Inside Sampdoria: Sottil’s Tactics, Transfer Window and Best Players

Saturday’s stalemate draw against Bari left Sampdoria third from bottom in Serie B heading into the international break but Andrea Sottil remains optimistic.

“I see the point against Bari as a solid starting point for us,” the Blucerchiati manager said.

“This wasn’t an easy fixture for us, but teams are forged through adversities. I have seen the kind of fighting spirit in my players that I want to see.”

Sottil is right on both counts. 

This hasn’t been an easy summer for Sampdoria, who started the season among the favourites for promotion, but find themselves still winless after four matches.

Four months after guiding the Blucerchiati to the Serie B play-offs in his first season in charge, Andrea Pirlo paid the price for a dismal start to the campaign and was sacked after the 3-2 defeat against Salernitana.

In the kind of strange circularity so common in football, his replacement had only left the Granata a month earlier, resigning after less than two weeks in charge when a proposed takeover of the club collapsed.

With Destination Calcio in attendance, Sottil’s first game in charge did not begin auspiciously, as Sampdoria were reduced to 10 men inside 14 minutes after Stipe Vulikic was sent off and Bari were awarded a penalty later in the first half.

But Paolo Vismara saved Kevin Lasagna’s effort from 12 yards, one of an impressive string of saves that saw him atone for the mistake against Salernitana that had cost his side a point.

Roared on by a superb 23,000-strong crowd at the Luigi Ferraris, Sampdoria rallied and created enough chances to break their winless run, but ultimately had to settle for a point.

Sottil was pleased with the clean sheet, but the Blucerchiati remain a work in progress. The challenge for him is to make enough progress by the time Serie B resumes in two weeks.

Transfers In: Sampdoria forked out just over €6m on players this summer, with half of that sum spent on signing 20-year-old winger Estanis Pedrola from Barcelona. Defender Giovanni Leoni arrived from Padova for €1.5m, while a combined €1m went on signing veteran striker Massimo Coda from Genoa and defender Stipe Vulikic from Perugia. 

Cosenza striker Gennaro Tutino was the standout name in a long list of loan signings, which also includes Simone Romagnoli, Ebenezer Akinsanmiro, Alessandro Bellemo, Nikolas Ioannou, Davide Veroli, Lorenzo Venuti and goalkeepers Simone Ghidotti and Paolo Vismara.

Best performers: Fresh from a 20-goal season at Cosenza, Tutino moved north for a €1m loan fee in the summer. There are big expectations on the shoulders of the 28-year-old, who has been one of Sampdoria’s bright notes hitherto this season. Tutino scored against Salernitana and was a constant thorn in Bari’s side on Saturday. His strike partner Andrea Coda, meanwhile, remains as hard-working as ever even at the tender age of 35.  

Tactics: After Pirlo switched from 3-4-2-1 to 3-5-2, Sottil stuck to the latter against Bari, and this is unlikely to change for the time being. Samp conceded five goals in three Serie B games under Pirlo and keeping clean sheets will be vitally important to climb back up the table this season. The Blucerchiati have quality in their ranks and Sottil has proved an astute manager at this level, leading Pescara to safety in 2020 and taking Ascoli to the play-offs two years later.