Derby dell'Emilia

The Derby dell'Emilia (Italian pronunciation:

Parma

Bologna

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Locations of Bologna and Parma in Italy

For much of the clubs' early history, games were not contested, so the first fixture was not until 6 November 1983, despite Bologna being formed in 1909 and Parma just four years later in 1913.^[2][3] While Bologna competed for titles, becoming national champions 7 times and winning the Coppa Italia twice by 1974, Parma only dreamt of national success. The first meeting was an eventful 3–3 draw at the Stadio Ennio Tardini in what remains the fixture's highest scoring game and the lowest level at which it has been fought. March's return also saw no victor; it was a goalless draw. The rivalry was intensified because both sides were competing for the 1983–84 Serie C1 title. Indeed, the duo each finished joint top with 48 points and achieved promotion to Serie B.

Serie B was the scene for six more derbies before the decade was out and 1985 saw the clubs' only battle in the Coppa Italia: a 0–0 draw that eventually consigned both sides to failure to qualify from the group stage. Bologna's win (their first derby victory at the eighth attempt) and a draw and thus 3 points earned against Parma were crucial in their 1988 Serie B title win. In 1990, the derby was contested in Serie A for the first time, after Parma joined Bologna in Italian football's top tier. It was now Parma who had the upper hand, with Bologna relegated in the spring of 1991. The teams would not meet again until Bologna's return to Serie A in 1996, but then proceeded to play each other on an annual basis for nine consecutive years.

The final season of that run, 2004–05, was the rivalry at its zenith. Both sides had performed poorly, finishing 17th and 18th in the 20-strong league. The bottom three sides were to be relegated and to split the two Emilian sides, the traditional spareggio was required, involving a two-legged play-off to decide which of the two would remain in Serie A. Bologna won the first leg in the Stadio Ennio Tardini 1–0 on 14 June 2005, but succumbed to 2–1 aggregate defeat following Parma's two-goal victory in Bologna, securing the Crociati a place in Italy's top division.

In 2008, Bologna achieved promotion back to Serie A, but Parma dropped down to Serie B, so the teams did not meet again until the following year. In 2009–10, both teams managed 2–1 wins at home, preceding a three-match run of goalless draws, a result that occurred for the tenth time in the 36 meetings up to that point.^[4]

Statistics

As of 7 February 2021, there have been 47 competitive meetings between the teams.^[4] Each side have won 14 of these, and the remaining 21 matches have finished as draws. The biggest victory happened on 12 May 2019 and on 28 September 2020 when Bologna earned a 4–1 victory; another victory with a margin of three goals has happened on 7 February 2021, when Bologna wins 0-3. Other than that, seven times the match has been decided with a margin of two goals. Bologna has achieved this margin of victory twice, both times winning in 3–1 at home in Serie A. Parma have won by a two-goal margin on four occasions, twice at home and twice away, including the spareggio victory in 2005.

Honours

Managers

Six coaches have managed both

coached Parma for three and a half years and 141 matches.

Name	Bologna	Parma
	Period	Period
Renzo Ulivieri	1994–1998 2005 2006–2007	2001
Francesco Guidolin	1999–2003	2008–2010
Franco Colomba	2009–2010	2011–2012
Alberto Malesani	2010–2011	1998–2001
Stefano Pioli	2011–2014	2006–2007
Roberto Donadoni	2015–2018	2012–2015

Other Emilian derbies

Because the terms derby dell'Emilia and derby emiliano simply mean "Emilian derby", any number of other matches could also be referred to under the same name, although the contest between Parma and Bologna is most often implied because they are the region's two biggest most successful clubs and the Derby della via Emilia is often preferred as a name for other Emilian derbies.

The six of

• Derby dei Ducati – Modena vs Parma
• Derby del Ducato – Parma vs Piacenza
• Derby dell'
  Derby del Grana) – Parma vs Reggiana^[5]
• Derby della Ghirlandina – Modena vs Sassuolo^[6]

References