Sampdoria barely avoided a ignominious drop into Serie B last term and will aim to preserve their top flight status this season. Stephen Kasiewicz outlines the difficulties the Blucerchiati will face in the new campaign.
Sampdoria barely retained their place in Serie A last year and benefited from the collapse of other teams in the relegation zone. Arch rivals Genoa dropped to the second tier and while Doria were fortunate not to join them the bar is low for the 2022-2023 championship.
Hampered by financial restrictions it’s been a dismal transfer window for Doria.
Samp have consistently shipped their most saleable assets in the last three decades and this summer has been no different.
Key midfielder Antonio Candreva is on the brink of a switch to Salernitana, while young Dane Mikkel Damsgaard promised much but failed to deliver in an injury prone spell and was sold to Brentford.
Energetic Norwegian midfielder Morten Thorsby departed for German club Union Berlin in a cut price deal, while error prone Japanese defender Maya Yoshida (Schalke 04) and veteran Swedish midfielder Albin Ekdal (Spezia) also left.
Serbian playmaker Filip Đuričić returned after four seasons at Sassuolo and Gonzalo Villar came in from Roma but coach Marco Giampaolo will largely rely on the same group which floundered last season.
Staying in the league is the primary target for a club still in a phase of rebuilding.
Former player Marco Lanna took over as club president after Massimo Ferrero was arrested for a multitude of alleged corporate and financial crimes and resigned last December.
Key man: Francesco Caputo
The former Sassuolo striker looked a shadow of the player that starred for the Neroverdi in a frustrating first term at Samp.
Although the 35-year-old delivered 11 goals and six assists in 2021-2022 the veteran often looked frustrated and demoralised as the Doria midfield consistently failed to supply him with good service.
Former Italy cap Caputo must improve his strike rate for the Blucerchiati to avoid another campaign stuck at the wrong end of the table.
Coach: Marco Giampaolo
Giampaolo managed to steer Samp to safety after the club sank into the drop zone under Roberto D’Aversa last year.
The coach is likely to deploy a flexible 4-3-3 formation with a flat back four, three man defensive block and trio of forwards.
In defence the underwhelming centre-back pairing of Omar Colley and Alex Ferrari still have much to prove, while Đuričić and Abdelhamid Sabiri will act as providers for Caputo in the lone striker role. Samp were far from convincing under Giampaolo last term and the coach faces a huge task again in the 2022-2023 season.
Watch out for: Wondergoals
Expect the extraordinary with grandmaster Fabio Quagliarella and protégé Sabiri capable of scoring jaw dropping stunners. Quagliarella, 39, has netted some outrageous goals in a brilliant career and has clearly influenced Moroccan-born Sabiri. Look out for something special from at least one of the duo this year.
This article featured on the Football Italia website on Wednesday, August 10, 2022.
Stephen Kasiewicz 