Gilardino new coach of Parma: contract until 2027 with option for two seasons

Signing in the morning, first training session at the Mutti Training Center in Collecchio in the afternoon: the Gilardino era has begun in Parma. The former Pisa and Genoa coach is the new coach of the Crociati, in communicating the official announcement the ducal club made it known that the new technical manager of the first team has signed a contract until the end of the 2026/27 season, with an option in favor of the club for two further seasons.

We turn the page, two days after Carlos Cuesta's farewell, a "shared decision" by Parma football and the Spanish coach according to what was issued in a note by president Krause's association. The official presentation of the new coach is scheduled for Thursday at the Tardini stadium, with the first test on Friday morning, a friendly match in Collecchio against Virtus Entella. World champion with the national team in 2006, this is a return to Parma for Gilardino after his experience as a footballer which saw him as a protagonist for three seasons from 2002 to 2005, during which he collected 116 appearances and 56 goals with the yellow and blue shirt.

The coaching staff will also be made up of Gaetano Caridi (assistant coach), Francesco Valiani (technical collaborator, another former crusader), Antonio Bovenzi (athletic trainer) and Mirco Vecchi (match analyst). Nicola Pavarini, goalkeeping coach, remains among the veterans of the previous management. "Very happy to be here" said the former striker upon his arrival in Emilia. The hero of the 2005 salvation play-off (his goal against Bologna at the Dall'Ara was decisive) enjoys good credit in Parma: his past and the fans' gratitude work in Gilardino's favor and he will make his debut when the championship resumes on Saturday 10 October at San Siro against Inter. But what really matters will have to be demonstrated on the field, perhaps not just with the results.

The goal of the ducal club remains a quiet salvation, valorising individuals from a market perspective, a mission that Cuesta had already achieved last year. If Gila is able to give the team the more proactive game desired by the club at the beginning of the season, a cycle could be opened, after many changes on the bench (eight coaches in the last seven seasons). Recovering not only Bernabè physically, relaunching the various Frigan, Ordonez, Ndiaye, Britschgi, Cremaschi, the squad offers the coach opportunities and some thorns, including the troubled Valenti, who ended up on the fringes of the project.