Serie A Preview 2009/10: Sampdoria

Main Transfers: Daniele Mannini (Napoli), Fernando Tissone (Argentina), Marco Rossi (Parma), Matteo Guardalben (Treviso).

Outlook: The arrival of manager Gigi del Neri was the big news of the summer for Sampdoria whose transfers have largely been low key. Of utmost importance for them was keeping the strike duo of Giampaolo Pazzini and Antonio Cassano after the two hit it off so well in the second half of last season.

The two did so well that it led to inevitable comparisons to Sampdoria’s other strike partnership made up of Roberto Mancini and Gianluca Vialli. Pazzini and Cassano are perhaps just as talented as those two, and their understand almost as telepathic, yet the rest of the team is nowhere near as good as the one of Sampdoria’s golden era so dreaming of repeating their success is just that: dreams.

Sampdoria is usually a tranquil club where expectations aren’t too high but neighbours Genoa’s success last season has raised the stakes and they will now be expected to do just as good, even though the squad doesn’t look good enough to do so. A youth system that seems to be producing a number of promising players will help but the Coppa Italia once again looks like their best bet.

Manager: For some years, the man who had led Chievo Verona to the Serie A and then the Champions League looked to have lost his way as spells at Porto, Palermo and Roma all ended abruptly and with his reputation shredded. Yet the beauty of Italian football is that, despite all the sackings, coaches still keep of finding jobs and Gigi Del Neri was lucky enough to be given the chance to manage Atalanta, one of the most stable ones around. That stability allowed him to rediscover his touch as he led the Bergamo side to two good seasons. Having decided that he had taken them as far as he could, Del Neri now moves to an equally stable but perhaps more ambitious Sampdoria in the hope that here he can continue his upward ascent.

Key Player: Off the pitch he might not be the model professional that everyone seems to expect football players to be and his lifestyle leaves a lot to be desired. Yet there are few players in the world that can ignite a football game with a piece of individual magic as much as Antonio Cassano (pictured) can. There were rumours of Inter making a move for him but most probably it is better for him to stay at Sampdoria where he is the big fish in a small pond rather than end up being swallowed by the squad culture as he was in Madrid.

One to Look Out For: The best player of the last Viareggio Tournament – a famous youth competition held annually in the city of Viareggio – Guido Marilungo made his first full start for Sampdoria against Cagliari and marked the occasion with two goals. Five further games ensued during which he scored once more but enough had been seen of the twenty year old to offer him a five year contract at the end of June.

Related Posts :