Alessandro Lucarelli told Football-Italia.net Chief Correspondent Richard Hall about his extraordinary journey, standing by Parma as they went from Serie A to bankruptcy and back again.
The former defender has just released his autobiography, ‘L’Ultima Bandiera’ – The Last Flag – covering a remarkable career made up of tough choices, ones focused more on the heart than the head, which has made him forever a Stadio Tardini icon.
Alessandro Lucarelli told Football-Italia.net Chief Correspondent Richard Hall about his extraordinary journey, standing by Parma as they went from Serie A to bankruptcy and back again.
The former defender has just released his autobiography, ‘L’Ultima Bandiera’ – The Last Flag – covering a remarkable career made up of tough choices, ones focused more on the heart than the head, which has made him forever a Stadio Tardini icon.
When looking at the journey you went on with Parma, it must have been difficult to fit the whole story into one book. Did you always have it in your mind that one day you would tell this tale?
The idea of the book was proposed to me by the authors in the year of bankruptcy, as they asked me to tell everything that had happened, including the rebirth. Then we decided to continue until my retirement. So, we went on for two years and I told all my football history, since I left home at 16 to play in Piacenza until the farewell evening at the Tardini.
You have come a long way since 2008 and those early days when you were reunited with your brother, Cristiano, and helped the team to promotion. Did the world seem a brighter place back then?
At the beginning it was not all that good, because the results were not positive and consequently my performances weren't good either. Then after the change of Coach and with the arrival of Francesco Guidolin things started to go better and it begun that beautiful championship that then led us to the promotion in Serie A.
Between 2009 and 2015 you made an incredible 193 appearances in Serie A and eventually became club captain. What are some of the highlights from that time?
It was a period in which I began to feel more responsible and becoming the captain of the team I felt even more responsibility towards this club.
At what point did you start to see that there were problems at Parma? For instance, did it worry you about how many players Parma had on their books and that they had loaned out?
We had more than 200 players, the situation was not clear and we had some doubts. We wondered what the economic return of all those purchases was.
The relationship with the board and owners was good, we trusted them because they had always given us guarantees on everything. In fact, none of us would have expected the company to face bankruptcy, because they told us that there were only cash flow problems, but the company was healthy. They took us for a ride.
Why did you decide to stay when the club was reborn in Serie D?
I decided to stay and play for Parma because I experienced the bankruptcy on my skin. I had spent so much energy to try to save the club, but I hadn’t got anything. So it seemed right that the club restarted from its captain, I wanted to do something to bring Parma back in to the upper tiers. I had a few offers from other teams, but I did not want to go and play elsewhere because the football world had disappointed me. If I had not kept playing for Parma, I would have stopped.
Can you paint me a mental picture of what it was like in those early days? There were rumours that it was difficult to acquire footballs for training, hot water in the stadium etc.
At the beginning it was not easy, we registered the team to the championship very quickly, we had to do many things so fast, then we started structuring the whole club to face the Serie D championship. The relationship with the new company was immediately positive because it was founded by entrepreneurs of Parma and this was a guarantee for us.
What did your family think about the decision? Did they think you were crazy or beautifully loyal, or a bit of both?
My family had suggested I quit, because they thought it was a huge risk for me to start again from Serie D after a whole career spent in Serie A. I made a choice with my heart, my instinct told me to continue.
How much of a difference did having Parma legends Nevio Scala and Luigi Apolloni make?
To have entrusted the technical guidance to men who made club history has given us a big hand, especially at the beginning, they were representative of Parma and reference points for everyone.
What was the feeling like when you were finally promoted back to Serie A?
When we went to Serie A it was a dream come true, because I never expected to do it in three years. I won my battle, we closed the whole journey in the best way, it was an incredible emotion. And it was like giving back to Parma what this city deserved.
The fans have shown an affection to this incredible team, in addition to a sense of belonging and a love for their club, that is unparalleled. In Serie D 10,000 season tickets were sold and thousands followed us even when we played away from home.
Your book tells of the most incredible rise like a phoenix from the flames and it’s a story of fight, loyalty and emotion. What do you think Parma can write in their next chapter? Will Matteo Lucarelli be a future Captain?
The future of Parma Calcio is in the short term to stabilise in Serie A, then we hope that there will be the strength to do something more. My son Matteo plays in the youth academy, it would be nice for him to receive the captain's armband in years to come, but he must make his own path. He already bears the weight of my name on his shoulders, so it's better for him to think of his own career in a very relaxed way.