The Derby della Lanterna is always a much anticipated fixture in Liguria, two of Serie A’s most historic teams – Genoa and Sampdoria – duking it out for supremacy in the port city. Saturday’s match was no different, but a recent trend became all the more apparent.
Genoa, Italy’s oldest football team, have nine Serie A titles, and even as recently as 2009, were playing European football Gian Piero Gasperini.
Sampdoria did the same in 2015/16, taking Genoa’s place after the Grifone failed to get a UEFA license and had plenty of domestic and European success in the late1980s and early 1990s.
Now the pair are flirting with relegation and at 20:45 local time, they were both in the relegation zone and the football, if you want to call it that, seen at the Stadio Ferraris was woeful. It produced just two shots on target, with one being Sampdoria’s lone goal and winner.
The Derby della Lanterna has fallen, and is very much at risk of disappearing from the Serie A calendar, for a year at least should the pair fail to get their act together in 2020.
SPARKS FLY
One area in which the fixture excels comes from the fans. As usual the atmosphere was raucous, loud and full of colour, both inside and out.
Pre-match fireworks from the Genoa fans pic.twitter.com/UbiUdPnsUY
— ForzaItalianFootball (@SerieAFFC) December 14, 2019
The Sampdoria fans lit up nearby Via Tortosa with bright red flares, and the Genoa faithful had their own mini fireworks display outside the ground. And just before the game kicked off, the Rossoblu’s Gradinata Sud’s full on display engulfed the Ferraris in smoke.
Unfortunately for them, that was as much spark as Genoa would see on Saturday.
DERBY HERO
Life has been somewhat tough for Manolo Gabbiadini since leaving Sampdoria over four years ago, but fated spells at Napoli, then Southhampton, eventually brought him back to the club where he made his name.
In 2014 Gabbiadini did the same as on Saturday and scored a late winner to give Sampdoria a 1-0 win over Genoa. But this time he needed just 10 minutes on the pitch to do it, equaling his goalscoring tally with Sampdoria from last season – four.
LANTERNA KINGS
Not only have Genoa lost their last three home matches, on their second coach of the campaign and collected 11 points, they are in the midst of a horrendous derby run.
Sampdoria has won five of the last seven derbies in Serie A – the other two were drawn – which means the Blucerchiati are now unbeaten against Genoa in seven consecutive games. Something they haven’t done since December 1994.
