Parma, 26 September 2020 – Parma Calcio will be visiting the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara in Bologna for their first away match of the season.
This was also the case in 2003/04, when the Crociati played away in Bologna in an evening game on Sunday 31 August.
That year, our trip to the Dall’Ara was our first competitive match of the season.
In just a few days, on Monday 28 September, we will be playing the Rossoblù in another late kick-off, on matchday 2 of the 2020/21 Serie A Tim season. Kick-off is scheduled for 20:45 CEST.
On that night, in the middle of the scorching 2003 summer, the Crociati managed to take home a well-deserved point from the capital of our region, following a convincing performance in an emotionally-charged 2-2 draw.
Based on the number of chances they created, a win would have been a fair result for Coach Claudio Cesare Prandelli and his team.
Nonetheless, the Crociati spent most of the game chasing the result, securing a point with just moments to go before referee Cosimo Bolognino brought proceedings to a close.
The hosts took the lead in the 7th minute thanks to a goal from Argentinian forward Andrès Guglieminpietro.
In the fallout after a corner taken by Roberto Signori, “Guly” turned it home past our keeper Sebastien Frey, but not before fellow Bologna striker Fausto Rossini had rattled the post with a header.
From that moment on, stirred into action by conceding the opener, Parma began to set the tempo on the pitch.
It was Adriano, the lone striker in the starting lineup picked by “Prando”, who opened the scoring. First, he hit the woodwork with a left-footed, curling free-kick from the edge of the box, to the right of Rossoblù goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca. Before scoring the equaliser in the 19th minute, making it 1-1.
The Brazilian striker scored with an absolute rocket of a shot from long range, and once more, it was a left-footer.
His celebration was one of the most original our team has seen for the last decade. He and Domenico Morfeo sat down together in the middle of the pitch, and pretended to play cards together.
The second half brought with it a range of turning points for both sides, and it was just as gripping a spectacle as the first.
It looked like things might end badly for Parma in the 78th minute, when the Rossoblù midfielder Tomas Locatelli, seconds after being brought on as a substitute by Coach Signori, got on the end of Rossini’s header, following a long ball forward from Brazilian defender Juarez De Souza Teixeira, making it 2-1.
But Captain Matteo Ferrari and his teammates had no interest in giving up just yet. They surged forward towards the Bolognese touchline, looking to overwhelm the Rossoblù defence.
And just like in the first half, Adriano was first denied by the woodwork, this time following a Marco Marchionni corner, with the equaliser beginning to seem imminent.
The second equaliser ultimately came in the 87th minute, bringing the score to 2-2. The Brazilian striker imposed himself in the box to get on the end of another Marchionni cross, finding the equaliser with a powerful headed effort.
In the slide: Adriano and Morfeo’s celebration that made history, following the Crociati’s first goal. 
Pictured: Left full-back Anthony Seric and Nakata challenge Guglielmipietro; a midfield duel between Simone Barone and Samuele Dalla Bona; Morfeo embraces Adriano just after he scored the first equaliser; Ferrari and Adriano take on Rossini in an aerial battle; the joy of Adriano after his second goal. Below: the Crociati fans in Bologna on 31 August 2003.
