page_title: 2011–12 Parma F.C. season
section_title: Serie A
hierarchical_section_title: 2011–12 Parma F.C. season / Season review / Serie A
caption_attribution_description: English: Lazio fans in the Curva Sud from the perspective of the Curva Nord
context_page_description: The 2011–12 season was Parma Football Club's 21st season in Serie A and their third consecutive season in that division, having finished 12th the previous season. An up-and-down start to the 2011–12 season saw Parma in a comfortable 10th position after 11 games. However, a six-game winless streak culminating in a 5–0 defeat away to Internazionale was enough for Ghirardi to let Colomba go on 9 January 2012, despite Parma sitting in 15th position and seven points clear of relegation, having picked up 19 points from 17 games. Roberto Donadoni was chosen as his replacement immediately. Donadoni initially failed to bring about a change in fortunes, but the side won seven matches in a row to set a new club record to finish in eighth position, level on points with Roma.
  As well as competing in Serie A, Parma took part in the Coppa Italia, a competition which they exited in the fourth round after losing to Serie B side Hellas Verona.
context_section_description: Fixtures for the 2011–12 Serie A season were drawn in Milan on 27 July 2011 and made public the next day. Parma's league campaign was set to get underway on the weekend of 28 August 2011 against Catania in a repeat of the start of Parma's 2006–07 Serie A season, which ended two apiece, while the second match was to be away to Juventus. However, the opening weekend fixtures were delayed due to a players' strike over a new Serie A collective bargaining agreement between clubs and players, which was to include a super-tax on the league's highest earners and would compel unwanted players to train with the first team of their contracted club. An emergency one-year deal – as opposed to the normal three-year arrangements – was signed in the week leading up to the second week of matches, meaning Parma would start their campaign in Turin against Juventus.
  Parma travelled to Juventus to become Old Lady's first competitive opponents in the brand new Juventus Stadium on 11 September and hoping to win a fourth consecutive match against the Turin side. However, Juventus scored early on through a tidy Stephan Lichtsteiner finish off a delightful Andrea Pirlo pass. This reflected the balance of play and Juventus were unlucky to have Alessandro Matri's effort ruled out just before half-time. Simone Pepe finally doubled the lead on 57 minutes with an accomplished finish, having been put through by Alessandro Del Piero. The chances continued to flow and debutant Arturo Vidal scored a fine volley from the edge of the box to make it 3–0 with quarter of an hour to go. Pirlo found Claudio Marchisio with ten minutes to go and Marchisio chipped Parma goalkeeper Antonio Mirante to complete Juventus' scoring. A late Sebastian Giovinco run saw him fouled in the box and score the resulting penalty, leaving Parma ahead of only Atalanta who were deducted six points before the season's start. Juventus had emphatically ended Parma's 18-match unbeaten record in season openers with a 4–1 win, the Ducali losing for the first time since 1992, when they succumbed to Atalanta.
  On 18 September, Parma hosted former manager Domenico Di Carlo's Chievo at the Tardini with an unchanged line-up and were the better side for much of the first half and saw their dominance rewarded with a Giovinco goal with 24 minutes on the clock from a headed Pellè flick-on. The second half was, however, Chievo's, the majority of the action coming in Antonio Mirante's goalmouth, although chances were still at a premium. Chievo made their improved performance count through ex-Parma frontman Alberto Paloschi with 12 minutes to go and a draw looked the fair result, but a late Giovinco finish from substitute Jonathan Biabiany's inch-perfect whipped cross saw Parma snatch all three points and Giovinco become the first player since Adriano in 2003–04 to score 3 goals in the first two matches. Two-goal Giovinco was then sent off in injury time after he was shown a second yellow card for kicking the ball into the net following the referee's decision to penalise the diminutive Italian. The result represented a fifth consecutive victory at home for Parma – a feat last achieved in 2000–01 – after victories over Juventus, Palermo and Inter last season and Grosseto this.
  Three days later, Parma played away at Fiorentina, who had also won one and lost one of their first two league games. With Valiani and Pellè both missing due to injury and Giovinco serving his one-match suspension, four changes were made from the weekend's winning team, as both Abderrazzak Jadid and Zé Eduardo were given their first starts in a Parma shirt. Fiorentina made the only chances of the first half, but were largely restricted to long-range efforts. Before 30 seconds had passed in the second half, Fiorentina took a deserved lead from a close-range Stevan Jovetić tap-in after Alessandro Lucarelli failed to clear the ball. Alessio Cerci then doubled La Viola's lead with a diving header halfway through the second half, before Jovetić coolly added a third with ten minutes to go. The match finished 3–0.
  On 26 September, Parma 
caption: Parma hosted Lazio in late March and both sides had something to play for, albeit at opposite ends of the table.
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