27 January 2015
Having had a long-running feud in Serie A during the majority of the 1990s, Parma and Juventus have been the best of enemies for some time. And this rivalry has not solely taken place in the league either.
Italy’s cup competition, the Coppa Italia, has seen a quintet of contests between the two sides with a palindromic outcome: a couple of wins apiece and a draw sandwiched in the middle.
Now on the eve of their sixth meeting in the cup, Juventus.com turns back time to revisit those two victories registered by the Bianconeri in 1995 and 2007.
Parma 0-2 Juventus, June 1995
Marcello Lippi’s Bianconeri outfit arrived in Emilia-Romagna back in June 1995 with a 1-0 first-leg advantage over Parma earned through Sergio Porrini’s maiden strike for the club.
Expecting to face a Gialloblu with all guns blazing from the get go, the Old Lady were able to weather an early onslaught before Porrini bagged his second goal in the black and white stripes midway through the first half, the big defender picking up the pieces to bury the ball past Luca Bucci after the hosts were unable to clear a corner.
With Parma trying so desperately to get back in the encounter, it was inevitable that space would be left in behind for Juventus to exploit. And Fabrizio Ravanelli was the man to profit as he took a searching ball forward in his stride, held off Alberto Di Chiara’s challenge and curled home from all of 20 yards on 54 minutes.
A goal worthy of winning any match, Ravanelli’s strike also meant that the Bianconeri had secured a domestic double, having won their 23rd Serie A title only a few weeks earlier.
Parma 1-3 Juventus, August 2007
Back in the big time after a year in Serie B, Juventus had kicked off their 2007/08 campaign with a 5-1 opening day mauling of Livorno before attentions then switched to a Coppa Italia third round clash with Parma only three days later.
Following a goalless first half at the Tardini, the visitors took the lead just after the hour mark when Giorgio Chiellini swung a cross into the Gialloblu mixer which was met by Cristian Molinaro who diverted his header past Nicola Pavarini.
That goal helped the Bianconeri to break through a stubborn home rearguard and 11 minutes later, it was two.
Sergio Almiron, a summer signing from Empoli, was fouled by Daniele Dessena on the edge of the Gialloblu area and the Argentine picked himself up before firing the subsequent set-piece into the bottom corner.
Direct from kick-off, however, Parma were presented with a golden opportunity to get themselves back into the contest when Jonathan Zebina was penalised for a push on Igor Budan and Mauro Bergonzi awarded the hosts a penalty.
Despite diving the right way, Gigi Buffon was unable to prevent Paolo Castellini’s spot-kick hitting the back of the net, setting up a tense final quarter of an hour.
Waves of Parma pressure then followed but Juventus stood firm and reaped the rewards on 82 minutes when they ensured a 3-1 scoreline.
After winning a free-kick on the centre circle, Almiron delivered an inviting ball that was initially headed away from danger into the path of Hasan Salihamidzic. He connected first time and, via the aid of a deflection, sent the ball spinning past a motionless Pavarini.
Despite then eliminating Empoli 6-5 on aggregate in the following round, Claudio Ranieri’s men were unable to overcome eventual runners-up Inter Milan, losing 5-4 after 180 minutes of football and bowing out at the quarter-final stage.
