PARMA are slowly making their way back to the big time after celebrating a second-successive promotion.
The troubled club were relegated to Serie D — Italy’s fourth tier — in 2014 after suffering bankruptcy.
That is despite finishing in a Europa League place.
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And they were reborn as Parma Calcio 1913.
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They had been in turmoil for a decade before the bankruptcy following the financial meltdown and mismanagement of holding company Parmalat in 2004.
But they enjoyed an immediate rise to Lega Pro and, earlier this week, clinched promotion to Serie B.
They won a dramatic penalty shoot-out against Pordenone in the play-off semi-final before beating Alessandria 2-0 in the show-piece.
Captain Alessandro Lucarelli, 39, even postponed his retirement by one more season as he looks to give some much-needed experience.
Now, the club that captured the imagination of so many football fans in the 1990s, are aiming to do the same again as they aim to return to Italy’s top table.
Parma are reportedly targeting former strikers Alberto Gilardino and Antonio Cassano in their hunt for a third-successive promotion.
They’re still a world away from the side which won the Uefa Cup in 1999.
That Crociati starting line-up included the likes of Gianluigi Buffon, Lilian Thuram, Fabio Cannavaro, Dino Baggio, Juan Sebastian Veron, Enrico Chiesa and Hernan Crespo.
But they are fighting for different trophies these days.
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