Like in the glory days: Parma once again packed with Argentines | OneFootball

In Parma, it is no longer surprising to hear Argentine accents in every corner of the locker room. Nor is it unusual to see a mate being passed from hand to hand or to hear cumbia in the gym. What is starting to draw attention is the scale of the phenomenon: six footballers from the country—“six and a half,” they correct from within—live together in the squad of one of Italy’s historic clubs. In an interview with LA NACION, players Mateo Pellegrino, Mariano Troilo, Christian Ordóñez and Franco Carboni share the inside story of the sizable Argentine “pack.”

“Six and a half. Cremaschi is here,” Troilo interrupts as soon as the conversation begins, reminding everyone that among the six Argentines in the squad — completed by Lautaro Valenti and Nahuel Estévez — there is also Benjamín Cremaschi, born in the United States but the son of Argentines. Pellegrino nods at the correction.

Laughter comes quickly in the group and sets the tone for an interview that, more than formal, turns into a conversation among teammates who know each other by heart. The scene repeats itself throughout the talk: overlapping answers, inside jokes, knowing glances.

Parma returned to Serie A in 2024 after winning promotion, in a steady process in which Argentines had played a leading role even before this generation. Valenti, the one who has been at the club the longest, now completing five straight years, and Estévez were part of the team that brought the club back to the top tier of Italian football. At the time there were other Argentines too, such as Leandro Chichizola and Cristian Ansaldi. Today, they are the team in Europe with the most Argentines in their squad, alongside Atlético de Madrid (6).

None of the four — Pellegrino, Ordóñez, Carboni and Troilo himself — speaks of major difficulties adapting. Quite the opposite: the process seems to have been softened by the presence of the others. “The adaptation was pretty quick. Football helped me a lot,” says Pellegrino, the team’s top scorer in Serie A with eight goals and leading scorer of the season with 11.

In Ordóñez’s case, the leap also meant a change of context: the midfielder arrived in Italy at just 21, after winning the title with Vélez in Argentina in 2024, where he had continuity and a key role. “Pele helped me a lot when I arrived, with the language, with the city. Then I gradually adapted.”

Carboni, a 23-year-old left back who recently had his birthday, is the latest to join. He sums it up with a phrase that sparks another round of smiles during the video call: “For me it was way too easy thanks to them. It’s the first time I’ve shared with so many Argentines and it’s been really nice.” He also highlighted the club’s facilities, which “have everything you need to grow and improve as a player.”

Troilo completes the idea with a more intimate view: “Being far from family works a little against you, but the guys were amazing from the very first moment. Everything became much easier.” The 22-year-old center back is Belgrano’s most expensive sale ever (€7.2 million according to Transfermarkt).

Parma is not just any destination for Argentines. Throughout its recent history, names like Hernán Crespo, Juan Sebastián Verón, Ariel Ortega and Roberto Sensini left a deep mark on the club, in a period when it was able to compete and win titles at the European level, such as the Europa Leagues (then the UEFA Cup) in 1995 and 1999.

Parma is not just any destination for Argentines. Throughout its recent history, names like Hernán Crespo, Juan Sebastián Verón, Ariel Ortega and Roberto Sensini left a deep mark on the club, in a period when it was able to compete and win titles at the European level, such as the Europa Leagues (then the UEFA Cup) in 1995 and 1999.

That background still carries weight in the fans’ imagination and in the locker room as well. “I knew many Argentines had come through here and that the club had had a glorious era,” admits Pellegrino, who usually spoke whenever the questions were general. The rest nod. But the theory turns into a sense of belonging when they set foot in the club.

—Who is Parma’s all-time leading scorer? — asks LA NACION.

—Crespo — all four answer in unison.

There is no doubt in the response. Ninety-four goals for the Argentine legend. Nor in the reference. However, far from feeling pressure from that past, the group sees it as an incentive. “I don’t feel pressure. You do know the bar is high because Argentines have done well here. You want to keep leaving a good impression,” explains Pellegrino. “When we step onto the field we want to give the same as they gave,” adds Troilo, who is also called “Nano.”

Outside football, the routine changes. Parma is not Milan or Rome. It is fighting in mid-table after winning promotion two years ago. It is, as Pellegrino describes it, “a little town.” “The city is very quiet, you can go for a walk with no problem,” says Ordóñez, who is often shortened to “Ordo.” “Distances are very short. In ten minutes you can be anywhere,” adds the 24-year-old No. 9.

That calmer pace also shapes their daily lives, in which they usually move around as a group, both inside and outside the locker room. “We move more like a pack,” Pellegrino says bluntly. And he adds: “In general we have very similar lives, because we all have girlfriends, we get home and our girl is there waiting for us. Very quiet lives too.”

Argentine customs remain intact: mate, barbecues and get-togethers at home. Even virtual FIFA tournaments on the PlayStation. “We all play Pro Clubs together,” Carboni said. The popular game mode lets you create a club with friends in which each person controls one player. The organization has its own logic too: a WhatsApp group decides who is available to play when they have the afternoon off.

—What’s the team called?

—El Nine Gato FC — Ordóñez replies, laughing.

The explanation comes right away: it is an inside reference to a viral TikTok video about the Nine shopping center in Moreno, the neighborhood Ordóñez, who came through Vélez, is from, in which it was said to be the “most hood in Argentina.”

They also export culture to the locker room, not just mate, which they have gotten several Italians in the squad to try, but music too. “We got a lot of them into T y M. ‘Amor de vago’ plays in the gym,” reveals Pellegrino.

That sense of belonging also received formal recognition: Pellegrino, along with Lautaro Valenti and Nahuel Estévez, were honored last year by the AFA as ambassadors of Argentine football abroad. “It was news that surprised me and I took it with a lot of pride,” the striker recalls.

As in any group, there are clearly defined roles. Though no one escapes the teasing. “The biggest pest is Carbo,” Pellegrino declares. Ordóñez and Troilo nod. The latter adds: “He’s annoying, not a joker.” The target, Franco Carboni, replies laughing that “maybe” and points out that above all Nano Troilo is the victim of his jokes. “Every morning he comes after me,” clarifies the Córdoba native.

At the other extreme, the most serious one also has a name. “Pellegrino,” they all say at the same time. They also mention Nahuel Estévez, whom they sometimes “drive crazy,” as the oldest in the Argentine group, at 30. The barbecue, an unavoidable ritual for Argentines, also has a person in charge: “I do it,” the striker admits.

—Does he make good barbecues?

—Just average — Troilo cuts in jokingly.

They even have a mate ranking. Ordóñez lists it precisely: “Top one, Mateo. Then Nano, then me... and then Carbo.” Estévez brings up the rear of the ranking. “I don’t know if he’s the worst. It’s just that this year he hasn’t poured a single mate,” Pellegrino jokes.

Language appears as another of the day-to-day challenges, although here too the group works as support. Franco Carboni had no issues, since he finished developing at Inter from a young age and has been through several Italian clubs (six including Parma): “I’ve been in Italy a long time, I speak it and I have no problem.” The others are different.

“I understand it pretty well, but I find it very hard to speak,” admits Christian Ordóñez. Mariano Troilo agrees: “I understand it well, but when it comes time to speak it gets complicated.” Both arrived in the same transfer window from Argentine football, in their first club change after coming through Vélez and Belgrano, respectively.

In many cases, the process became more practical than academic. Ordóñez explains it with a smile: “At first we took lessons, but we didn’t understand much... now I listen and try to learn day by day.” In that context, the presence of several Argentines once again becomes key. “If one of us doesn’t understand something, we help each other,” he says.

“We’re in a favorable context,” adds Pellegrino, who admits that he “speaks it very well now.” Even the coaching staff makes adaptation easier: if an instruction is not clear in Italian, Spanish is there as backup, thanks to the young coach — the same age as the most experienced Estévez — born in Spain, Carlos Cuesta García, former assistant to Mikel Arteta at Arsenal.

Behind the group, each one carries his own path. Carboni, after several loans in Italy and his failed spell at River, is looking for stability. “I’m trying to get continuity. I’d like to stay here,” he admits. Speaking precisely about his brief time at River, which he joined at Martín Demichelis’s request but left after Marcelo Gallardo arrived, without making his debut, he was clear: “It was something quick, but it wasn’t bad. Everything was always handled well.”

Pellegrino, meanwhile, says: “Yes, I’m in the best moment of my career. This league is very competitive and being able to score goals here is important.” On a possible international call-up, with the chance to play for Spain’s national team, he avoids going further: “I’m focused on day to day.”

The son of Mauricio Pellegrino, the coach who won an international title with Lanús, he does not lose sight of what is happening on the other side of the ocean. “It matters a lot to me because he’s family. I always want the best for him,” he says. However, the distance imposes limits: “The time difference makes it hard for me, but the first thing I do when I wake up is check the result or the highlights.” His father’s present, having recently made history with Lanús at the Maracanã, also moves him: “Pride, because it was something he had been looking for. Total happiness for him and for all my family.”

As for national teams, Troilo recalled his time with Argentina last year with emotion. “It was crazy. Seeing Messi in person, training with him... I couldn’t believe it.” In that context he also experienced a situation he remembers with some embarrassment: some time earlier he had sent messages to the captain after the 2021 Copa América triumph. “I had sent him all sorts of things when they won the title. Then, when I had him right there, I got nervous and didn’t want him to see the messages,” he says, laughing. “They were going to roast me for it.” And about Messi, he adds: “Very humble, very simple.”

Parma is fighting in mid-table in Italy and, although it has moved away from the relegation places, it is going through a bad run of six matches without a win, with four draws and two defeats.

The conversation went on amid interruptions, jabs and the group’s laughter. At one point, Carboni tries to answer seriously and stops, cracking up at his teammates’ faces. “It’s very hard like this,” he says, unable to finish the sentence. The scene sums up everything. Parma has six Argentines. Or “six and a half.” But above all, it has a group that turned distance into closeness, adaptation into something collective, and the locker room into a small extension of Argentina. “Having so many Argentines makes you feel a little more at home

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.