Serie A 2011-2012 Preview: Parma -- Look Who's All Grown Up!

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SB Nation Italy welcomes back Adam Digby for the "Juventus Reserves" preview. More than a mere tifosi, Adam is one of the most knowledgeable sources to be found on Italian football and contributes to  IBWM, SI.com, Calcio Italia and Beyond the Pitch, and is also the co-founder of JuventiKnows.com

SB Nation Soccer's Serie A previews continue with Parma. The Ducali have always been one of the leagues most admired teams, a veritable supermarket of talent that has been continually raided by Europe's best sides since the club's first ever promotion to Serie A back in 1990. Consistently good to watch they faded from being one of the Seven Sisters after the Parmalat meltdown, returning to the second tier but seem to be improving steadily under Tommaso Ghirardi's ownership.

Sporting Director Pietro Leonardi has brought together an impressive squad over the past two years, taking few risks and signing proven Serie A performers. A number of these are men like Amauri who have hit poor form and Parma have become something of a rehabilitation centre. Francesco Guidolin left for Udinese last summer and his teams have been among Italian footballs best the past two years, sadly for fans of Parma only one of those seasons was on their bench.

With a pre-season to put over his ideas Franco Colomba will have no excuses and should be in the top half of the table if they realise the immense potential within the group. Cristian Zaccardo has been linked with a number of moves away which would be a shame, his veteran leadership and mentality have been vital to the club.

Parma in 2010-11

Given the talent available last season was something of a disappointment for Parma. Pasquale Marino struggled to fill the void left by Francesco Guidolin's resignation and was sacked in early April with seven games left to play. Franco Colomba earned the desired results and avoided relegation two weeks from the end of the season. There was much to admire in their play but the club will rightly expect much more this time around.

Goal Of Last Season

This stunning backheel from Amauri was amazing even without considering the goal drought he put long-suffering Juventus fans through, a truly great goal.