Season 2012-13 marked Sampdoria’s return to Serie A after a season in the doldrums of Serie B. The doriani achieved survival with two matches to spare but it could have been achieved earlier. Despite experiencing form slumps under Ciro Ferrara and his replacement Delio Rossi, Doria usually came good against the big teams.
Ciro Ferrara started the season as coach, placing an emphasis on younger players and implementing a 4-3-3 formation. Facing AC Milan at the San Siro, Doria sprung a shock by beating Milan 1-0. Andrea Costa’s header was the only thing that separated the two teams and the victory was followed with wins against Siena and Pescara.
After 1-1 draws against Torino and Roma, Samp then went through a seven-match losing streak. Injuries, suspensions and debatable refereeing decisions didn’t help the cause.
Argentine striker Maxi Lopez started the season well with three goals but knee injuries halted his chances of scoring more goals. Without him, Samp lost a reference point in attack and Ferrara tried to use Eder, Nenad Krsticic and Roberto Soriano as false #9s.
Doria ended the losing streak in style, beating Genoa 3-1 in the Derby della Lanterna. Andrea Poli scored his first-ever Serie A goal, followed by a Cesare Bovo own goal and a goal by Argentine youngster Mauro Icardi, who also scored his first Serie A goal.
One of the key ingredients in the win was a switch from the 4-3-3 formation to the 4-5-1 formation. It allowed the team to be more comfortable in possession and fewer players were out of position. Young players like Icardi and Shkrodran Mustafi were also getting chances to play.
After the derby win, Sampdoria beat Bologna 1-0 and drew 2-2 against Fiorentina in Florence, even taking a 2-1 lead with less than 20 minutes to go. After losses to Udinese and Catania, Ferrara was sacked.
Delio Rossi replaced Ferrara as coach and sporting director Pasquale Sensibile resigned, with Carlo Osti replacing him. Rossi made quite a few changes to the team when he took over. He ditched the four-man defence and went for the 3-5-2 formation, which starting to become the norm in the Serie A. Other changes concerned the personnel in the team.
Enzo Maresca was a regular under Ferrara but Rossi decided to give Poli more creative responsibility and the veteran was eventually relegated to the bench. Lorenzo De Silvestri rarely played under Ferrara and Marcelo Estigarribia was a right-winger. Rossi used used De Silvestri and Estigarribia as his wing-backs.
The most crucial move was Rossi’s re-instatement of former captain Angelo Palombo. After returning from a loan spell at Inter, he was never selected by Ferrara. Not only did Rossi restore Palombo into the senior line-up, he used the midfielder in the centre of a three-man defence.
After starting with a 1-0 loss against former club Lazio, Rossi’s team got back to winning ways in the most unlikely of circumstances. Sampdoria pulled another shock win, this time against Juventus in Turin.
Sebastian Giovinco scored from a penalty and then Samp defender Gaetano Berardi got sent-off. Despite being a man down, Doria made a comeback in the second half thanks to Icardi. He scored two goals and gave the Genoese side a 2-1.
Icardi’s stocks were rising and he gained more attention by scoring four goals in a 6-0 thrashing of Pescara. He scored from a header in the 3-1 win against Roma, in which January arrival Gianluca Sansone starred on debut. Replacing Soriano at half-time, he created two goals and even scored from a free-kick. Talk about a super-sub!
After beating Parma 1-0 thanks to another Icardi goal, Samp went winless for 10 matches. Drawing 1-1 with Catania sealed survival and it was done without keeper Sergio Romero, who was benched after the 3-1 loss in Udine.
Sampdoria ended the season on a high note, grabbing another surprise win against Juve. Reserve keeper Angelo Da Costa starred in the 3-2 win, making many decisive saves. Eder made an impact in attack and Icardi capped off his season by sealing the win and scoring his 10th goal. It was also his third against Juve in two matches.
The blucerchiati finished in 14th place on the table with 42 points. Despite the winless streaks, Doria showed that they could turn it on against the big teams. Sampdoria can also take pride in the fact that they are the only team to beat Juve twice in this season’s Serie A.
Player of the Season
Spanish defensive midfielder Pedro Obiang was Sampdoria’s most consistent player all season. He won many challenges in midfield and his ball distribution was simple and effective. Despite his team’s form slumps, he was a player that Ferrara and then Rossi could depend on.
Goal of the Season
Enzo Maresca’s overhead kick in Sampdoria’s 2-1 loss to Atalanta:
Best and Worst Signings of the Season
Most of Sampdoria’s new signings didn’t play enough or weren’t consistent so Andrea Poli wins the vote. Poli wasn’t a new signing but he returned from a loan spell at Inter and played his best football for Doria this season.
Usually playing in a central midfield position, his role was to control the play with his metronomic passing. Poli showed that he was cool in tight spaces and was capable of small dribbles too.
During the season, he also scored his first three Serie A goals and he won two caps for Italy. He will be a loss if he is sold in the off-season.
Despite having international experience, Danish left-back Simon Poulsen played only seven times and couldn’t fight for a spot against lesser players.
Ferrara preferred Andrea Costa as a left-back in a four-man defence and when Rossi came in, Paraguayan international Estigarribia was used as left wing-back in a 3-5-2 formation.
In his last two matches, he caused a turn over against Inter which resulted in a goal and he was subbed at half-time against Lazio, which will probably be the final straw.
