MX23RW : Sunday, November 17 00:39:37| >> :600:756336:756336:

Alessandro Melli: 'Parma demise like the sinking of the Titanic'

Former Parma striker Alessandro Melli compares the Italian two-time UEFA Cup winners' financial woes to the sinking of the Titanic.

Former Parma striker Alessandro Melli has likened the Italian two-time UEFA Cup winners' demise to the sinking of the Titanic.

Serie A's basement club, struggling financially, were forced to call off their home game with Udinese on February 22 as they could not pay for stewards.

The Crusaders finished sixth last season to secure European qualification, but they were prevented from competing in the Europa League for not meeting UEFA's club licensing criteria because of unpaid bills.

The 45-year-old, part of Parma's 1993 European Cup Winners' Cup success and now the club's general manager, told BBC Sport: "The situation's pretty dramatic, every day there's bad news.

"In these years, and especially in the last year, I've always thought Parma was like the Titanic. There were people who believed they were travelling first class and then other people who were doing all the hard, dirty work without being paid.

"I've always thought that just like the famous tragedy and in the movie, sooner or later an iceberg would come and hit us. And the problems we had with the Uefa licensing last year, that excluded us from the Europa League, was precisely that iceberg, the beginning of the end."

Parma, Serie A runners-up in 1996-97, have just 10 points from 23 games.

ID:207942: cacheID:207942:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:2130:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Parma's Raffaele Palladino celebrates with team mates after scoring the equaliser against Bologna during the Serie A match on April 13, 2014
Read Next:
Report: Cash-strapped Parma dissolved
>
Read more about Alessandro Melli Football
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
6pm
Packers
@
Bears
6pm
Raiders
@
Dolphins
6pm
Colts
@
Jets
6pm
Jags
@
Lions
6pm
Rams
@
Patriots
6pm
Browns
@
Saints
6pm
Ravens
@
Steelers
6pm
Vikings
@
Titans
9.05pm
Seahawks
@
49ers
9.05pm
Falcons
@
Broncos
9.25pm
Chiefs
@
Bills
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Napoli128221991026
2Atalanta BCAtalanta1281331151625
3Fiorentina1274125101525
4Inter Milan1274126141225
5Lazio1281325141125
6Juventus126602171424
7AC Milan115332014618
8Bologna114611513218
9Udinese125161518-316
10Empoli12363910-115
11Torino124261518-314
12Roma123451417-313
13Parma122641618-212
14Hellas VeronaHellas Verona124081727-1012
15Como122461323-1010
16CagliariCagliari122461222-1010
17Genoa12246922-1310
18Lecce12237521-169
19Monza121561015-58
20VeneziaVenezia122281121-108


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!