Italy has greater than its fair proportion of iconic soccer golf equipment. AC Milan. Inter Milan. Juventus. Napoli. Lazio. Roma. These establishments roll off the tongue.
For a lot of English followers of Italian soccer, notably these whose love of calcio might be traced again to Channel 4’s ‘Soccer Italia’, Sampdoria belong on that listing.
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Within the decade between 1984 and 1994 Sampdoria gained six main titles, whereas trendy greats Trevor Francis, Roberto Mancini, Gianluca Vialli, Ruud Gullit and David Platt all wore the membership’s iconic strip.
The Blucerchiati of that interval acquired a cultural cachet that was laborious to match.
But after years of turbulence Sampdoria, Serie A winners in 1991, have skilled the unthinkable – relegation to the Italian third tier for the primary time within the membership’s historical past.
The place did all of it go mistaken?
Humble beginnings
Unusually for a membership with such a big cult following, Sampdoria are relative newcomers to the Italian soccer panorama.
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The northern Italian port metropolis of Genoa has a proud footballing heritage -Sampdoria’s metropolis rivals Genoa Cricket and Soccer Membership have been based in 1893 and are the oldest lively crew in Italy.
The latest of Genoa’s 9 top-flight titles got here 21 years earlier than Sampdoria have been fashioned in 1946, following a merger of middling Genoese golf equipment Sampierdarenese and Andrea Doria.
That unification produced their iconic residence shirts – the blue represents Andrea Doria whereas the white, crimson and black mid-section got here from Sampierdarenese.
Sampdoria have at all times shared a floor – the Stadio Luigi Ferraris – with neighbours Genoa, however for 38 years didn’t benefit from the type of success befitting of certainly one of Italy’s grandest arenas.
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All the things modified in 1984.
‘Aim twins’ and golden years
Roberto Mancini (left) and Gianluca Vialli impressed Sampdoria’s golden period [Getty Images]
Earlier than the 1984-85 season, Sampdoria’s solely honour was the 1966-67 second division title.
But over the following decade the membership gained the Coppa Italia 4 occasions – greater than some other aspect throughout that interval – have been topped Serie A champions, gained the European Cup Winners’ Cup and performed in a European Cup last.
After assuming the membership presidency in 1979, Paolo Mantovani was the person who turned an retro mid-table crew into serial winners.
Having made his cash within the oil enterprise, Mantovani spent closely however neatly to propel Sampdoria to unprecedented heights.
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Large names like Francis, Graeme Souness and Liam Brady have been signed, however it was the recruitment of a number of the finest younger Italian skills that basically paid off.
A 17-year-old Mancini arrived from Bologna in 1982, adopted two years later by a 19-year-old Vialli from Cremonese.
Nicknamed the ‘aim twins’ due to their prolific attacking partnership, each scored within the second leg of the 1984-95 Coppa Italia last, the primary main title in Sampdoria’s historical past.
Mancini and Vialli first met at 16 enjoying for Italy’s youth groups and fashioned a detailed friendship that characterised the unity within the Sampdoria squad.
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“We’ve a relationship that goes manner past friendship,” Mancini stated earlier than Vialli’s demise from pancreatic most cancers in 2023. “He is virtually like a brother to me.”
Together with goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca, defender Pietro Vierchowod, attacking right-back Moreno Mannini, midfield anchor Fausto Pari and electrical winger Attilio Lombardo, the duo fashioned the spine of a crew that gained three extra Coppa Italia titles – and the membership’s first and solely Scudetto in 1990-91 beneath legendary supervisor Vujadin Boskov.
“Mantovani cultivated a outstanding camaraderie amongst a uniquely proficient group,” says Italian soccer author Stephen Kasiewicz.
“Regardless of extra profitable provides the core of the crew stayed collectively.”
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Boskov’s aspect gained the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1990, and misplaced to Johan Cruyff’s Barcelona ‘dream crew’ within the European Cup last two years later.
However nothing lasts perpetually.
Sampdoria gained six main titles between 1984 and 1994 [Getty Images]
‘The membership ceased to perform’
Mantovani’s demise in 1993 was “the start of the top at Sampdoria”, in response to Italian soccer journalist David Ferrini.
He added: “Mantovani’s reign attracted expertise and stored them comfortable in Genoa, however his passing – mixed with the hangover of the Scudetto success – meant that Sampdoria’s finest gamers turned prime switch targets.”
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In 1992 that they had misplaced Vialli to Juventus for a then world document £12m, whereas Inter Milan paid £7m for Pagliuca in 1994, a document for a goalkeeper on the time.
Vierchowod joined Juventus 12 months later earlier than Mancini adopted Sven Goran Eriksson – who had changed Boskov as supervisor in 1992 – to Lazio in 1997.
Skilled stars Gullit and Platt joined for transient spells, however Sampdoria not had the identical attraction they as soon as did.
Enrico Mantovani took over as president however failed to duplicate his father’s success – and a gradual decline adopted the Coppa Italia triumph of 1993-94. In 1999 the membership have been relegated to Serie B.
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Issues improved beneath the presidency of native entrepreneur Riccardo Garrone, who guided them again to Serie A in 2003 and signed future cult heroes Fabio Quagliarella and Antonio Cassano.
But the highlights of the twenty first Century have been shedding the Coppa Italia last in 2008-09 and a fourth-place league end the next 12 months.
Outspoken movie producer Massimo Ferrero purchased the membership in 2014 – taking over its rising money owed – however what adopted was seven years of promoting their finest gamers, spending little on replacements and flirting with relegation regularly.
“He appeared extra involved with bolstering his personal picture, because the weird star of his personal one-man actuality soccer present, than ensuring Samp prospered,” says Kasiewicz.
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In December 2021 Ferrero was arrested and jailed as a part of an investigation into company crimes and chapter, unrelated to the membership. He resigned as president.
“The membership successfully ceased to perform. It has been like a home of playing cards,” says Nima Tavallaey, Italian soccer journalist and co-host of the Italian Soccer Podcast.
With no funds out there and Ferrero refusing to relinquish management, Sampdoria narrowly prevented relegation from Serie A in 2022. However in 2023 they did go down, amid stories of unpaid participant wages.
With the membership staring down the barrel of chapter and demotion to the fourth tier, a consortium led by former Leeds United proprietor Andrea Radrizzani and London-based financier Matteo Manfredi – and his firm Gestio Capital – purchased the membership, though Radrizzani has since divested his shares.
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Gestio Capital and its buyers management 99.96% of the membership, with funding car Kickoff Ventures proudly owning 58% of these shares.
Kickoff Ventures is owned by Singaporean businessman Joseph Tey Wei Jin, who was named within the 2015 Panama Papers.
Matteo Manfredi has invested considerably since changing into Sampdoria proprietor [Getty Images]
‘They seem to be a sleeping magnificence’
Italian World Cup winner Andrea Pirlo was employed as coach in 2023-24.
After a dismal begin to the marketing campaign his aspect gained seven of their last 11 video games to safe a seventh-place end in Serie B and a spot within the promotion play-offs, the place they misplaced 2-0 to Palermo within the preliminary spherical.
Gestio invested about £45m throughout their first season, however issues haven’t gone in response to plan this time period.
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The month earlier than Sampdoria’s play-off exit Manfredi had described Pirlo as “a key a part of the undertaking” – but three video games into the present marketing campaign he was dismissed following two defeats and a draw.
Andrea Sottil changed him and, though he oversaw a Coppa Italia penalty shootout victory in opposition to Genoa within the first Derby della Lanterna in two years, he was jettisoned too after simply 4 wins in 14 video games.
Leonardo Semplici arrived in December however, with the membership within the drop zone, a 3-0 residence defeat by Frosinone on the finish of March was the tipping level for the followers as endurance with Semplici ran out.
The crew bus carrying Semplici and his Sampdoria gamers was pelted by stones and flares by indignant supporters after the match on the Luigi Ferraris Stadium.
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Semplici was relieved of his duties in April with Alberico Evani – the membership’s fourth coach of the season – tasked with holding them up.
Issues started promisingly for Evani with membership legend Attilio Lombardo in as assistant and one other Sampdoria icon in Roberto Mancini serving to in an unofficial capability.
Evani started with a 1-0 win over fellow strugglers Cittadella, however three attracts, a defeat and only one win since then haven’t been sufficient to maintain them up.
For Tavallaey, Sampdoria should now begin once more with a “correct undertaking” in place to return the membership to its former glories..
“They must construct a correct undertaking with a correct sporting directorship and a correct supervisor to assist them again to Serie A. They seem to be a sleeping magnificence.”
This text was first printed in March 2025.