“So far we have been extraordinary this season and today’s result was the icing on the cake,” said Sampdoria boss Marco Giampaolo after a stunning 3-2 home victory over six-time Serie A champions Juventus. “We will enjoy the moment without going overboard.”
Their passionate fans rocked the Marassi in style after such an impressive win, and the Coach was right about how extraordinary his side have been in the current campaign. Last week saw them enjoy a third consecutive win over derby rivals Genoa, a result that gave them 23 points after 11 matches, their best ever start to a Serie A campaign.
Saturday’s victory took their total to eight wins and two draws in their opening twelve fixtures, a figure that includes impressive victories over Fiorentina, Atalanta and AC Milan. All this is remarkable enough on its own, but considering they lost star players Patrik Schick, Luis Muriel, Milan Skriniar and Bruno Fernandes in the summer, this feat takes on an even greater feel.
How have they achieved this? The answer of course, is not completely straight-forward. An initial point to consider is the arrival of Marco Giampaolo from Empoli at the start of the 2016/17 campaign. The reputation of the Swiss-born tactician had skyrocketed in his previous position in Tuscany, alerting the attention of several Italian clubs before he eventually opted for Sampdoria.
At Empoli, he had taken on the seemingly impossible task of replacing Maurizio Sarri – who had moved on to Napoli – and managed to take the team as high as tenth, a five-place improvement on what Sarri had achieved the year before.
Now over in Liguria, he has instilled the same sense of hard-work and team-spirit amongst his Sampdoria side, a regular 4-3-1-2 formation deployed in all 12 league matches this season also means that this group of players know their roles inside out. This helps develop Giampaolo’s well-organised approach, having worked to bond a side that combines a mixture of experience and youth.
This blend is the other factor in their success during 2017/18. At 34 years old, Fabio Quagliarella is the current leading scorer with seven strikes, followed closely behind by fellow forward Duvan Zapata with five. The latter arrived from Napoli this summer, his strength and finishing perfectly complimenting his experienced strike partner, who is eight years his senior.
Further behind them sit Lucas Torreira (21), Karol Linetty (22) and Dennis Praet (23), a midfield trio of stars that have been attracting attention on the peninsula and beyond. Uruguayan Torreira in particular – who scored another stunning goal against Juventus on Sunday – has alerted some of Europe’s biggest clubs with his tenacious yet skillful displays in the centre of the park.
Lucas Torreira with one of the best free kicks you'll see 😳
So far there was no wall...
Indeed the midfielder has started every game for the Blucerchiati and ranks fifth in the league in terms of tackles with an average of 3.1 per game and tenth in the league for overall number of passes, having recorded 65.2 per outing, connecting with 87% of those attempted.
Such success will undoubtedly attract offers for Torreira and others in the winter transfer window, but Samp owner Massimo Ferrero seems intent to stand firm, at least for the moment. “This is a great Samp and nobody will leave in January,” he said after the victory over Juventus. I gave Marco Giampaolo the cloth and he stitched a beautiful outfit. We did it half each.”
If this side can indeed keep hold of their stars at least until the end of the season, Sampdoria will certainly be in with a shout of a European place. But whatever happens, Marco Giampaolo will ensure that this side sticks to its principles of playing entertaining football, to the delight of Serie A fans everywhere.
