PARM GLEE
Parma promoted to Serie A three years after going broke thanks to dramatic late goal on Serie B final day
Parma are back in Italian football's big time after finishing second in Serie B to seal their third promotion in as many seasons
PARMA are back in Serie A three years after going broke and being relegated to Italian football's fourth tier.
The once mighty Italian side sealed their third promotion in three seasons after a dramatic finish on Serie B's final day.
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Parma finished second ahead of Frosinone, who conceded an 89th-minute equaliser against Foggia to cost them promotion.
In the 1990s, Parma fielded a team comprising Gianluigi Buffon, Lilian Thuram, Fabio Cannavaro, Dino Baggio, Juan Sebastian Veron and Hernan Crespo.
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They won two UEFA Cups and one Cup Winners Cup in the 90s, but never managed to win the Serie A title.
Parma became the first Italian club to earn three successive promotions on Friday night.
The 2-0 win at Spezia saw them finish second in Serie B, after Frosinone's 2-2 draw at home to Foggia.
They finished level on points but Parma clinched second courtesy of a better head-to-head record.
Party atmosphere as Parma beat Spezia in Serie B promotion-play offs and return to Serie A
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Empoli had already earned promotion as Serie B winner, dominating the league by finishing 13 points clear.
The other automatic spot was up for grabs with Frosinone second going into the final round, with two points more than Parma and three more than Palermo.
Parma won with goals from Fabio Ceravolo and Amato Ciciretti, while veteran former Italy striker Alberto Gilardino missed a penalty for Spezia.
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Foggia led at Frosinone, but Luca Paganini's header and a Matteo Rubin own-goal had the hosts heading for Serie A until Roberto Floriano's last-minute equaliser.
And that meant that one of football's most iconic teams in the 1990s were back where they belonged after a troubled recent spell.