CROCIATI HISTORY – PARMA vs. TORINO, WHEN PEPITO LIT THE FLAME OF SURVIVAL

Parma, 4 Aprile 2019 – Crociati history features many matches against Torino at the Stadio Ennio Tardini and the next one will be at 15:00 CET on Saturday 6th April on matchday 31 in Serie A TIM.

Our team first took them on at piazzale Risorgimento in 1959 and have since won nine out of 16 meetings, drawing three and losing four.

In the past, we’ve met them while playing for survival as we are this season and such fixtures have been brightened up by one of Italian football’s greatest talents who came from our own academy.

In January 2007, Giuseppe Rossi returned as the prodigal son.

Pepito was discovered by our youth system and won the Scudetto with our Under-17 team before moving to Manchester United at a very young age with Parma in administration.

He would come back at the age of 19 to wear the no.8 shirt for Parma and help us to stay up. His impact straight after returning to Parma was devastating on 21 January 2007.

Rossi started against Torino and caused issues for their backline, showing his full technical ability, pace and creativity to keep them worried.

He scored the vital goal in a 1-0 win in the 75th minute with a magnificent personal piece of play.

He picked the ball up, bringing it down in the box, under the Curva Nord after Paolo Castellini crossed it from the left. He beat two opponents, first  Jacopo Balestri, and then Diego De Ascentis. Closing down on goal, he got away from Gabriele Cioffi and IVan Franceschini. Finally, he beat Massimo Taibi with a great left-foot strike that he could do nothing about.

Parma won for the first time in ten games, a home game against Atalanta was the last win before that.

Rossi went off in the 83rd minute, taking his deserved applause from the Stadio Tardini. It was the first in a series of moments from him which helped the team to stay up in Serie A.

In the slide: Giuseppe Rossi in Parma-Torino. Photo: Domenico Morfeo in action; Pepito’s goal and celebration; the display from the Curva Nord.