Parma are celebrating their centenary season and what better way to mark this anniversary than by handing out vacuum cleaners to opposition players.
How else do you celebrate 100 years of football than with a vacuum cleaner?
Cynics among you might point out that the robotic cleaners were manufactured by Vorwerk who also happen to be Parma’s shirt sponsor. But we’d prefer to think that this novel gesture was the brainchild of the Parma marketing department, which somehow gained traction and before you know it, the players, whilst shaking hands with their Fiorentina counterparts, were also handing them a new vacuum cleaner.
Parma CEO Pietro Leonardi noted that “It is an unusual way to celebrate the first century of our team, we are sure.”
The bizarre gifts were greeted with bemusement by the Fiorentina players as they were each handed a complimentary Vorwerk Folletto VR100 robotic hoover before kick-off.
Somehow, we can’t see this kind of gesture catching on.
