Parma’s championship will not be a walk in the park and Pecchia’s team has learned this in these last few games. There will be a need to suffer and fight to deserve salvation and today Parma demonstrated that they are capable of it. The point gained in Bologna is gold for how the match went and gives us a combative Parma, who with great character were able to overcome some of the difficulties encountered in the last, unfortunate, outings. But let’s go in order, because there are two matches to comment on. The first part of the match saw two teams face each other head on and play on equal terms, dueling in the middle of the field and maintaining very high intensity. Parma were by no means perfect, but they finally returned to giving the impression of a semblance of balance. The team has always been perfectly within the game, without any drops. There were some difficulties in the very first phase of the setup, especially because Italiano managed to overshadow Bernabé with an asphyxiating marking, but when Parma recovered in the upper zone he managed several times with quality to create good opportunities. In the defensive phase there was greater attention, even if there are several things to review: Bologna was unable to punish the ducals, but some imperfect marking and above all some difficulties in the aerial play were visible. Thus we arrive at the 52nd minute, when Di Bello draws the red card to Coulibaly. From here on another game begins. The fourth red card of the season could have been a blow that killed a team burned by recent results. Instead here there was the great reaction of pride and character of a group that did not accept losing, fighting tooth and nail to gain a point. With great humility, Parma left the ball to Bologna and in the difficulties the group came together, both concretely on a tactical level and in a figurative sense. The defense has become impenetrable and has showcased Balogh’s best since he has been in Parma. Parma fought strenuously until the end, rediscovering solidity and balance, the absence of which had cost them heavy points in recent games. This draw gives the team oxygen before the break and above all teaches the boys what the spirit must be to stay in Serie A.
Having discussed the match against Bologna, it is right to make a point about Parma’s last month. At the national break a month ago, Parma arrived as a revelation team in the championship. The big surprise of Serie A for what was expressed on the pitch: 4 points collected against Fiorentina, Milan and Napoli, who were very close based on what was expressed. A month and above all four games later, Parma has six points: but in the meantime they have faced Udinese, Lecce, Cagliari and Bologna. A haul of just two points which, beyond the episodes, is absolutely not enough. The beautiful game left room for worries around a squad that was unable to manage the moments, ending up a victim of its own distractions. Serie A waits for no one and the points lost this month are no small thing. The expulsions also affected these results: 3 in 4 matches, already 4 if we consider the entire championship. For any team it would be compromising to always play with one man less, let alone for a newly promoted team. So something must certainly be recorded on this. As well as in the defensive department: today the first clean sheet arrived, and this adds to the many positive signs of this derby, but the eight goals scored in the previous three matches are worrying. Also and above all because Parma has already lost the pillar of its defense, Circati, due to a very serious injury. The results of this last month highlight how Parma perhaps paid the price for the jump in category. The strength and excessive power displayed in the first races are nothing without the ability to manage and suffer. Something new for Parma but which we saw today and for this very reason the draw takes on emblematic value. Even if the victory has now been missing for five games: after the break, a draw will no longer be enough.
So, what to expect from the rest of Parma’s season? Is the real Parma the one seen at the beginning or the one from the last month? Questions that will be answered after the break, when the Crusaders will have to demonstrate that they have taken that extra step of maturity to demonstrate that they can compete at these levels. Mental stability throughout the season will be decisive and this team must find some stability, on and off the pitch. The exuberance of young people is essential for this team, but without blood in their eyes the quality is not enough. The sacrifice of the various Man, Bonny, players less inclined to run backwards, perfectly demonstrated what Pecchia asks of his Parma. After the break Delprato and his teammates will first face Como away and then Empoli at home. Two direct clashes that will tell us a lot about the health of the team, which now absolutely must win again. It’s not enough to have demonstrated that you have values, now that determination and desire to achieve results must become as much an identity as the proactive game advocated by Pecchia. It will be a long and delicate season, but Parma has the elements to save itself. It won’t be a walk in the park: Pecchia said it, salvation will be a marathon. It will be a war all the way: but Pecchia’s team today demonstrated that they can wear the helmet.