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1995-96 began on a crescendo note when Parma announced the signing of Hristo Stoichkov, the 1994 European Footballer of the Year. Almost 10,000 supporters defied the blazing July sun to witness the official unveiling of the temperamental Bulgarian, whose acquisition represented one of the steals of the summer. Less trumpeted, but equally important to the club´s Scudetto hopes was the arrival of the auspicious Filippo Inzaghi, prized away from Serie B Piacenza on the back of 15 goals in 37 appearances. Another recruit to the Gialloblu attack was Sandro Melli, who returned to the club after an unsettled year at Milan and Sampdoria. But if the new boys offered a potentially destructive underpinning for an assault on the twin peaks of Serie A and Europe, Scala´s vision of turning the provincial outfit from satellite to superpower became increasingly blurred. Sixth place and qualification for the UEFA Cup would not be enough to keep Scala at the club which owed him its new-found place of eminence in the Italian game. Parma´s opening sequence of results augured well for another tilt at the title, with only two defeats in their first 15 games: a 3-0 reverse at Sampdoria in week three, followed by a home loss to Vicenza 12 games later. Impressive stuff, but a run that was punctuated by too many draws. Ultimately, Scala´s team could not deliver on the promise of early wins over Inter (2-1) and Fiorentina (3-0). The second half of the season yielded only 27 points from a possible 51, as Stoichkov and Co. struggled to achieve any kind of consistency. A buccaneering performance in the Cup-Winners Cup, a competition where Parma had progressed to final showdowns with Antwerp and Arsenal in two previous appearances, could have snuffed out the murmurings of unrest, but Paris in the spring was not the benevolent place of popular imagination. After dispensing with Albania´s Teuta Durazzo (4-0 on aggregate), Parma enjoyed a night to remember against Swedish side Halmstads. Trailing 3-0 from the away leg, the Gialloblu completed a remarkable turnaround when scoring four times without return at the Tardini. But that was as good as it got. The single Stoichkov goal separating Parma and Paris Saint-Germain in Emilia was no obstacle to Parisian ambition as Scala´s men were swept aside 3-1 at the Parc des Princes. The gulf in performance between this and the previous season did not reflect well on Scala and his players. And underlying the increasingly crotchety mood surrounding the club was the presentiment that a cycle had run its course. Thus the close season saw the demise of the architect of Parma´s success in the early to mid-1990s, Nevio Scala, and the advent of Stefano Tanzi.
Story of a season: |
| Serie A 1995/96
01/10/95 PADOVA PARMA 1 - 3
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| Serie A 1995/96
27/08/95 ATALANTA - PARMA 1 - 1
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