Liverpool v Parma
Liverpool 5-0 Parma
They charged £4 for parking - can you believe that??? But they issued specially printed tickets, so there's something! (I haven't bothered to scan it - you don't want to see it, do you??).
Being dead centre of the main stand also meant that we were close to the dugouts. Didn't take me long to realise that there were players in Parmalat tracksuits sitting there! I recognised Pietro Strada too!! Oh, pick up thy pen and walk, woman!!! So, I skipped down the steps to the dugout and, hey - there was baby Cannavaro! "Scusi" says I in a very fluently linguistic way! I handed Paolo my match magazines and he kindly signed amidst much use of body language. When he handed them back, I divulged my Parma allegiance by asking (sweetly) "E Pietro, per favore?" Well, nobody would know who "Pietro" was were they not a true gialloblu fan, huh?? A little nod of the head from my little friend PC and he passed along the line. (Unfortunately, Maini was in the middle - never been my favourite player - just don't see the point of him - but he had to sign too, I guess!!). Well, THANK YOU Paolo!!!! The observant amongst you will notice that there are squiggly lines on the pic of the magazine above! Click on the following to see the autographs in all their glory!!! Paolo Cannavaro Giampiero Maini Pietro Strada
Scorers: Hamann 29, Barmby 38, McAllister 59, Owen 69 (pen.), 85
So, we traipsed on up to Anfield amongst thousands and thousands of souls in red shirts (me too! :)). Can't say I like crowds all that much - and there was drizzle in the air to add to the discomfort. However, make it around the ground we did and (after being searched) made our way into the stadium and to our seats. Great seats! 8 rows back in the main stand - dead centre!
We had a really nice couple of days in Wales before driving under the Mersey Tunnel into Liverpool. Snowdonia, the Isle of Anglesey - castles, fish 'n' chips - rain!! We reached Liverpool about 12.30pm and headed straight toward the Goodison Park area! Had to pay homage first - had to ask for forgiveness for what I was about to do! (See the picture taken by clicking HERE). Onwards though to Anfield. Although it was drizzling quite heavily (is that possible?!), I returned, with my son, to the front of the stand to wait for the players to come out to warm up. The Liverpool players came out to mass cheers. I craned my neck in desperation. Where was Patrik???? Alas, no Patrik - he had darn well injured himself in training. SOOOOO disappointed! The only Parma player to appear for quite some time was Benarrivo. He (looking very cute - that skin of his is beautiful!) went to the centre of the pitch and sat on a ball. Don't know what on earth he was doing that for - but he sat there, alone, for absolutely ages before the other boys came out. Meditating? Contemplating? Sulking because he wasn't in the starting line-up?? Wow! Here comes Lilian and Diego and Dino and Fabio!! Here come ALL the Parma boys (excepting a few - namely Almeyda, Amoroso, Boghossian, Micoud, Sartor - and, very unfortunately, Buffon) Fabio was clad not in socks or shorts!!! :) Well, he had socks on, but they were rolled down. He had shorts on too actually - but only the cycling variety! WOW - that man's calves are enormous!!! Truly, those are the most muscular legs I have ever had the pleasure to view!! Fabio got cheers from the Liverpool fans too and he acknowledged them with little smiles, swaggers and waves!! 
Lilian, Sergio (Conceicao) and Fabio leave the pitch after their warm up
We got Gerry and the Pacemakers, of course! Well, give them their dues, the Red fans sang "You'll Never Walk Alone" with some gusto and with much scarf and banner holding alofts. Quite impressive really. I didn't join in! The players came out!!
(please click on the pic to see a HUGE one which captures the atmosphere nicely!)
| Malesani had chucked out the best eleven available to him and the boys played well for the first 20 minutes. Savo could (should) have scored as early as the 5th minute. I was impressed with what I saw. Conceicao and Fuser, on opposite wings, caused much problem to Liverpool. Much of the time, in fact, Fuser was left totally alone - not a soul anywhere near him. Lamouchi played with heart and quite a little skill and I warmed to him. Things were looking good! And what joy to see those boys in the flesh! Then, on 28 minutes, Fabio inadvertently handballed and Liverpool got a free kick just about 25 yards from goal. Hamman took it. "Whoosh" - goal! Guardalben could do nothing about that - although the wall might've (was there shoving though - did I catch Hyypia shoving Cannavaro out of the way - was it legal?!?!) |  |
The boys traipse off at half-time. Click pic for much bigger image
(During the half-time interval it was announced that Chelsea were 1-0 up over MU in the Charity Shield at Wembley. Massive, massive cheering broke out all around the ground! Anybody who doubts the almost universal hatred of the scummers, should've heard that - and then they would know!)
| Parma were always going to lose this game. It stood to reason they would - given that Liverpool's season started in only a few days - and Parma's not until 1st October. The question was, how badly would they lose the game? There's no point in me giving a blow-by-blow account of what happened in the 2nd half; match reports are below. Conceicao had to be subbed by Benarrivo as early as the 56th minute. By the 59th minute, Parma were 3-0 down. Fabio had been adjudged to foul somebody or other and from the ensuing play came a McAllister goal. MCALLISTER! Heck, I still can hardly believe it!!!! |  |
Torrisi seemed to give in and was subbed by my little friend Paolo Cannavaro. (Was this the first time that both brothers had played at the same time?). I'm not sure whether it was he or Lilian who gave away the penalty - but it was a soft 'un, whatever. Owen scored from the spot. 4-0. Eeks, was beginning to shrink in my seat! The cheers and jeers around me were pretty hard to take!! (Although even bigger cheering rang around the ground after it was heard that Chelsea had scored a 2nd goal!!! Chants of "Chelsea, Chelsea" even!) The 5th goal was almost inevitable. Another Owen goal (although I think PC might've had the last touch). That was it though - only the 5!!! Could've been a lot worse! Guardalben made some magnificent saves! Our best effort was from P Cannavaro, but his header was saved by Westerveld. I don't think that either of our strikers got a shot on target - or maybe even a shot!!
Fabio shakes hands with Song at the end of the game, having swapped shirts with McAllister (who was creeping to him after being rather unsportsmanlike after having received a tinsy little kick from off of the Fabio boot!!). NICE body, Fab!!! :) I take back everything I ever said about "Flabio" - he is one mighty muscular man!
Some would say this was a mauling, but I don't look at it like that. I think it was a good exercise. However, I think we do have one problem area which needs addressing before the start of the season - although I doubt it will be. Milosevic and Di Vaio are NOT GOOD ENOUGH. I was desperately disappointed in the pair of them. Hopefully, Savo might strike up a good partnership with Amoroso - but what I saw today was the Aston Villa Savo, not the Primera Liga one. I have read some praise elsewhere for Di Vaio too - but I see him as an average player only. Oh, there's loads more in my head - but I think I've written enough! Oh, but Thuram is not so good, you know. I don't think he's been a massive player for the last year or so - but perhaps that's just me. Fuser also showed signs of disinterest, which looks to me like he might like a move. Malesani should've made substitutions earlier in the 2nd half. It was obvious that most of the players were suffering badly. Were you punishing them, Alberto - or what?!?
Dino is subbed, along with Milosevic and Appiah on 81 minutes. Dino was a waste of space, imo - he should move on. (Click on pic for a bigger version)
Anyway, I ENJOYED this enormously! The 300 mile journey home was wearisome - but what memories! It was GREAT to see the boys "live" again - and I am so glad I went!
Things for you to click on!!!! Below are links to even more photographs taken during the game (all my own as are the others on this page). I would've put them on here had they not been rather large. DO click on them to have a look!
General game shot - Thuram in the foreground
General game shot - a great pic!
General shot with Conceicao in the foreground
Milosevic being subbed on 81 minutes
Team Lineups
LIVERPOOL (4-4-2): Westerveld, Henchoz (Staunton 60), Traore (Matteo 46), Hyypia (Carragher 6), Babbel (Song 46); Smicer, Gerrard (Murphy60), Hamann (McAllister 46), Barmby; Owen, Heskey. (Unused subs: Nielsen, Kippe, Miles, Diomède, Berger, Camara). Coach: Houllier
Referee: Barry (England)
Crowd: 31,359
PARMA (3-5-2): Guardalben, Thuram, Torrisi (P Cannavaro 60), F.Cannavaro; Fuser, Lamouchi, Baggio (Maini 81), Appiah (Montano 81), Conceiçao (Benarrivo 56); Di Vaio, Milosevic (Bonazzoli 81). (Unused subs: Micillo, De Lucia, D’Imporzano, D’Alterio, Saccani, Strada). Coach: Malesani
Thanks to Takis the Liverpool fan!
Official Parma site report
SUPERIOR LIVERPOOL MAKE IT 5-0
Legendary Liverpool
Liverpool overcame Parma with a convincing 5-0 victory at Anfield on Sunday – although the Reds, whose season begins in earnest next weekend, clearly had the edge in terms of both fitness and organisation. Even allowing for that advantage, however, the Gialloblù will find it hard to obliterate the memory of a five-goal mauling in front of a heaving home crowd.
Alberto Malesani, still experimenting with his formation, plumped for a compact-looking side, dispensing of the services of a playmaker, a decision partly enforced by the absence of Micoud, who stayed behind in Italy with back pain. In his place, Dino Baggio pushed up into a three-man central midfield, with Lamouchi and Appiah either side of him. That left space for Diego Fuser on the right and Sergio Conceiçao on the left. Finally, there was a return to English soil for Savo Milosevic, who partnered Marco Di Vaio up front.
The game got off to an exciting start – despite a constant light drizzle. Westerveld, the Liverpool goalkeeper, was tested as early as three minutes into the match, with a sharp shot from Milosevic. Five minutes later and the Yugoslav striker had another chance to give Parma the lead, but his header didn’t get the deflection it needed to direct it goalward.
Despite all the hype surrounding Michael Owen, it was Emile Heskey who caused the first scare for Parma, his effort rattling the crossbar. Liverpool continued to pile on the pressure, with Matteo Guardalben having to save from Nick Barmby on 24 minutes. Six minutes later and there was little the young keeper could do about Dietmar Hamann’s swerving free-kick and the shortcomings of an inattentive wall. Just as the teams were about to troop off for half-time, the home side made it 2-0, Barmby scrabbling in from short range after a double save by Guardalben.
Malesani made no changes in personnel at half-time, but he had clearly used the interval to urge his side to press forwards in increased numbers. But despite the better attempts of Di Vaio and Appiah, the match seemed stuck in the midfield. When, finally, a breakthrough came, it belonged to the home side, with Heskey firing in a shot from within the area – only to see it kept out by a diving Guardalben.
Parma were still in with a shout – but not for much longer. With half-hour remaining, a one-two between Barmby and McAllister provided the latter with a golden opportunity to make it three. He didn’t err, and suddenly life was looking difficult for the Gialloblù.
Liverpool now began to make their superior fitness felt, pressing forwards in search of a fourth. Barmby, a new £6m signing from city rivals Everton, was the driving force behind these upfield surges. A foul by Lilian Thuram on Michael Owen on 69 minutes tipped the scoreline into the category commonly described as ‘embarrassing’, as Owen converted from the spot.
It wasn’t determination that Parma were lacking now, but lucidity. Paolo Cannavaro was first to try to claw back some dignity, but his header was pushed over the bar by Westerveld. His attempt was the signal for a belated Parma fightback. It wasn’t too late to salvage some pride, if not the match. But Owen saw to it that Malesani and Co went home truly empty-handed, when he scored the home side’s fifth after a fine run down the right by Heskey. His goal completed a nightmare 90 minutes for Parma, who will no doubt be looking for compensation from their next friendly.
Click on HERE for more reports.