1994/95: Baggio gives Parma lift off
Thursday 1 June 1995
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Faustino Asprilla (Parma FC) & Gianluca Vialli (Juventus) (©Getty Images)
National champions from Europe's lesser-ranked nations competed in the 1994/95 UEFA Cup, necessitating a preliminary round. Not that 'champion' status counted for much. After all, this was the year untitled Parma AC beat Italian league and cup winners Juventus FC in an all-Serie A final.
Parma distinction
It was, in fact, a tale of two trebles. While Juventus lost theirs, Parma achieved the distinction of reaching three European finals in as many years. Nevio Scala's team did so with wins against SBV Vitesse, AIK Solna, Athletic Club Bilbao, Odense BK and Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Odense had knocked out Real Madrid CF, but yielded to a solitary goal at the Ennio Tardini stadium; Leverkusen went down 5-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals.
Baggio strikes
Meanwhile, Marcello Lippi's Juventus also faced German opposition in the last four. BV Dortmund came away from Turin with a draw, only to lose 2-1 at the Westfalenstadion. So the Bianconeri, whose earlier victims had included FC CSKA Sofia, CS Marítimo, VfB Admira Wacker Mödling and Eintracht Frankfurt, travelled to Parma undefeated and as favourites. The first leg did not go to plan, however. The home team went into a fifth-minute lead through Dino Baggio, which they held and subsequently took to the return at Milan's San Siro. Here Gianluca Vialli restored parity before Baggio struck again to give Parma a 2-1 aggregate victory. Thus provincial Parma added the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup they had won two years before.
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