Alberto Gilardino’s first morning at Parma opened a fresh chapter at Collecchio: a familiar former striker returning not for a ceremonial embrace, but to take responsibility for a team entering a new phase of its season. After arriving in the city on Monday evening and completing his first tour of the club’s facilities, Gilardino met the squad, spoke to the group and then took charge of training at the Mutti Training Center.
The coach and the club
Gilardino has signed through the end of the 2026/27 campaign, with Parma holding an option to extend the agreement by a further two years. The club announced the appointment with its customary siren and contract-signing imagery, while also recalling one of the most memorable moments of his playing time in yellow and blue.
That connection reaches back to 18 June 2005, when Gilardino scored the goal that secured Parma’s safety in the derby at Bologna. The announcement imagery referred to his well-known violin celebration, with the former forward now returning as the man expected to conduct a different kind of collective performance at the Tardini.
The decision to move on from Carlos Cuesta was regarded internally as necessary, even if the separation was emotionally difficult. Chief executive Federico Cherubini and director of football Alessandro Pettinà observed Gilardino’s first session, underlining the club’s close attention to the start of the new project.
- Gilardino arrived in Parma on Monday evening and began visiting the club’s facilities.
- On his first morning, he welcomed the players alongside his staff and addressed the squad before lunch.
- The group then shared time together at the training centre before Gilardino led his opening session on the main pitch.
First messages on the training ground
Gilardino introduced himself to the players with a short meeting in the press room, joined by assistant coach Gaetano Caridi, technical collaborator Francesco Valiani, fitness coach Antonio Bovenzi and match analyst Mirco Vecchi. His opening message centred on enthusiasm, while the work that followed offered the first indications of his priorities.
The initial session lasted around an hour and was carried out at a high tempo. Gilardino stressed technical quality, forward play and keeping the ball on the ground. He also wants Parma to recover the defensive reliability that had been an important feature of the side last season, when the team often found its best moments without possession.
Communication was another point repeatedly made during the session. Gilardino asked players to remain involved in the action and to bring quality to their decisions, setting an early standard for a squad that must quickly adapt to a new voice.
Continuity, with room to adapt
Parma selected Gilardino partly to preserve a degree of continuity with the 3-5-2 structure. Yet his approach is not tied to one fixed system. His starting point is the players available: their characteristics should determine the framework rather than the other way around.
He wants a compact side, with short distances between the lines and the capacity to press forward again in the opposition half. The intention is to combine a more proactive passing game with the defensive solidity required over a long Serie A campaign.
Absences and Lautaro’s position
Several international players were unavailable for the first training day, while Valenti was also absent. Lautaro met Gilardino during the morning but trained separately, with a previous disciplinary measure still affecting his situation.
There could be developments in the coming days. For now, however, the Argentine remains part of Gilardino’s early work, as Parma begin to shape the next stage of their season under a coach who knows both the club’s past and the demands of its present.
