on many a time in the first half but after the break they stepped up a gear to cruise to their fourth league win in a row. The final score condemned Walter Mazzarri's Reggina to their fifth defeat in their last six outings. Udinese continued to show signs of recovery after beating Lecce 2-1 at their Friuli Stadium. Lecce went in front through Alex Pinardi but their lead was shortlived as Davide Di Michele equalised for the hosts before the half-time whistle. After the break, with Lecce reduced to 10 men, Udinese went all out in search of a winner to boost their chances to book a Champions League berth. Eventually, Di Michele hit a dramatic last-gasp winning goal as Udinese beat Lecce for the second season running. They also leapfrogged Sampdoria in fourth place. Had Lecce, winless in their last three outings (one draw and two defeats), held on to a draw, then it would have been their first drawn result against Udinese since November 3, 1991 (1-1 in Serie B).

31 goals were scored on the 29th day: 17 coming from the hosts and the remaining 14 from the visitors. Foreigners contributed with 10 goals while there were 14 first-half goals. Total number of goals scored so far amount to 720. Despite not being on target for Roma for the fourth successive week, Vincenzo Montella still tops the goalscorers' list with 19 goals (none from penalties). Six players - Davide Di Michele (Udinese), Alberto Gilardino (Parma), Franco Brienza (Palermo), Cristiano Lucarelli (Livorno), David Suazo (Cagliari) and Sergio Pellissier (Chievo) - grabbed a brace each. Ivan Cordoba committed the only own goal of the day to make Fiorentina's away defeat against Inter more respectable. Neither hat-tricks nor goals by substitutes were registered. Six penalties were awarded by referees, of which one went off target. Francesco Flachi had a golden opportunity to put Sampdoria back on level terms against Atalanta but his effort was ably saved by Alex Calderoni. Elsewhere, Lorenzo D'Anna (Chievo), Suazo (Cagliari), Gilardino (Parma), Luca Toni (Palermo) and Andrea Pirlo (Milan) were all prolific from the 11 metres. Meanwhile, six players, namely Christian Panucci, Francesco Totti (both Roma), Paolo Cannavaro, Matteo Contini (both Parma), Fabio Galante (Livorno) and Souleymane Diamoutene (Lecce), received marching orders. Chievo mentor Mario Beretta became the latest coach to be ordered off his bench.

44 years had to pass for Parma and Palermo to share the spoils again at the Tardini Stadium. In an action-packed encounter in front of the prying eyes of Italy coach Marcello Lippi, Parma, who had two men sent off, came from two goals down to salvage a precious home draw against Francesco Guidolin's high-flying Palermo. The Sicilians, who had prevailed in no fewer than five occasions in their previous 12 league visits to Parma, were firm favourites to extend this tradition as they went 3-1 up against 10-man Parma. However, the home side's resilience and determination paid off as Gilardino grabbed a vital equaliser with virtually the last kick of the game. The most recent of three draws between these two sides dates back to January 1, 1961 (0-0). In a slow-burning encounter, Siena edged Lazio 1-0 to keep their salvation hopes alive. The Tuscans' first win in a month coincided with Lazio's third game without a win (one draw and two straight away defeats).