Position: 20th
Points: 19
Previous season: 15th, 36 points
Best Serie A scorer: Manolo Gabbiadini, seven goals in 35 Serie A games
Rating: 2/10
Season overview
Sampdoria were saved from the brink of bankruptcy and the lower leagues after being relegated in their worst-ever top-flight campaign. A group of investors led by Andrea Radrizzani and Matteo Manfredi sealed a late takeover as divisive owner Massimo Ferrero finally agreed to sell the Blucerchiati. The timing of the deal meant Doria avoided a humiliating fall into the fourth tier of Italian football. Samp fired coach Marco Giampaolo last October and replaced him with Dejan Stankovic but only managed a paltry three victories all term. They scored the fewest goals in Serie A and conceded at an alarming rate to plummet to Serie B in a woefully inadequate season to forget.
Turnaround moment
A miserable campaign littered with innumerable defensive errors was summed up in a 3-2 home defeat to relegation rivals Cremonese. The Blucerchiati still had faint hopes of survival in early April but somehow squandered a 2-1 lead to remain at rock bottom of the table. Mehdi Leris and Sam Lammers scored rare goals in front of an ecstatic Marassi crowd. Yet they were stunned into silence as Stankovic’s team collapsed in the final stages. An abysmal backline fell apart as Luka Lochoshvili levelled with five minutes left and Leonardo Sernicola slammed home a stunning winner in stoppage time. The damage had already been done but Samp never recovered after the defeat and limped to last place in the standings.
The coach – Dejan Stankovic
The appointment of Stankovic was supposed to spark a revival. Instead, it condemned Sampdoria to relegation. The Serbian enjoyed a glittering playing career at Lazio and Inter and led Red Star Belgrade to three consecutive titles as a coach. The 44-year-old found life in Serie A considerably more difficult. Despite his reputation as an energetic motivator he only steered Doria to three wins all term. Starved of funds to bolster the squad in January he was forced into questionable loan deals and kept faith in a group of players clearly not up to the task. Unwilling to blood-promising youngsters the veterans kept on losing as Stankovic consistently failed with his team selection and tactics.
Player of the Season – Tommaso Augello
It could be argued that none of the Samp squad deserved any accolades after the club’s poorest statistical top-flight finish. Only goalkeeper Emil Audero and left-sided defender Tommaso Augello emerged with their reputations just about intact. Augello just gets the nod ahead of Audero as he refused to be dragged down to the level of his underperforming teammates. The 28-year-old was at his best bombing down the left channel on the transition. His set-piece deliveries remained accurate despite Samp’s slump and he even scored a superb low strike in an isolated victory at Sassuolo.
Disappointing player of the Season – Mehdi Leris
A hopeless defensive unit sank to unseen depths of ineptitude but Mehdi Leris promised much and delivered little. The Algerian midfielder frequently utilized his pace to escape opponents but almost always made the wrong decision in crucial areas. Whether covering in defence or scarpering forward the 25-year-old was a constant liability. Despite a catalogue of mistakes Stankovic continued to select the former Chievo player when he might have benefited from a spell on the bench. Leris might be more suited to the second tier of Italian football after a disastrous season in the top flight at the Blucerchiati.