Parma's stay in Serie B started badly under Luigi Cagni, who was sacked six games into the season and replaced by Francesco Guidolin who guided the club back to Serie A. Guidolin's contract was not renewed and he left for Udinese, swapping posts with Parma's newly appointed Pasquale Marino in the summer of 2010. Marino's time in charge lasted until 3 April 2011, when he was sacked by President Tommaso Ghirardi after a disappointing home defeat to rock-bottom Bari saw Parma fall within two points of the relegation zone with seven matches to go. Experienced coach Franco Colomba replaced him two days later, signing a contract until the summer of 2012. His change to a new 4–4–1–1 formation from Marino's 4–3–3 brought about a dramatic change in fortune. Fuelled by Amauri and Sebastian Giovinco's work in tandem, Parma comfortably avoided relegation, earning some notable scalps along the way. An up and down start to the 2011–12 season saw Parma in a comfortable 10th position after 11 games. However, a six-game winless streak culminating in a 5–0 defeat away to Inter was enough for Ghirardi to let Colomba go on 9 January 2012, although Parma were 15th and still 7 points clear of relegation, having picked up 19 points from 17 games.
