Luigi Apolloni

After being born and growing up in the province of Rome, his professional career began at Pistoiese and then Reggiana, before Parma came calling in 1987. He then formed a solid partnership with Minotti, the Gialloblù’s first-choice centre-back pairing.

He played for Parma for twelve seasons and enjoyed tremendous success, getting his hands on seven of the eight major national and international trophies that the Crociati have won in their history. In 1994, Arrigo Sacchi, who had been his coach during his first few seasons in Emilia-Romagna, named him in his squad for the 1994 World Cup in the USA. In total, he played 15 times and scored once for the Azzurri.

After retiring in 2001, he went on to coach Parma in Serie D during the 2015/16 campaign, with the Crociati winning the league and earning promotion to the Lega Pro.