Eder, Gentsoglou join struggling Sampdoria

Eder has joined Sampdoria from Cesena and began training this week.  He was requested in the transfer window by  Sampdoria Manager Beppe Iachini who previously coached the player at Brescia.  In mid-field Sampdoria have taken on Savvas Gentsolglou from AEK.  The young player has captained the Greek Under-21 team and made several appearances in the Europa League with AEK.  He is the first Greek player to wear the Sampdoria shirt.

Samp Still Searching For First Win Under New Manager

The first month of Sampdoria – version Iachini has been marked by more of the same.  Sampdoria now has 11 draws, from 19 matches, 4 more than any other team.  This weekend sees them travel to Pescara to take on a team suffering it’s own crisis of results, with only 1 point from the last 3 games. Iachini, who has been using a 4-3-3 formation with Dessena, Palombo and Bentivoglio in mid-field, will have some selection decisions to make this week as Gastadello looks likely to miss the match with an injury, whilst Bentevoglio will serve a suspension for accumulation of yellow cards.  The spot open in mid-field will be contested by Obiang and Soriano, both young players who have shown well when previously offered a chance under Atzori’s direction.  Upfront, the only player who can truly feel safe is Foggia, who continues to be the side’s only real attacking spark.  The other two positions still seem undecided, although Bertani seems to be holding his spot, with Pozzi, Piovaccari, Maccarone and Fornaroli fighting over the last in the three man front-line.

Iachini appointed coach of Sampdoria

Sampdoria have announced that Giuseppe Iachini will take over the vacant Manager’s position following Gianluca Atzori’s dismissal on Sunday.  Iachini has two previous promotions under his name, one with Chievo after they had suffered the same fate as Samp last year in travelling from Champions League qualifiers to relegation.  The other was with Brescia after he had taken over from another failed Sampdoria coach Alberto Cavasin.  Welcome to Sampdoria Sgnr Iachini, there is plenty of work to do, but also plenty of fans who will immediately warm to you if you can supply some action on the pitch and some points on the table. In bocc’a'Lupo!!

Atzori Sacked

Today’s 0-1 loss at home to Vicenza has proven decisive for the management of Sampdoria, who have sacked first year manager, Gianluca Atzori.  Atzori will have very few good memories from his time at Samp, the only highlights probably the 6-0 thrashing of Gubbio and a convincing away win in Empoli.  His failure to win a Italian Cup tie over the same Empoli side got him off on a bad foot before the Serie B season began, and in the last few weeks, losses at home and a terrible 4-2 loss away in Nocera have seen him move closer to the end of the plank.  A replacement is expected to be announced tomorrow.  The front-runners for the job are Donadoni and Iachini, while Doria’s last successful coach Luigi Del Neri remains an outsider along with Toninho Cerezo, who has recently been announced as Samp international ambassador and scouting chief.

Verona – Samp Pre-Match

Well there is a lot of discussion going on at Sampdoria this week, in light of the first loss of the season. There is some considerable disquiet among some sections of the fans about Atzori’s choices not only in starting line up (Maccarone) but also his substitutions. Furthermore, he seems to be unable to admit any mistake on his part. My advice to him is to do this as swiftly as possible as Samp fans are tired of managers who seem to not want to take responsibility if the side does’t score or performs badly.

As one article in local rag il secolo xix said, “[I]one thing has been proven in the last two weeks, that there is no substitute for Nicola Pozzi.[/I]” Albinoleffe were unlucky not to score and then were demoralized by Foggia’s free kick. Maccarone converted a penalty in that match, but it was won by Bertani. In the match against Torino, Maccarone was sufficient for about 1/3 and then he seems to have no legs for pressing the opposition, allowing them to launch long balls from within their own half with impunity. Long balls will always arrive, but under pressure they are far less likely to find their mark.

The good news is Pozzi is back for this match and surely is a instant selection alongside Bertani up-front. The rest of the squad is a little less clear, but the feeling is that Bentivoglio will partner Palombo in mid-field, with Semioli and Padalino on the wings. It would appear that the defensive frailties that have always appeared when Padalino has played in the back-line have not disappeared, but his energy and willingness to get forward and attack remains undiminished.

In the back line, Costa and Accardi look set to be benched, with the centre pairing of Gastaldello and Volta likely, with Rispoli and Dessena on the flanks. Romero is away with the Argentine national team so Da Costa will again be in goal. During an interview earlier in the week, he said that as a superstition he never eats chicken before a match, apparently a Brasilian expression ‘tomou um frango’ (eat a chicken?) means to make a goal-keeping error. I say if that’s the case Angelo no chicken ever, no turkey or duck either, in fact stay right away from poultry.

This is a must win match for Samp who already trail the leaders in Serie B by 5 points with 7 matches played. By 8 points with 8 rounds played will start to look like a decisively difficult trend to redress, so this is a real litmus test of Atzori as a manager capable of leading Doria back to Serie A. Kick-off is 20:45 Italian time from the stadio Bentegodi in Verona.

Samp manager Atzori happy with 4-4-2 after beating Empoli

An away win was the only thing missing for Gianluca Atzori’s Sampdoria to send a truly strong signal of it’s intentions in the Serie B. In Empoli, already the stage on which Samp had made a premature exit from the Coppa Italia, the blucerchiati put in a convincing perfromance, crowned by 3 points.

“I want to compliment the boys on a superlative display – naturally aside from the last 10 minutes of the first half because, by relaxing we risked allowing Empoli a chance to come-back. As soon as we suffered a goal, the ghosts were back. Therefore it’s important for me to say that there is still a lot to work on. We must not allow anyone the chance to re-open a game that is already closed.”

“We created lots of chances on goal, but I want to see the team in control of the match for the full 90 minutes. Very few of our adversaries can boast the offensive potential that we have at Sampdoria, but this is not enough for me, I want more concentration in defence and infront of goal. I don’t want to discuss the actions of any individuals because our symbol is the group. The hardest thing for me at the moment is to leave National players at home and put people like Rispoli and Dessena on the sidelines, but this competition for spots will be the future strenghth of Sampdoria.”

“Pozzi had a problem with an abdusctor muscle, that’s why I preferred to sub him. I’m convinced that the 4-4-2 is the right formation at the moment and so are the players. I’m not discounting the work already done with 3 at the back, because I’m sure that during the season it will again be useful, but given the elements I have at my disposal I believe that the 4-4-2 can give us more guarantees. On the right I have Volta and Rispoli, while on the left I have Castellini and Laczko. In the middle I can count on Accardi, Costa, Gastaldello and Rossini. We have two defensive players in each role and so I’m happy to try any type of formation.”