Jan. 11 (Bloomberg) -- The city of Parma, wounded by Italy's worst corporate scandal in a decade, won back some of its pride Saturday night as its soccer team defeated Inter Milan 1-0.

The victory, just a day after Parma Calcio's entire board resigned, lifted the team one place to fifth in Italy's 18-team championship before today's round of matches. The club could still be relegated to the minor leagues for the season starting next September if it doesn't find a buyer.

Parmalat Finanaziaria SpA, Italy's largest food company and owner of the Parma team, went bankrupt last month and its former president and two former chief financial officers are in jail as prosecutors try to figure out how as much as 8 billion euros ($10 billion) went missing from the company's accounts.

Yet at Parma's 29,000 seat stadium Saturday night, no one would talk badly about Calisto Tanzi, the former Parmalat president who's been in a Milan cell since his Dec. 27 arrest, nor of his son Stefano, who resigned Friday as team president.

``If it were up to me I'd put a huge portrait of the Tanzi family to stay up there forever,'' said Franco Milani, a 60-year old maker of advertising billboards, pointing to the stadium's entrance as he waited to cheer the team bus after the game. ``They've given us 14 good years at this club and they've given work to so many people in this area for 40 years.''

The players also expressed gratitude to the Tanzi family, which bought the team in 1990 when it was in the minor leagues and led it to three European trophies during the next 10 years.

`Difficult Days'

``These are difficult days for Parma, which is a wounded city,'' said Simone Barone, a 25-year old midfielder who was the only member of Saturday night's squad born in the town itself. ``We had to ignore the problems and let our anger out on the field. We had to respond in the name of Parma.''

At a shareholders meeting of the club Friday, the entire five-man board resigned. Parmalat, which owns 98.7 percent of the shares and is now being run by corporate turnaround specialist Enrico Bondi, will choose a new board Wednesday.

Stefano Tanzi was at the game last night, visiting the players' locker room before and after the game and receiving a cheer from the fans before taking his seat in the VIP stand.

``We dedicate the match to Stefano and to the family,'' said Sebastien Frey, Parma's 23-year old French goalkeeper who kept Parma in the game with several key saves in the second half. ``They did things, some good and some bad. But we can only speak well of them.''

Different Picture

Italian prosecutors are painting a different picture of the Tanzi family. The company declared bankruptcy Dec. 24 after admitting that a $4.9 billion bank account it claimed to have didn't exist. Calisto Tanzi told prosecutors they'd find an 8 billion-euro ``hole'' in the accounts, and people familiar with the investigation say the family diverted 1.5 billion euros from Parmalat to their own family businesses.

Saturday night, Parma supporters only wanted to see the team do well, not hear about financial improprieties.

``Tanzi always did well by us,'' said Gabriele Chiavelli, a 32-year old pharmaceutical worker before the game. ``How can we forget all the trophies we won.''

After surviving an early scare when Inter's Italian international Christian Vieri headed against the bar, Parma took the lead in the 41st minute. Marcello Castellini played a long low ball into the penalty area, Inter goalkeeper Francesco Toldo and defender Javier Zanetti each expected the other to intercept, and Emanuele Filippini slipped in between them to poke the ball into an empty goal.

Hugs, Salutes

In a nervous and livelier second half, Parma's Alberto Gilardini missed two chances to put the game away. At the other end, Frey made point blank saves from Vieri, Obafemi Martins, and Julio Ricardo Cruz, and then flew to his left to parry a free kick from Belozoglu Emre.

At the final whistle, the Parma players acted more as if they'd won a cup final than a than just the 16th game of the 34- match regular season. They fell to the ground hugging each other in the center circle, and then linked arms as they saluted the stadium's North End, where the most fervent fans sit.

Coach Cesare Prandelli ran out onto the field, pumping his fist in the air and hugging players.

While Parma are now just one point away from being holding one of the top four places in the championship that qualify for next season's European Champions League, their future will be decided more by financial than sporting results.

The team says it had an operating loss of 5 million euros on revenue of 75 million in the season ended last June. Its net loss, including write-downs of player contracts, was 77 million euros. In a statement Friday, the team said it may re-report its earnings Wednesday following a new internal audit.

Salaries Late

Frey and other players said the team is about two months late paying salaries. They said that's normal for Italian soccer teams, and that they've received guarantees they will be paid through the end of the season. Only one major league team in Italy, Juventus SpA, has been profitable the past two seasons in a row.

Without financial support from Parmalat and the Tanzi family gone, Parma may have to find new buyers to avoid bankruptcy at the end of the season, Industry Minister Antonio Marzano said Thursday on a television show. Bankruptcy would force relegation to the minors, which happened to Florence's Fiorentina three seasons ago.

Fans said they were confident that wouldn't happen.

``Parma is a rich city and the team is well established on the international level,'' said Andrea Mora, a 42-year old technician at a ham-making plant. ``We'll find another buyer.''

Cilio Bernardino, a 73-year old retired civil servant was taking the events in stride. ``I rooted for the team for 20 years when it was in the minor leagues and if we have to root for them again in the minors, we'll just do that,'' he said before the game.

Last Updated: January 11, 2004 06:58 EST