This season, in the last round of the Champions League qualifiers, Sampdoria drew Bundesliga powerhouse Werder Bremen. In the first leg away, Sampdoria lost 1-3, with Pazzini's goal in the 90th minute leaving a glimmer of hope for a comeback. In the second leg, Pazzini scored twice early in the match to give Sampdoria a two-goal lead at home, and Cassano added another goal in the 85th minute. However, Rosenborg's subsequent goal dragged the game into extra time. During extra time, Pirahlo's goal left Sampdoria heartbroken as they were eliminated from reaching the Champions League group stage. The elimination in the qualifiers dealt a heavy blow to Sampdoria. Although they didn't replicate their stunning performance from the previous season upon returning to the league, Sampdoria still managed to remain in the mid-upper echelons of the league while juggling Europa League matches, ranking eighth in the league by the winter break despite having played one fewer game. Despite achieving an eighth-place finish before the winter break, the conflict between Cassano and the club president deeply troubled all Sampdoria fans. Ultimately, during the winter break, Garrone sent Cassano to AC Milan, and what fans didn't expect was that after sending off Cassano, Garrone also sold Pazzini to Inter Milan. Alongside selling their twin star forwards, Garrone also transferred Mari伦go to Atalanta for 4 million euros and Samarko to Cesena for 2 million euros. In terms of recruitment, they only borrowed young talent Macheda from Manchester United, bought Macarrone from Palermo for 3 million euros, and acquired Biabiany through an exchange deal. Last season, Sampdoria once again created a miracle in Serie A. Under Del Neri's leadership, Sampdoria maintained an unbeaten home record throughout the season and ultimately secured fourth place in the league standings, earning a spot in the Champions League for the first time in 19 years. That season, they were the only team in Serie A to have an advantage over Inter Milan, with "The Sailors" recording a 1-1 draw and a win against Inter Milan, making them the only team to defeat all four traditional powerhouses. In the 35th round, Sampdoria faced league leaders Roma away, and despite being underestimated, they won 2-1 thanks to goals from Pazzini and Cassano, pulling Roma down from the top position while solidifying their own top-four spot.
From finishing fourth last season to eighth at the winter break this season, and then being relegated a round early, the rapid decline of Sampdoria left all fans sighing. Before this round of games for Sampdoria, AC Milan, Manchester United, and Barcelona had already locked up the Serie A, Premier League, and La Liga titles respectively, and coincidentally, these three teams were also the champions of the respective leagues when Sampdoria was last relegated. Perhaps fate is cyclical; twelve years later, when these three major powers from Italy, England, and Spain clinched their titles early, Sampdoria could not escape its misfortune and was once again relegated. In 2004, when Sampdoria returned to Serie A, AC Milan also won the league title. Now, Cassano, who has split with Sampdoria, lifted the Serie A trophy with AC Milan, while his old club suffered relegation. The coincidence between Sampdoria and AC Milan has been linked again. Will AC Milan experience such a miraculous coincidence again when Sampdoria next returns to Serie A?
Had this month seen the UEFA Champions League final at the New Wembley Stadium, it would have marked the return of the Champions League final to Wembley since 1992. Most fans know that this year's UEFA Champions League finalist Barcelona won their first ever Champions League trophy at the old Wembley in 1992, but few know that the team they defeated in the final was Sampdoria. That was Sampdoria's golden era, from the 1984-1985 season to the 1993-1994 season, which were the most glorious ten years in the club's history. In the 1984-85 season, Sampdoria beat AC Milan in the Italian Cup final to kickstart the club's golden decade. They won the Italian Cup again in 1987-1988, reached the European Cup Winners' Cup final the following season but finished as runners-up, though they successfully defended their Italian Cup title. In the 1989-1990 season, Sampdoria made it to the Cup Winners' Cup final and lifted the club's first ever European trophy. In the 1990-1991 season, Sampdoria edged out AC Milan, Juventus, and Napoli to secure their first ever top-tier league championship. The 1991-1992 season mentioned earlier saw Sampdoria reach the Champions League final but lose 1-0 in extra time to Barcelona. In 1993, the club's legendary chairman Paulo Mantovani tragically died in a car accident, and his death dealt a significant blow to the club during its peak period. After winning the Italian Cup in the 1993-1994 season, the team that had achieved so much brilliance over the past decade began to decline and was eventually relegated in the 1998-1999 season.
After the match between Sampdoria and Palermo, captain Paronbo broke down in tears, and Edoardo, the son of chairman Garrone, apologized to the Sampdoria fans: "Sampdoria fans should not have experienced the bitterness of relegation. We performed exceptionally well in recent years, but this season has been truly terrible. We did make some mistakes, and we must admit our faults and take responsibility." Additionally, as one of the shareholders of Sampdoria, little Garrone announced that the team would undergo a major overhaul at the end of the season: "We will clean up the squad and rebuild it, aiming to return to Serie A." This means that Sampdoria's star supermarket will officially open for business, and major clubs like the Milan duo and Juventus, who have been closely monitoring key players such as Poli and Paronbo, will inevitably make moves to purchase them.
In fact, when Garrone sent off the twin stars Pazzini and Cassano during the winter break, Sampdoria's fate was already sealed. Without Pazzini and Cassano, Sampdoria scored only 14 goals in 22 matches after the winter break, averaging less than one goal per game. Marcoane, who was signed in the winter break, scored only three goals, Biabiany just netted his first goal in this round, and Macheda is yet to score. Meanwhile, Pazzini scored nine goals in half a season at Inter Milan, and Cassano scored four goals and provided six assists for Milan. Ironically, Mari伦go, who was sold to Serie B side Atalanta, helped his new team stay in Serie A, while Sampdoria was relegated to Serie B.
On the evening of May 15 Beijing time, in the penultimate round of Serie A, struggling for survival, Sampdoria hosted Palermo, who had just qualified for the Italian Cup final. Ultimately, Sampdoria lost 1-2, while their relegation rivals Lecce and Cesena both won this round. With only one round remaining in Serie A, Sampdoria remained four points behind Lecce in fourth-to-last place, meaning Sampdoria had been relegated a round early. The "Sailors," who shone last season by finishing fourth, lost their chance to participate in the Champions League group stage at the start of this season and lost their Serie A participation qualification before the season ended, announcing that the team would undergo a major overhaul at the end of the season.
Perhaps fans remember Chievo from the 06-07 season. Due to the "Calciopoli" scandal, "The Flying Donkey" gained the opportunity to participate in the Champions League, but they were eliminated in the qualifiers, and they ultimately suffered relegation that season. Another similar example is Celta Vigo from La Liga, a former dark horse that has yet to return to La Liga after being relegated. Now, Sampdoria has joined their ranks. After being relegated, Sampdoria is bound to become a new player supermarket. This Sampdoria team is not short of good players like Paronbo, Poli, Curci, and Ziegler, and they will not lack buyers in the transfer market. According to the evaluation from "Transfermarkt," there are seven players in Sampdoria worth more than 5 million euros, including Paronbo at 12.5 million, Biabiany at 8.5 million, Curci at 8 million, Ziegler at 6 million, Poli at 6 million, Gastaldello at 5.5 million, and Mannini at 5 million.
The massive changes in the attacking line during the winter break led to bitter consequences for Sampdoria in the second half of the season. After beating Roma in the 19th round, Sampdoria failed to score in five consecutive rounds, resulting in one draw and four losses. In the 25th round, they finally found their scoring touch against Bologna and secured a victory. However, in the subsequent nine league matches, they struggled to win, achieving only two draws and seven losses, scoring only three goals in those nine matches. After nine rounds without a win, Sampdoria fell into the relegation zone for the first time. In the 34th round, Sampdoria defeated Bari, who had been relegated early, 1-0, escaping the relegation zone. In the 35th round, Sampdoria faced a crucial relegation battle against Brescia, managing to equalize three times after falling behind three times, but a draw was insufficient to save the doomed Sampdoria. In the last "Lighthouse Derby," Sampdoria was taken advantage of by their arch-rivals Genoa. In this round of league matches, Sampdoria hosted Palermo, who were in excellent form. Losing a goal in stoppage time of the first half forced Sampdoria to enter halftime trailing. In the second half, Biabiany's goal helped Sampdoria level the score, but simultaneously, news came from another venue that Lecce had scored, meaning that if the scores remained unchanged, Sampdoria would be relegated prematurely. Subsequently, Lecce scored again, leaving Sampdoria needing a win to retain a sliver of hope to stay in Serie A. However, they conceded another goal in the 86th minute and ultimately proved powerless to change their fate.