 In the summer 2004, following the folding of his club, Paponi became a free agent; he then accepted an offer from Parma and joined the "ducali" youth team.He made his Serie A debut at the age of 17 on 22 October 2005, then also making his debut at the European level in the 2006–07 UEFA Cup, scoring also two goals.His first Serie A goal came in an away league match played against Messina on 20 December 2006, and ended in a 1–1 draw