After making his professional football debut for his hometown club Cesena, he joined Parma in 1987.

During his nine seasons in Gialloblu colours, he wore the captain’s armband and won the Coppa Italia, the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup (he scored in Parma’s 3-1 victory against Royal Antwerp in the final in 1993), the UEFA Super Cup and the UEFA Cup. Thanks to all this success and his excellent performances for Parma, he also featured for his country and was named in the Italy squad for the 1994 World Cup in the USA, a tournament where the Azzurri finished runners-up.