Parma's Malesani Learning About Pressure Familiar to Lippi
Copyright � 1998 Nando.net
Copyright � 1998 Reuters
ROME (Sep 25, 1998 - 12:31 EDT) - Marcello Lippi of Juventus and Parma's Alberto Malesani find themselves in opposite camps for this weekend's Serie A clash but under the surface they have plenty in common.
Like Lippi four years ago, for the first time Malesani finds himself coach of one of Serie A's elite clubs where anything less than the league title is considered a failure.
And just as Lippi's Juventus struggled to make an impression in its opening games, so Malesani's Parma has drawn its first two league matches and lost a UEFA Cup first leg match to Turkish side Fenerbahce -- all without scoring a single goal.
Defeat to Juventus at the Tardini could break the magic spell which Malesani's exciting Fiorentina side cast over Parma in a 2-1 victory at the Tardini last spring.
It was after that match that Parma owner Stefano Tanzi decided to replace manager Carlo Ancelotti with Malesani, giving the 44-year-old coach a chance to fulfill the potential he had first shown as a pupil at Italy's academy for soccer managers at Coverciano.
Malesani was considered a star pupil at the national soccer federation's school of excellence where his thesis on the defensive merits of a 3-4-3 formation still sits on the shelves of the library.
The young manager quickly turned theory into practice as manager of Chievo Verona, a previously unheard-of club on the periphery of his native Verona.
In two seasons, Malesani took Chievo from the third to the second division. "Watch this man," warned Renzo Ulivieri, one of Serie A's most experienced coaches and currently in charge of Napoli. "He's got something special."
In the summer of 1997, Fiorentina took on Malesani and the manager's exciting, attacking tactics quickly won over the local fans, although not the notoriously eccentric owner Vittorio Cecchi Gori.
More significantly, however, for a coach aiming to work with the elite of Serie A, Malesani enjoyed enormous respect among his players -- notably from Argentine Gabriel Batistuta, who initially tried to follow Malesani to Parma.
Unlike Malesani, Lippi is reportedly approaching the end of his successful period with Juventus, where he has won three out of four league championships and reached three successive European Cup finals -- winning one of them.
With his contract due for renewal at the end of the season, Italian newspaper reports suggest the coach is ready to break with the Turin side, possibly for Rome club Lazio.
Four years ago, however, Lippi was the up-and-coming manager of Italian soccer, his job at Juventus reward for taking a near bankrupt Napoli into the UEFA Cup.
Lippi's rise to the top had been less meteoric than Malesani's. He passed several indifferent seasons at Siena, Pistoiese, Carrarara and Cesena before finally making the breakthrough in 1992-93 by coaching Atalanta Bergamo to seventh place in the league.
Twelve months later Lippi was at Juventus and, like Malesani, under pressure.
Despite pledging to make his side "less (Roberto) Baggio dependent," Juve looked increasingly in dire need of their famous number 10 -- injured at the start of the 1994-95 season.
Just as Malesani has upset fans and journalists alike by opening up his training sessions only once a week, Juve fans disliked their new manager's refusal to let supporters mix with their heroes during the summer training camp.
Likewise, Malesani's decision to put old crowd favorites like Nestor Sensini and Roberto Mussi on the bench has proven as unpopular at the Tardini as Lippi's treatment of Baggio.
And while Lippi reacted to a surprise early 1-0 defeat at Foggia by calling a crisis meeting with his players to clear the air, there are growing signs of disillusionment in the Parma camp with Malesani.
"How can I ever get to know how one player likes to receive the ball if I don't get to play with him very often?" asked Diego Fuser, clearly unhappy with Malesani's decision to field a second-string side against Fenerbahce.
All this might change for Malesani if Parma can win against the reigning champions on Saturday.
Ask Lippi. The Juventus manager's breakthrough came with a home win against then-reigning champion AC Milan in November 1994, after which his side never looked back, going on to win the title.
