If Sampdoria’s loss against Parma was of little consequence, the latest loss to Napoli was downright humiliating.
The only positives that Sinisa Mihajlovic’s team can take from the 5-2 loss are Roberto Soriano’s performance and Pawel Wszolek’s consolation goal.
Soriano never stopped running and showed great ball use against the Partenopei. Wszolek has struggled to adapt in Serie A but he finally scored against Napoli with a quality left-foot strike.
There are many negatives to talk about but it seems that the club is looking forward to next season anyway.
It will be Edoardo Garrone’s second full season as Sampdoria president but there is not a clear that the club is working on as yet.
When Garrone’s father Riccardo was still alive, he once said that he wanted to follow Udinese’s model for running a football club.
Ludovica Mantovani, the daughter of former Il Doria president Paolo, said on the Genoese television channel Telenord that the Udinese project would be hard for anyone to replicate. Such a project in her view needs people like club patron Giampaolo Pozzo and his wife Giuliana.
“The Udinese model in my opinion is difficult to imitate because it was created by the Pozzo family and as such requires these two people who I respect a lot,” said Mantovani.
“[T]hey are extremely knowledgeable and are on the front line every day. Not all presidents can always be at the forefront like them and they have to find out who delegates.”
There are both upsides and downsides to having a model like Udinese’s one. On the upside, the Zebrette are in a sound financial state, they scout for players around the world, they buy players at a cheap price and sell them for a large sum, and they regularly qualify for Europe.
The downside to the Pozzo family model is that there is a lack of stability with the roster and Udinese coach Francesco Guidolin season after season has to fit new players into his system.
Guidolin has also built the team around talismanic striker Antonio Di Natale but if he is not fit or in form, Udinese struggle on the pitch.
Worst of all, Udinese underperform in Europe, regularly failing to qualify for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. The best result Udinese have had in European competitions was in the 2008-09 UEFA Cup campaign, where the Zebrette reached the quarter-finals.
Udinese progressed far into the competition thanks to former Il Doria striker Fabio Quagliarella, who scored eight goals in that season’s competition.
Garrone could take inspiration from the Udinese model but the signs aren’t apparent yet. For instance, Sampdoria does not have an outstanding attacking midfielder or forward they can build the team around.
The Garrone family have not been known for buying cheap and selling high either. They have bought cheap but none of Samp’s players have been sold at a high price like former Udinese players Alexis Sanchez or even like Gokhan Inler or Samir Handanovic.
The Pozzo family also own Granada in Spain and Watford in England. Edoardo Garrone does not invest enough in Sampdoria to the dismay of most Blucerchiati fans so how could he invest in three clubs?
Most importantly, Udinese still has not won a major trophy. Sampdoria have won six, five under Paolo Mantovani, and one Coppa Italia under the presidency of his son Enrico in 1994.
If Garrone Jnr wants to see Samp win a trophy under his presidency, aside from spending more money or focusing on better recruitment, he would need the roster to be more stable.
Follow Vito Doria on Twitter: @VitoCDoria
