Parma hold first training sessions

Parma continued their preparation on Tuesday as part of the Italian Serie A side’s one-week training camp on the island Malta. Following a first session on Monday, the team held two sessions on Tuesday and is expected to hold another one on Wednesday morning before Wednesday evening’s triangular tournament during which they will be facing Hibernians and Valletta.
The morning session was divided in two with most of players working in the gym and a group of five players doing physical training with the physical training on the pitch during the first part. Then the rest of the players joined them at the Training Grounds for more physical training. 
Meanwhile Parma coach Francesco Guidolin addressed the media during a press conference at the Le Meridien St. Julian’s on Tuesday afternoon.
Guidolin explained that the reason for choosing Malta was that the team needed a place where to resume its preparation in a quiet atmosphere while enjoying excellent facilities. 
He said that although it was a good break for the players, a two-and-a-half week break was a bit too long but as a professional, one has to adapt himself to such a situation.
When asked about Wednesday’s tournament, the Parma coach said he will be using all the eighteen players at his disposal since both Jonathan Biabiany and Alberto Paloschi are ruled out injured. Guidolin revealed that he could also make some experiments in defence. 
The Parma coach admitted that he had no specific information about Hibernians and Valletta but these games should be good tests as the team aims at regaining match-fitness after the holidays.
Hibernians coach Mark Miller said this was a great opportunity and challenge for his players as they will be facing very strong players. On the other hand, Valletta coach Ton Caanen said that for the club and the players, facing Parma was a most interesting game but for him as coach, the timing is not the ideal considering that the team is coming from a league match which was played on Saturday and will be in action once again on Sunday. For Ton Caanen, this will be the second time he will face Parma as he met the Italian side in a UEFA competition while coaching Metalurh Donetsk of Ukraine.
The Malta Christmas Cup will be held at the Hibernians Stadium on Wednesday, with the first game kicking-off at 20:00.
In the first game, Valletta take on Hibernians. The loser then faces Parma and in the third game, the Italians take on the winner of the match Valletta-Hibs. All matches are 45-minutes long and if the result is still draw at the end of the 45 minutes, penalty-kicks will decide the issue. Three points will be awarded for wins at the end of the 45 minutes, two points for wins on penalties and one point for defeats on penalties.
Tickets are available for €10 from L-Amerikan – Valletta, Teamsport – Iklin and Hibernians Football Club.
The Parma contingent, led by president Tommaso Ghirardi, arrived on Monday afternoon. Accompanying the squad, technical staff and officials, are the families and girlfriends of the players besides a large number of supporters who will also spend this week in Malta. They are staying at the Le Meridien St. Julian’s.
The team will be holding further training sessions on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday before one final session on Monday before they leave.
The Parma squad is currently made up of the following players:
Antonio Mirante, Nicola Pavarini, Stefano Russo, Paolo Castellini, Paolo Hernan Dellafiore, Pablo Ezequiel Fontanello, Alessandro Lucarelli, Massimo Paci, Christian Panucci, Mohamed Lamine Traore, Cristian Zaccardo, Luca Antonelli, Alessandro Budel, Nicolas Andres Cordova, Blerin Dzemaili, Daniele Galloppa, Francesco Lunardini, Alessio Manzoni, Mc Donald Mariga, Stefano Morrone, Andrea Pisanu, Damiano Zenoni, Nicola Amoruso, Jonathan Ludovic Biabiany, Valeri Bojinov, Davide Lanzafame, Alberto Paloschi.