To err is human, to persist is diabolical. Sampdoria’s decline continues unabated; for two seasons now, the Blucerchiati have languished at the bottom of the Serie B table, and what leaves Blucerchiati fans stunned is the fact that the management keeps making a string of mistakes, resulting in seasons that are carbon copies of one another. Thus, almost a year on, the away trip to Carrara has become, for Sampdoria, synonymous with a descent into the abyss.
On 25 April 2025, it was the 1-0 defeat at the Stadio dei Marmi against Carrarese that sealed Sampdoria’s fate and triggered the drama of the season’s finale – a campaign that ultimately ended in relegation to Serie C, which was later converted into a play-off due to Brescia’s misconduct. Yesterday’s match seemed like a carbon copy of that one: after almost 11 months, the Blucerchiati crumbled once again in Tuscany, facing a side in only its fourth Serie B season in a history spanning almost 120 years.
Attilio Lombardo’s arrival on the bench was not enough to shake up a despondent squad incapable of maintaining even the slightest consistency. The merciless statistics reveal just one away win this season – the victory in Modena – which is also Sampdoria’s only away win of the entire calendar year. To find another victory away from Marassi, one has to go all the way back to October 2024. The real blow to the Blucerchiati fans is the run of poor form triggered by the 2-1 defeat to Mantova. Since the victory over Padova on Valentine’s Day, there have been four defeats and two draws. That makes a total of two points from a possible 18 – a relegation-bound average without even passing go – especially given that the other contenders are certainly making headway. Just consider that Pescara, who were bottom of the table throughout the 2025/2026 season, have picked up 11 points out of a possible 15 in their last five matches.
In the meantime, there was also a sacking – that of the Foti-Gregucci duo, who appeared clearly incapable of leading Sampdoria – and the decision to hand the managerial reins ‘on an interim basis’ to Lombardo. The Sampdoria legend has earned the fans’ gratitude for the courage shown in taking on such a hot potato at this moment. “It took courage and grit, qualities that have been missing from Sampdoria since August 2024; the hope is that Popeye can lend them some of his own” is the most popular comment. How long Lombardo will remain in charge, however, remains to be seen: the board has never clearly stated whether the choice of Popeye would be permanent.
The statement issued to relieve the previous management duo of their duties read: “Pending the appointment of a permanent solution, the team has been temporarily placed under the leadership of technical assistant Attilio Lombardo”. Since then, no further details have been released – yet another communication blunder in an endless series, providing further excuses for a group already largely absolved of responsibility and an environment now numb, dazed and almost incapable of feeling anything at all when it comes to Samp. The feeling is that it is unlikely there will be yet another change after the break, given the limited time available, even though, as mentioned, there has been no official statement on the matter.
The current ownership’s responsibilities are clear. Suffice it to say that the Manfredi-Tey duo has managed, in three years of management, to inflict the two worst seasons in eighty years of history on a club historically accustomed to the most important stages of Italian football (Sampdoria is 10th in the all-time points table of the top flight, and has spent 66 of the 80 seasons in its history in Serie A). The ‘feat’ of reaching the club’s first-ever Serie C season was achieved as early as June 2025, and there is a very real risk of repeating it in May 2026, even going so far as to set the unenviable record of two relegations to Serie C in two years. Yet Sampdoria fans point out just how simple football really is: a string of mistakes leads to a string of poor seasons, and the feeling down south is that of watching a (horror) film we’ve seen before. When the lights come on, however, the body lying on the ground will be that of U.C. Sampdoria. Action must be taken immediately, and even that may not be enough to save the club.