The Derby della Lanterna is the local showdown between the oldest and youngest clubs in Serie A.
Words: Ciro Di Brita
The Derby Della Lanterna, named after the Lighthouse that serves the city’s port, sees the encounter between Italy’s oldest club Genoa, versus the youngest club in Serie A, Sampdoria. The Grifone were founded way back in 1893, while their cross-city rivals were formed when two clubs named Andrea Doria and Sampierdarenese merged in 1946 to make Unione Calcio Sampdoria.
The Derby della Lanterna is the local showdown between the oldest and youngest clubs in Serie A.
Words: Ciro Di Brita
The Derby Della Lanterna, named after the Lighthouse that serves the city’s port, sees the encounter between Italy’s oldest club Genoa, versus the youngest club in Serie A, Sampdoria. The Grifone were founded way back in 1893, while their cross-city rivals were formed when two clubs named Andrea Doria and Sampierdarenese merged in 1946 to make Unione Calcio Sampdoria.
The very first Derby was played on March 3 1947, which I Blucerchiati won 3-2, then also won the return match 3-0. Two seasons later they recorded the largest ever win in the fixture when they beat their neighbours 5-1.
Tonight’s game will be the 97th meeting between the two sides and it’s Doria who historically have the better of the head to head with 37 wins to Genoa’s 24.
Not many local rivals can match these two teams and their fans for passion and pageantry, as when the Derby is on, the Stadio Luigi Ferraris comes alive in one of the most colourful and atmospheric games on the calendar. Families, households and work places are all split down the middle on where their loyalties lie when it comes to bragging rights as the best club in Liguria.
The Rossoblu have not won a Scudetto since 1924, nor a Coppa Italia since 1937, and their fans have had to take an envious back seat to their rivals in the more recent past. Sampdoria’s first and only Scudetto came in 1991 when they thrilled the neutrals with their attacking football lead by Roberto Mancini and Gianluca Vialli. They followed that win up with their fourth Coppa Italia title in 1994. Throw in a UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in 1990 and an appearance in the European Cup Final, which they lost narrowly to Barcelona 1-0 at Wembley, and the strut is most definitely in the walk of the Blue half of the city.
Probably the most famous edition of the Derby is the game in November 1990 when Sampdoria were sitting top of the table, coming off the back of beating current champions Napoli 4-1 and were confident of a good result against their opponents, who had only won one game so far that season.
Stefano Eranio gave the Grifone a shock lead before Vialli equalised from the spot, cue Brazilian full back Branco to write his name into the history books by scoring the winning goal with an absolute belter of a left-footed shot from a free kick that was played into his path to smash goalward.
Last season La Doria did the double over Il Vecchio Balordo, winning 2-1 in their home fixture and 1-0 in the away game. Two of those three goals came from Colombian Luis Muriel, who has now left the club to be replaced by his compatriot Duvan Zapata, while I Rossoblu’s line-up will be much changed from last season.
As things stand, 14 points separate the two sides in the table. Samp have a game in hand and have been playing some exciting football, Genoa have been struggling, but as the old cliché says, current form goes out the window when the derby comes to town.