Back in the halcyon days of Football Italia, Sampdoria became a cult team for many English fans due to the number of stars who helped them win Serie A in 1991 and the Coppa Italia in 1994.
La Samp also reached the final of the European Cup in 1991/92, losing to Barcelona in extra-time, boasting Roberto Mancini and the late Gianluca Vialli among their ranks. Mancini and Vialli were not the only footballing heroes to don the iconic shirts of Sampdoria over the years, with the likes of Ruud Gullit, David Platt and Des Walker all spending time in Liguria. Then there’s Fabio Quagliarella, who is still on the books at Sampdoria having played almost 300 games for them across two spells.
However, it hasn’t been smooth sailing. Since that Coppa Italia win in 1994, Sampdoria have suffered relegation in 2003 and 2012, and they will be playing in Serie B once more after relegation in 2022/23.
Sampdoria’s relegation has been confirmed with four games left to play in the 2022/23 Serie A season, now 13 points from safety. La Samp have won just three of their 34 Serie A games so far this season, losing 23 times, with the final nail in the coffin a 2-0 defeat to Udinese on Monday.
But for now, let’s remember the good times Sampdoria have given us, and the names you might have forgotten played for the club over the years.
Juan Sebastian Veron
Sampdoria appearances: 68
Lazio, Manchester United, Chelsea, Inter Milan. Juan Sebastian Veron has represented a number of big European names, but did you know his time on the continent started at Sampdoria? Aged 21, Veron made the move from Boca Juniors to Sampdoria in 1996 and spent two seasons with the club before joining Parma, where he really made his name.
Bruno Fernandes
Sampdoria appearances: 35
Bruno Fernandes is arguably one of the best attacking midfielders around right now, having made a name for himself at Sporting CP before joining Manchester United in January 2020 and helping to turn the tides at the Old Trafford club. He will go down as one of the brightest sparks to grace the Premier League, being directly involved in over 70 goals in 120 appearances in the competition. But before all that, Fernandes spent some time in Italy including a year at Sampdoria. It was only a loan spell from Udinese, and Fernandes lasted just one season before being snapped up by Sporting.
Clarence Seedorf
Sampdoria appearances: 34
When you think about Clarence Seedorf, you think of Ajax, you think of Real Madrid, AC Milan and Inter Milan. You don’t often think of Sampdoria. But between Ajax and Real Madrid there was a year in Sampdoria, Seedorf’s first taste of Italian football, signing for Sven Goran Eriksson after passing on a new deal in Amsterdam. Seedorf kept up his Ajax level of performances in Sampdoria, which drew the interest of Real Madrid.
Milan Skriniar
Sampdoria appearances: 38
Milan Skriniar is practically synonymous with Inter Milan. After all, he shares half the club’s name. The Slovenian has spent six years at the San Siro, winning Serie A in 2020/21 and the Coppa Italia in 2021/22 (though he will be leaving for PSG in the summer).
It will be weird to see Skriniar at a club other than Inter, but there was life before the Nerazzurri and that included 18 months at Sampdoria. Skriniar joined Sampdoria from MSK Zilina in January 2016, his first spell outside Slovenia, and became a big part of their side before making the move to Inter.
Jurgen Klinsmann
Sampdoria appearances: 10
Jurgen Klinsmann is a World Cup winner and tasted goalscoring success pretty much wherever he played, in the Premier League, Bundesliga and even Ligue 1.
But Serie A wasn’t as kind to Klinsmann, who scored 40 goals in 123 games for Inter Milan with 34 in 95 league matches alone. And that wasn’t his only stay in Italy. After leaving Bayern Munich in 1997, Klinsmann spent six months with Sampdoria before undertaking his second stint at Tottenham in January 1998.
Shkodran Mustafi
Sampdoria appearances: 53
Shkodran Mustafi is a name you’ll always find on a list of forgotten Everton players, spending three years at Goodison Park before leaving for Sampdoria. But while it’s hardly Siberia, Mustafi didn’t really break into the wider European football consciousness until his time with Valencia and later Arsenal.
In two years with La Samp Mustafi broke the 50-appearance mark as they secured two mid-table finishes.
Samuel Eto’o
Sampdoria appearances: 18
A lot of the names on this list played for Sampdoria before they made their name, but Samuel Eto’o joined the Italian club in the latter stages of his career as he was essentially doing a European tour. After winning everything there was to win at Barcelona and Inter Milan, Eto’o spent two years in Russia before moving to the Premier League with Chelsea. Then, within a year of leaving the Blues, Eto’o had played for Everton, Sampdoria and Antalyaspor, spending just six months with the Italian side and scoring twice.
Patrick Schick
Sampdoria appearances: 35
Patrick Schick had a good spell with Sampdoria, scoring 13 goals in 35 appearances for the club, which earned him a move to Roma. But his time since leaving Sampdoria has made it easy to forget those highs, or that he even played for them, as he struggled in Rome with just eight goals in 58 matches. Form has been re-found in Germany, first with RB Leipzig and then Bayer Leverkusen, with Schick looking much like the player who starred for La Samp.
Mauro Icardi
Sampdoria appearances: 33
An oft-forgotten La Masia product, Mauro Icardi left Barcelona’s famed academy in 2011 to move to Italy, where he would make his name at Inter Milan. But before Inter was Sampdoria, and a two-year stay which included some time in the youth set-up. Still a teenager, Icardi used his time with Sampdoria to hone his skills and eventually secured his move to Inter in July 2013.
Joaquin Correa
Sampdoria appearances: 31
Like Juan Sebastian Veron, Joaquin Correa came through the ranks at Estudiantes and made his first move to Europe with an 18-month stay at Sampdoria. Correa was 20 when he joined Sampdoria in January 2015 but had to wait until the 2015/16 campaign to get a real run in the team, scoring three goals in 25 games as they just about avoided relegation. Correa’s performances earned him a move to Sevilla in 2016, but he would return to Italy two years later, first joining Lazio before signing with Inter Milan.