Why Parma fire Fabio Pecchia, and appoint Cristian Chivu as manager

Why Parma fire Fabio Pecchia, and appoint Cristian Chivu as manager

Roma’s Eldor Shomurodov fights for the ball with Parma’s Emanuele Valeri, left, during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Parma and Roma, at the Ennio Tardini Stadium in Parma, Italy, Sunday.

February, 18 2025

(Web Desk) Parma announced that the Serie A club appointed Cristian Chivu as manager in place of Fabio Pecchia.

It is the 44-year-old Romanian s first senior coaching role, Reuters reported. Chivu previously coached youth teams at Inter Milan, the club where he finished his playing career, between 2018 and 2024.

Parma parted ways with Pecchia on Monday after a fourth consecutive defeat kept the club in the relegation zone. Pecchia had been in charge since 2022 and led Parma to promotion from Serie B at the end of last season.

"Chivu, alongside his staff made up of Antonio Gagliardi (assistant manager), Angelo Palombo (technical assistant) and Nicola Pavarini (goalkeeper coach), will begin training with the team as of this afternoon at the Mutti Training Center," Parma said in a statement.

Chivu s first game in charge will be a home match against Bologna on Sunday. Parma are 18th in Serie A on 20 points after 25 games, but are only one point off Empoli in 17th, outside the relegation places.