Parma arrive in confident mood

Italian team Parma landed in Malta yesterday to start a week-long training camp here ahead of the second part of the Serie A season as they look to maintain their excellent start.

The contingent, headed by president Tommaso Ghirardi, were greeted by a sizeable group of Italian football fans, all keen to take photos and get autographs from the Parma players, including former Juve striker Nicola Amoruso and Valeri Bojinov, and coach Francesco Guidolin.

Tomorrow, Parma will be taking part in a triangular tournament, the Christmas Cup, with the participation of Malta champions Hibernians and Valletta at the Hibs Stad-ium. The first match starts at 8 p.m.

Former Italy striker Alessandro Melli, now Parma team manager, was at the airport yesterday, having flown in ahead of the group 24 hours before.

Melli, 40, enjoyed the brightest spell of his career with Parma in the 90s where he won the Coppa Italia, the Cup Winners' Cup and the UEFA Super Cup. He also played for Sampdoria and Milan in the Serie A. He donned the Azzurri shirt in a World Cup qualifier against Malta in 1993.

Melli said Parma's short break here was an ideal occasion for the players to stay in shape.

"We are approaching this training camp very seriously," Melli, who made 241 appearances for Parma, said.

"This is a perfect location for us considering the freezing conditions we have at home at the moment. The weather is excellent here. We'll be able to practise without trouble ahead of what promises to be a difficult second part of the season.

"Parma have done pretty well so far and the coach is eager to see the team among the top in the Serie A. It's a tough challenge as there are other teams pushing for a place in Europe. However, despite our modest aspirations at the start of the season we're confident that Parma can indeed finish among the top six teams."

Melli, who also played for Italy U-21 in a competitive match against Malta, was am-ong a group of Parma officials who visited Malta a few months ago to inspect facilities for training.

"We were positively impressed by what we saw here," Melli said.

"I think Malta has a lot to offer and is a very good option for Italian clubs to hold training camps at this time of the year. If everything goes according to plan, I think this will not be our last visit here."

Like Melli, Ghirardi was looking forward to Parma's training camp this week. He is hoping this trip will help the team achieve qualification to European football next season.

"This has been a fairytale start to our Serie A campaign," Ghirardi told The Times.

"At present, we're fourth in the standings and that's a great achievement for us but the race is not over yet. European football is a target that is well within our reach and we will do everything in our power to reach this objective."