Football
Ben Gladwell, Italy correspondent 9y

Roberto Donadoni rues 'huge injustice' at Parma

Former Parma coach Roberto Donadoni has broken his silence on the trials and tribulations he had to endure last season at the Serie A club, who were relegated from the top flight and, earlier this week, declared bankrupt.

Speaking to the Gazzetta di Parma, Donadoni said he had been "betrayed" by the Emilia-Romagna club, even though he had always had faith things would eventually be resolved.

He, like the Parma players and the rest of the club's staff, had not received any wages since last July. Only an advanced parachute payment from the Italian FA saw Parma through to the end of the season, but nobody was willing to buy the club and take on its soaring debts.

"It was a huge injustice that nobody expected," Donadoni said. "It's incredibly sad. I had hoped to the very end that they would be able to save themselves, and just think that when I arrived at Parma, there was everything I needed to be able to work well.

"We finished 10th the first year, then eighth the second year and sixth the third."

Last season was a different story, however, with the club's financial problems accompanying them right to the end in a season that ended with relegation.

It has not taken away Donadoni's love of the game, though, and the 51-year-old says he is ready to make an immediate return at another club.

"I hope to be back soon," he said. "I would just need to evaluate any project from a professional point of view. I have a responsibility to those who assist me -- I've got a first-class backroom team. I'd like to start again together with them."

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