1994/95: Baggio gives Parma lift-off
Thursday, June 1, 1995
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Parma FC, in their third consecutive European final, defeated domestic title winners Juventus for Italy's sixth UEFA Cup triumph in seven seasons, Dino Baggio scoring in both legs to counter a Gianluca Vialli goal in the return.
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Parma FC 1-0 Juventus
(D Baggio 5)
Juventus 1-1 Parma FC
(Vialli 33; D Baggio 54)
(agg: 2-1 to Parma)
National champions from Europe's lower-ranked nations competed in the 1994/95 UEFA Cup, which meant that a preliminary round was needed. Not that champion status counted for much. After all, this was the year domestically untitled Parma FC beat Italian double-winners Juventus an all-Serie A final.
It was, in fact, a tale of two trebles. While Juventus missed out on theirs, Parma achieved the distinction of reaching three European finals in as many years. Nevio Scala's team did so with wins against Vitesse, AIK Solna, Athletic Club, 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.
Meanwhile, Marcello Lippi's Juventus also faced German opposition in the last four. Borussia Dortmund came away from Turin with a draw, only to lose 2-1 at the Westfalenstadion. So the Bianconeri, whose earlier victims had included PFC 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.