Zion Suzuki is Embracing a Brand New Challenge in Serie A with Parma

GLASGOW — Goalkeeper. The most specialized position on a soccer field. Every team in world soccer desires a reliable keeper. Finding one, such as Zion Suzuki, provides a solid foundation and spreads confidence throughout the team.

Italian club Parma decided to upgrade the goalkeeper position after winning promotion to Serie A by winning the 2023-24 Serie B title. Perhaps sensing it would be under pressure for long spells during matches in Italy's top flight, the club went looking for a new keeper.

It was Suzuki, born to a Japanese mother and a Ghanaian father, who emerged as Parma's preferred choice. Having started his professional career with the J.League's Urawa Reds, Suzuki began to catch the eye of clubs from bigger European leagues during his span with Belgian club St Truiden. During the 2023-24 season, Suzuki played 32 times for St Truiden and also established himself as the starting goalie for the Japan national team.

Parma Makes Its Move for Zion Suzuki

With several clubs, including Manchester United of the English Premier League, linked with Suzuki, negotiations didn't conclude until mid-July. That's when Suzuki was officially announced as a Parma player.

Parma, who paid a transfer fee of €7.5 million EUR (about ¥1.2 billion JPY or nearly $7.8 million USD), probably sees a high probability of a future transfer of Suzuki, who is just 22 years old, at least doubling their outlay. The five-year contract Suzuki signed looks like good business.

After the transfer was confirmed, Parma's director of sport Mauro Pederzoli released a statement on the club's website, Parmacalcio1913.com. "We pursued him [Suzuki] strongly, but it was a long and complex negotiation," Pederzoli said. "There was a lot of interest surrounding Zion, and he was highly sought after."

Pederzoli's statement added, "In the end, both his desire and ours prevailed, leading to a mutual commitment to establish a lasting relationship. Our happiness is doubled considering he is one of the youngest talents in his position, with significant experience gained in both Japan and Belgium."

Zion Suzuki Endeared Himself to Parma's Fans and Media at First Press Conference

At an introductory press conference a few days after signing, Zion Suzuki drew a round of applause from everyone present by speaking some Italian.

"Thank you for coming here to my presentation. I am happy to have joined a team with such a big history. Thank you!" Suzuki spoke these words in a brand new language to him and his effort was appreciated.

During the presentation, Suzuki also spoke about working hard to establish himself as the first-choice keeper, how his style of goalkeeping and kicking could help the team, and his desire to learn Italian and become fluent as soon as possible.

It was an impressive start to Suzuki's time at Parma, but how would he fare when the season kicked off?

Zion Suzuki Starts the 2024-25 Season as Parma's First-Choice Keeper

Parma's Serie A campaign began on August 17 with a home fixture against Fiorentina. Being a newcomer to the top flight, Parma will find itself the underdog in most matches it plays this season. The goal for head coach Fabio Pecchia, who selected the 190-cm Suzuki to start the match, is survival. If the club can avoid an instant return to the second division, this season will be regarded as a success.

With that in mind, the opening day 1-1 draw against Fiorentina was a positive result. In the game, Suzuki made six saves and earned a rating of 7.8 (out of 10) from the respected footballcritic.com website. It was a highly impressive competitive debut.

One week later Parma faced the challenge of one of Italy's biggest clubs. AC Milan visited Stadio Ennio Tardini and Parma was expected to lose. Parma didn't read the script though, and battled to a 2-1 win. It had to maintain a solid defensive performance throughout the match, as Milan pressed forward. Suzuki, as the short clip below shows, contributed well with several key saves. 

Recent Struggles for Parma

Unfortunately for Parma, it has not built on this early season win over a Serie A heavyweight. In its nine games since beating Milan, Parma has recorded five draws and been defeated four times.

Its current points tally of 14 has the club in 14th position in the 20-team league table. Worryingly though, it is only one point above the relegation zone. Turning some of the draws into wins will be key to Parma achieving its goal of survival. The upcoming fixture against Venezia ― currently placed 19th in the table ― on November 9 would be a good place for Suzuki and his teammates to start.

A Bump in the Road Against Napoli

On August 31, Parma played its first away match of the season. Things were going well as it led 1-0 with time running out. Suzuki, who had already been booked, made a poor decision to charge out of the penalty area to attempt to beat Napoli attacker David Neres to the ball. 

A clumsy challenge on Neres saw Suzuki receive a second yellow card as he caught his opponent on the thigh with his boot. Parma had used all of its substitutes so outfield player Enrico Del Prato volunteered to play the remainder of the game in goal.

Such scenarios normally don't end well for the team with a makeshift keeper. This was the case again as Napoli scored twice in injury time to win the game 2-1. It was cruel on Parma and Suzuki who, despite performing well with five saves before he was sent off, had to accept that his error in judgment cost Parma at least a draw in Naples.

Coming Back From Suspension

The red card against Napoli meant Suzuki was suspended from Parma's next league fixture. Chichizola was handed the keeper's jersey but was beaten three times as visiting Udinese won 3-2 at the Ennio Tardini.

Suzuki regained his place as Parma's starting keeper for the next fixture away to Lecce. The game ended in a 2-2 draw with Suzuki receiving a grade of 5.7 on footballcritic.com.

A 3-2 defeat at home to Cagliari followed. While the three goals that went past him were all well dispatched, Suzuki will probably feel he could have done better with Roberto Piccoli's late strike, which turned out to be the winner.

Drawing in October and a Busy Start to November

Parma played four Serie A fixtures in October and drew them all. A 0-0 stalemate with Bologna saw Suzuki make three saves and keep his first clean sheet for his new club.

That match was followed by a pair of 1-1 draws against Como and Empoli. Suzuki wasn't busy in either match although an excellent save from Patrick Cutrone's close-range header caught the eye against Como while a long kick downfield almost resulted in a goal for teammate Ange Bonny against Empoli.

Next up for Suzuki and Parma was a trip to Turin to face Serie A powerhouse Juventus. Parma fought for a 2-2 draw. Suzuki wasn't as busy as expected although his performance highlighted the good and bad side of his play. 

Early in the game, he produced a wonderful save to keep out a close-range header from Weston McKennie. With time almost up he misjudged a Teun Koopmeiners cross, which led to Del Prato having to clear a shot from Kenan Yildiz off the line. A lucky escape.

Parma's last fixture ended in a disappointing 1-0 reverse to struggling squad Genoa. The team was outplayed during the match although Suzuki performed well, making six saves and earning himself a 7.7 grade from footballcritic.com.

Overall Assessment of Suzuki in Serie A So Far

Having appeared in 10 games in the league for his new club, Zion Suzuki has played competently for the most part.

His athleticism in goal is not in question and he has showcased his shot-stopping abilities on many occasions.

Suzuki is also very comfortable with the ball at his feet, which is a huge asset in modern football. In general, Pecchia likes his team to play short to medium passes out from the goalkeeper and Suzuki has, to this point, performed this task with perfect accuracy. 

Also, his long kicking will come into play occasionally and could catch an opponent off guard. It's possible Suzuki could assist a goal this season with one of his accurate long kicks.

Decision-making and judgment of cross balls are two things Suzuki needs to improve upon. This should continue as he plays more and more matches in Serie A. He is clearly Pecchia's first-choice keeper so he should take confidence from this and continue to develop all aspects of his game.

Considering he has moved to a new country and is settling into one of the top leagues in Europe while learning a new language, Suzuki's start at Parma can be graded as very good. It is only a start, though.

Pressure Will Increase for Suzuki and His Team

With a long way to go in the season, it looks like Parma may become involved in a fight against relegation. While it has acquitted itself well against the giants it has faced so far (AC Milan, Napoli and Juventus), disappointing results against teams like Cagliari, Genoa and Lecce ― clubs that are likely to be in the bottom half of the league all season ― has seen Parma unable to separate itself from the other relegation-threatened clubs.

With this in mind, the pressure will increase on Suzuki and his teammates throughout the season. If he can cope with the pressure, Suzuki has an opportunity to further enhance his reputation as one of the best young goalkeepers in the world. He might just help Parma retain its Serie A status in the process.

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Author: Colin Morrison

Morrison is a freelance sportswriter. Find his stories on SportsLook. Writing since 2016, his byline currently appears on FightsATW.com where he covers boxing. Morrison has previously written for NYFights.com and spitballingpod.com. His main areas of interest are boxing, soccer, golf and rugby union. Morrison is from Scotland and can be found on X (formerly Twitter) @Morrie1981.