Delio Rossi is running out of lifelines.
After 11 rounds Sampdoria is in equal 17th place on nine points with Sassuolo behind them on goal difference.
In fact it was the Neroverdi who defeated the Blucerchiati on the weekend, triumphing 4-3 at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris last Sunday.
Rossi might be sitting on the Sampdoria bench for the final time on Sunday night if his side don’t win away to Fiorentina.
According to TuttoMercatoWeb, there are three candidates who are the favourites to replace Rossi. Former Chievo coach Eugenio Corini and former Palermo and Azzurrini coach Devis Mangia are coaches with a promising future but they don’t stand-out like the third candidate. That man is coaching veteran Zdenek Zeman.
What? Zeman?
Yes. Zdenek Zeman the 66-year-old chain-smoking coach known for his all-out attacking tactics.
The journeyman coach was sacked in February this year by Roma and he hasn’t taken another coach job yet but he could fit in at Sampdoria and work with the youngsters on the roster.
If there is one person who would help Zeman get the Sampdoria job, it is Sampdoria director Giuseppe Pavone.
After retiring as a player in 1986, Pavone has been involved director’s roles and it was at Foggia where he first met Zeman.
Along with the support of president Pasquale Casillo, they helped to create the ultra-offensive Zemanlandia team of the early 1990s, bringing the best out of players like Dan Petrescu, Igor Shalimov, Francesco Baiano and Giuseppe Signori.
Recently the duo was reunited at Foggia in the 2010-11 Lega Pro Prima Divisione B season with Casillo as president of the Satanelli once more. With a squad containing emerging stars Marco Sau and Lorenzo Insigne and current Sampdoria players Bartosz Salamon and Vasco Regini, Foggia made the play-offs.
Hiring Zeman as a coach would help Salamon and Regini get into form and adapt to the Serie A. The Polish youngster hasn’t played a match yet due to injury and the latter has been in and out of the starting line-up.
Zeman’s approach would also benefit young strikers Manolo Gabbiadini and Andrea Petagna because the Czech-born coach has a reputation of unearthing young attacking talent.
Sampdoria roster’s is also filled with plenty of young midfielders such as Savvas Gentsoglou, Pedro Obiang, Nenad Krsticic and Roberto Soriano. Zeman’s presence might encourage holding midfielders Gentsoglou and Obiang to have greater direction in Sampdoria’s attacking play and Zeman could be the one to polish the raw attacking midfield talents of Krsticic and Soriano.
Delio Rossi will take his squad to Montecatini Terme in the province of Pistoia on Friday and his players will be in ritiro. Regardless of what happens in ritiro, a win is the only result for Rossi if he wants to keep his job.
If he loses, it won’t be bad news for Sampdoria fans because the Blucerchiati could employ one of calcio’s most intriguing figures as coach.
In other news, a group of 30 Sampdoria fans went to protest at the Gloriano Mugnani Sports Centre at Bogliasco, where the Blucerchiati squad train.
After the defeat to Sassuolo, the fans put up a banner at the training facility and Sampdoria president Edoardo Garrone was the target of their frustration.
It read: “Leave unworthy one and we will applaud you!”
Needless to say, Garrone Jnr has not been a popular figure with Sampdoria fans so far and they want action.
Follow Vito Doria on Twitter: @VitoCDoria
Now this Vito – would be excellent…!!! Forza Zeman!
I hope so too. Either Mangia or him because they play attacking football and they have worked with kids.
I wouldn’t want Corini because I find his style to be too conservative and Samp doesn’t need that type of coach now.