After looking uninspired under Delio Rossi, Sampdoria are slowly climbing up the Serie A table under Sinisa Mihajlovic.
The former Serbian national team coach has shafted the 3-5-2 and 4-4-2 formations used under his predecessor and stuck with the 4-2-3-1 formation.
Changing the formation has benefited the regular starters as well as the substitutes in the Doriani squad and Mihajlovic has not lost a match since taking over.
Samp drew 1-1 against Lazio in Mihajlovic’s first game as Blucerchiati coach. That was followed by another 1-1 draw with Inter, a 2-0 win against Catania and the latest win against Chievo in which Doria won 1-0.
The win against the Flying Donkeys wasn’t pretty but the Doriani showed that they were resolute in defending and capable of soaking up pressure. Manolo Gabbiadini also squandered a chance to extend Sampdoria’s lead when he shot over the bar after dribbling past Chievo keeper Christian Puggioni.
The Blucerchiati now sit in equal 14th place on the Serie A table on 17 points with Udinese and four points separate the Genoese club from the relegation zone.
Sampdoria also won convincingly against Hellas Verona in the Coppa Italia, thrashing the Gialloblu 4-1 and only one of the those goals came from a forward. Gianluca Sansone opened the scoring and Doria midfielders Birkir Bjarneson, Nenad Krsticic and Renan Garcia added to the tally.
So how have the Sampdoria players benefited since Mihajlovic’s first match in charge?
Some players are playing in roles that are new to them but they have adapted well. Shkodran Mustafi plays as a centre-back, Gabbiadini is used on the right-wing, Roberto Soriano plays as a false left-winger and Eder has been used as the lone striker.
Mustafi has less room to attack but he has been capable of thwarting opposition attackers. Gabbiadini has potentially been placed in a role that could bring the best out of him. He is linking-up better with his teammates and he can cut-in and take shots with his left foot.
Soriano usually cuts-in from the left-wing but he can operate as another playmaker and string passes together. Eder has usually been used as a winger or support striker at Sampdoria but in the last two matches, he has been used as a centre-forward and made the most of his aerial ability.
There are others who are in their natural roles such as Angelo Palombo, who is back in the midfield and operating as a ball-winner and withdrawn playmaker, and Nenad Krsticic, who is playing as an attacking midfielder and has more an offensive input than he did under Rossi.
Although the Serbian coach has been stable with his starting line-up, he hasn’t closed the door on some players like Rossi did.
Renan Garcia has gained more matchtime recently, playing alongside Palombo in one of the holding midfielder roles. Aside from his work ethic, he probably offers more in attack than young Spanish anchorman Pedro Obiang.
Maresca hasn’t played since the draw against Lazio but Argentine wing-back Matias Rodriguez managed to replace Lorenzo De Silvestri in the Chievo triumph. His future is not clear though and he could be heading back to South America in January.
Aside from the formation change, the mentality of the players has changed too. The team has grown in confidence and there is a belief that the team can win matches.
“There is a mentality change in the group,” Eder’s agent Andrea Bagnoli told TuttoMercatoWeb.
“Sampdoria with the change [in coach] have targeted important results and they are pulling out of the previous situation.”
Soriano said after the Chievo game that the team plays with more determination under Mihajlovic . He told Sky Sport Italia: “I’m fine, the whole squad is good [but] it was difficult today.
“However, since Mihajlovic arrived we are following him. [I]t seems to me that we believe in ourselves and the results are coming in.
“He just arrived [and] he said that he wants to play to attack. He has put this thing in our heads not to suffer [by conceding] goals but to win.”
The Blucerchiati face Parma in the last Serie A round for 2013 and the Crociati with be missing former Doria star Antonio Cassano. Without their creative spark in attack, Parma will probably expect more from Marco Parolo to create chances.
Gabbiadini will be unavailable due to suspension but if the Doriani maintain their current form, Roberto Donadoni’s team could be there for the taking.
Follow Vito Doria on Twitter: @VitoCDoria
