When Sampdoria walk off the Luigi Ferraris pitch Saturday night they could find themselves occupying a Champions League qualification spot holding as many points as second place and Scudetto challengers Roma, as they underline a magnificent turnaround in fortunes for a club that was relegated the last it tasted European competition in 2010/11.
That resurrection has come in the form of ex-Blucerchiati man Sinisa Mihaljovic who, when Serie A resumes after the international break, will celebrate a year in the Sampdoria hot-seat after initially taking them on from 18th place and looking to be setting them up for little more than relegation battles for the foreseeable future.
That the 45-year-old has brought such improvement to Il Doria is not exactly surprising given the success he had changing the fortunes at Bologna and more notably Catania, when finishing 13th; but with his time with the Rossoblu and later Fiorentina ending unpleasantly amid rumours of disagreements with senior players, questions remained over whether he could succeed in Liguria.
A distinguished defender during his successful career, his team was always going to be based on a solid rearguard. Sampdoria are conceding, on average, a goal every two games. That is nearly three times less than last season as well as rivals Roma and Juventus.
However, it is the determination to win instilled by Mihajlovic that has catapulted them onto the fringes of qualification for Europe’s premier club competition, along with an ability to grind down resolute opponents such as Chievo and Atalanta. It is a mentality to match his own and the reason why Sven Goran Eriksson and former teammate Roberto Mancini took him to Lazio and Inter respectively, where he would help achieve Serie A success.
With a relatively young squad they are probably more receptive of the Serbian’s ideas. Indeed Mihajlovic looks to be rubbing off on Manolo Gabbiadini who has given some assured performances under his tutorage.
“They have an important policy of investing in young players and they have some interesting players that we are considering,” admitted Italy coach Antonio Conte, suggesting that Mihajlovic’s methods could also pay off for the Azzurri.
Captain Angelo Palombo certainly believes in their current crop, declaring it as the most talented squad he has seen in 12 years at the club. While that may be true, it is certainly nowhere near the class of 1991 that won their sole Scudetto and nearly captured a European Cup the season after Mihalovic himself had triumphed with Red Star Belgrade.
Instead Sampdoria seem to have found a way of performing above the sum of their parts after finally realising how to transition from a side built not to lose to one that has enough attacking impetus to clinch victory, something they struggled to achieve last term.
Often deploying two defensive midfielders shielding the backline, Sampdoria struggled in their attempts to operate with two strikers; but the transformation of Stefano Okaka has allowed them to utilize the creativity of Eder and Gabbiadini without sacrificing either the determination of Palombo or athleticism of Pedro Obiang.
However, Mihajlovic and his players displayed some astute tactical understanding against Fiorentina last Sunday. Mihajlovic left out Eder and Gabbiadini from the starting line-up, with Roberto Soriano providing the attacking flair and utilising Palombo’s tenacity at the heart of a three-man defence.
Such ability to shuffle his pack accordingly, against arguably superior opposition, and win would be heralded at ‘bigger’ clubs, say Inter — who are reportedly considering him as a successor for under fire Walter Mazzarri — and can help Mihajlovic turn Sampdoria into something of a surprise package this season.
After the visit from AC Milan this Saturday, Sampdoria have some significant challenges — namely a trip to Juventus and the hosting Napoli before the winter break. Should Sampdoria overcome them, it could cement their position within the top three and their dreams of bringing Champions League football back at the Marassi.
Whether it would be the catalyst for another disastrous league campaign to come may be a question that never gets asked, but a continuation of their current form will certainly make keeping Mihajlovic and their young stars in Liguria ever more difficult.
Follow Kevin Pogorzelski on Twitter: @rabbitrabbiton
