Is it foolish nostalgia to believe that a group of Sampdoria heroes can prevent the club from an ignominious tumble into the nether world of Serie C?
The Blucerchiati sacked Leonardo Semplici and appointed former midfielder Alberico Evani and ex-winger Attilio Lombardo as their new coaching team with just six games remaining this season.
Iconic former forward Roberto Mancini will also play a role in the new setup with Samp second bottom in Italy’s second tier.
The greatest player in the port city club’s history was keen to stress that he is a fan first and foremost and has no official title.
Yet with his son Andrea installed as sporting director for a second time (replacing Pietro Accardi) the former Inter, Manchester City and Italy coach will surely be called upon in some capacity to help drag his beloved club out of the relegation zone to safety.
It all feels like a slightly different version of Sanremo Music Festival winner Olly’s Balorda nostalgia. The Sampdoria fan lamented about wishing to revisit the past in his hit song. However, Samp must rely on the old gang to inspire a group of woefully underperforming players in the here and now.
Is the last-ditch coaching revamp too little too late or will it prove a masterstroke?
All that matters is the present day, yet the inspirational figures from the past should at the very least provide a jolt to an absolutely beleaguered squad.
Six league victories is a measly return in a season blighted by a litany of poor decision making. From the dismissal of Andrea Pirlo just three games into the new campaign to the appointments of Andrea Sottil and Semplici and a host of badly misjudged player additions it’s been a catalogue of missteps all term.
There’s no ancient Ligurian transformational ritual that will miraculously turn mediocre players into stars. However, the mere presence of Evani, Lombardo and Evani must act as a motivational tool.
Maybe they should have locked the entire squad in the Bogliasco training centre video room with a loop of classic matches featuring the brilliant trio.
In a campaign of unabated misery, it is worth remembering a time when the Blucerchiati were one of the most successful clubs in Italian football.
Evani, Lombardo, and Mancini were all part of the Samp squad which last won a trophy 31 years ago. Lombardo and Evani both scored as Doria trounced Ancona 6-1 in the second leg at the Luigi Ferraris Stadium in April 1994.
Mancini and Lombardo are well recognized club legends.
Both were present as the port city underdogs stunned calcio to claim the club’s first and only Scudetto in 1990-1991.
They were together as Samp defeated Anderlecht to claim the European Cup Winners’ Cup on a magnificent Gothenburg night in May 1990. Two years later they reached the European Cup final only to lose out in unfortunate circumstances against Barcelona at Wembley.
Only Mancini’s goal twin Gianluca Vialli, who sadly passed away in January 2023, is missing from the freshly revitalised backroom team.
Samp’s former superstar striker was part of an American group that attempted to buy the club from disgraced ex-president Massimo Ferrero in February 2019.
The plan, which involved Vialli assuming a senior position in the club’s hierarchy, didn’t come to fruition.
Ferrero ran the club into the ground before Matteo Manfredi and Andrea Radrizzani assumed control in May 2023.
A prolonged stay in Serie B was never part of the revival plan, but just staying in the second tier will quite an achievement in what has been the worst season in the club’s history.
The Blucerchiati have never been in such a dire predicament before.
Since Doria’s formation in 1946 they have been a mainstay in the top flight with only short stays one step down the ladder in the second level of calcio.
A first ever fall into the third rung of the Italian game beckons if Evani, Lombardo, and Mancini fail to swiftly turn things around.
Their collective coaching records were established at the top end of the game with the Italian national team and a host of the biggest clubs in Italy and Europe.
Whether they are really qualified or prepared to lead Samp in a relegation dogfight seems irrelevant.
The Blucerchiati might as well have given up rather than continue with Semplici.
Shorn of virtually all self-esteem and approaching games with an understandable tentativeness the players looked half-beaten before they even made it onto the pitch.
Brittle at the back and blunt up front Samp take on Cittadella at Marassi tomorrow (Saturday, April 12) on a seven-game winless run.
It’s the first of six monumental matches for the returning heroes to manoeuvre their beloved club away from a potentially catastrophic demotion.
After leading Samp to numerous past glories it would be an incredible feat if Evani, Lombardo, and Mancini can successfully lift Doria to safety.
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Stephen Kasiewicz 