Sampdoria
The Blucerchiati of Genoa
Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (Italian pronunciation: [sampˈdɔːrja, sanˈdɔːrja]), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa, Liguria. Sampdoria was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, Sampierdarenese and Andrea Doria. Both the team name and colours reflect this union, the first being a combination of the names, the second taking the form of a unique kit design, predominantly blue (for Andrea Doria) with white, red and black bands (for Sampierdarenese) across the centre of the shirt, hence the nickname blucerchiati ("blue-circled").
Sampdoria play at Stadio Luigi Ferraris, capacity 33,205, which they share with Genoa's older club, Genoa CFC. The fierce rivalry between the two teams is commonly known as the Derby della Lanterna, and has been contested in Serie A for most of its history. Sampdoria have won the Scudetto once in their history, in 1991. The club has also won the Coppa Italia four times, in 1985, 1988, 1989 and 1994, and the Supercoppa Italiana once, in 1991.
Their biggest European success came when they won the Cup Winners' Cup in 1990. They also reached the European Cup final in 1992, losing the final 1–0 to Barcelona after extra-time.
Quick Facts
- Full name
- Unione Calcio Sampdoria S.p.A.
- Nickname
- I Blucerchiati (The Blue-Circled)
- La Samp
- Il Doria
- Founded
- 12 August 1946, as Unione Calcio Sampdoria
- Stadium
- Stadio Comunale Luigi Ferraris
- Capacity
- 33,205
- Owner
- Blucerchiati S.p.A.
- Chairman
- Francesco De Gennaro
- Manager
- Bernardo Corradi
Lore & Background
The roots of Sampdoria are to be found in two teams born in the late 1890s: Società Ginnastica Sampierdarenese and Società Andrea Doria. The former was founded in 1891 and opened its football section in 1899. The latter, named after Genoese admiral Andrea Doria, was founded in 1895. Andrea Doria did not join the first Italian Football Championship organised by the Italian Federation of Football (FIF) and played on 8 May 1898.
Instead, they played in the football tournament organised by the Italian Federation of Ginnastica. The first ancestor of Sampdoria to play in the Italian Football Championship was Sampierdarenese, who joined the third edition in 1900 for their only appearance before World War One. Andrea Doria eventually joined the competition in 1902, but did not win a game until the 1907 edition, when they beat local rivals Genoa 3–1. It was not until 1910–11 that the club began to show promise, finishing above Juventus, Internazionale and Genoa in the main tournament.
After the war Sampierdarenese finally began to compete in the Italian Championship replacing another club from Bolzaneto, then an independent town in the province of Genoa, called Associazione del Calcio Ligure. Thus, during the 1919-20 edition Sampierdarenese and Andrea Doria met in the championship for the first time. Doria won the first-leg game (4–1 and 1–1) and finished second after Genoa in the Liguria group, qualifying for the National Round.
Andrea Doria ended up first in the Liguria group above local rivals Genoa in the 1920-21 Championship. For the 1921–22 season the Italian top league was split into two competitions, one run by the Italian Football Federation and a second one organised by the secessionist Italian Football Confederation. Sampierdarenese joined the IFF tournament, while Andrea Doria and Genoa signed up for the one organised by the Confederation. Sampierdarenese won the Liguria section and then went on to the semi-finals, finishing top out of three clubs and thus reaching the final against Novese.
Both legs of the final ended in 0–0 draws, thus a repetition match was played in Cremona on 21 May 1922. The match went into extra time with Novese eventually winning the tie (and the Championship) 2–1.
Did You Know?
- The club's first chairman was Piero Sanguineti, but Amedeo Rissotto soon replaced him.
- Sampdoria won the Scudetto in 1991 with a five-point advantage over second-placed Internazionale.
- The 1990 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final was won after extra time against Anderlecht.
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