Football Travel: Parma Calcio 1913

If you grew up watching football in the 1990s, you could be forgiven for thinking Parma was a massive force in the European game. In fact, all the club’s major honours – three Coppa Italias, one Supercoppa Italiana, two UEFA Cups, a European Cup-Winners’ Cup and European Super Cup – came in a whirlwind decade between 1992-2002.

In that decade, with money from the food and dairy giant Parmalat and coaching from Nevio Scala, Carlo Ancelotti and Alberto Malesani, Parma briefly became a force after decades in the lower divisions. Players of this period included Zola, Crespo, Thuram, Buffon, Asprilla, Chiesa and Cannavaro.

It all came to an end in 2004 when parent company Parmalat went bankrupt and Parma went into administration. After rebuilding, the club was in financial strife again in March 2015, restarting life in Serie D.

Parma Calcio 1913, as the club is now known, is now well and truly ensconced in Serie A after a rapid rise through the leagues.

The matchday experience at Parma

Parma’s stadium, the Stadio Ennio Tardini, holds just over 22,000 spectators and was built in 1923. It’s very convenient placed just 1km from the historic city centre. It’s a no-frills ground with two covered laterals and two open curve at either end, and it’s purpose-built for football, so it’s a tight, enclosed ground without one of those annoying running tracks around the pitch.

It’s not cheap – we paid €40 online to sit roughly in line with the 18-yard line for a goalless home draw with Torino FC, but it does have a free museum in the main stand, which has some great historical gems, including past kits and those famous trophies from its golden decade.

The setting of the Stadio Ennio Tardini is fantastically down to earth, set among the terracotta rooftops of what appears to be a fairly well-off residential neighbourhood. We found a nice trattoria occupied by Torino supporters to fuel us for the game, and believe me, you will eat well in Parma.

In the ground itself, the home ultras – for whom the no.12 shirt is retired as the fans are “the twelfth man” – occupy the Curva Nord and club’s gialloblu (yellow and blue) colours make for a vibrant display.

The match itself was a disappointment, with a game of few chances ending goalless, but the experience was well worth it: easily accessible and full of character, if not cheap. Next time, I will come for an evening match under the lights.

How to get to the Stadio Ennio Tardini, Parma

If you’re based centrally, either walk or cab it the short distance to the Stadio Ennio Tardini.