No Easy Way Out for Sampdoria as Leonardo Semplici Era Begins With Derby Against Spezia

The appointment of Leonardo Semplici as Sampdoria’s new manager is a curious oxymoron.

“Semplici” is the plural of “semplice”, the Italian word for “simple”. However, problematic times await the 57-year-old at Marassi, who becomes Samp’s third manager of the season after Andrea Pirlo and Andrea Sottil.

The latter was sacked after Sunday’s 5-1 shellacking at league leaders Sassuolo, a defeat which left the Blucerchiati just one point clear of the relegation zone with 16 points after 17 matches.

Winless since October 27, Sampdoria have picked up just three points over the past six matches, conceding 13 goals in the process and scoring just five times.

Such a dismal run of form seemed inconceivable when Sottil replaced Pirlo at the end of August after the former Juventus manager, who took Sampdoria to the Serie B play-offs last season, was sacked three matches in, losing twice.

Sampdoria won four points in Sottil’s opening three matches before heroically knocking bitter rivals Genoa out of the Coppa Italia at the end of September.

Wins against Modena, Cesena and Mantova over the next four weeks wrongly suggested a corner had been turned. It hadn’t, and now one of Serie B’s promotion favourites find themselves looking nervously over their shoulders.

The biggest criticism of Sottil during his tenure was the lack of a settled XI. Sampdoria often looked like 11 players who had seldom played football together, and at times they were.

Sottil utilised 28 different players, which can only be partly explained by the raft of injuries he had to contend with, which included Bartosz Bereszynski, Simone Romagnoli, Ronaldo Vieira and Alex Ferrari.

Summer signing Estanis Pedrola has made only six appearances, as has Fabio Borini, while talented left-back Antonio Barreca has featured just three times. Marco Silvestri, Paolo Vismara and Simone Ghidotti have shared goalkeeping duties.

Pajtim Kasami, meanwhile, has only played eight games.

If there is a silver lining for Sampdoria, it comes in the shape of summer signings Massimo Coda and Gennaro Tutino, who have five goals apiece in 16 and 17 appearances, respectively.

And while the Blucerchiati are just one point clear of the relegation zone, the concertina-style nature of the Serie B table means the last playoff spot is currently only four points away.

Spezia, Saturday afternoon’s visitors at the Luigi Ferraris, have no such problems. The Aquilotti are third, four points away from league leaders Sassuolo – like the Neroverdi have lost just once this season – and nine clear of fourth-placed Bari.

In Luca D’Angelo’s first full campaign in charge, Spezia have arguably been the biggest surprise in Serie B this season.

While only bottom-of-the-table Cittadella and Sudtirol have conceded more than Sampdoria’s 27 goals, Spezia have allowed just ten so far, by far the best defensive record in the division. In Francesco Pio Esposito. they have the third-most prolific striker in Serie B with eight goals.

It all makes Semplici’s debut in charge of Sampdoria a particularly delicate affair and not just because defeat in the Ligurian derby could leave his team in the relegation zone.

Sottil’s successor has unfinished with Spezia, whom he managed in the second half of the 2022-23 season, with the Aquilotti dropping to Serie B following a relegation playoff against Verona.

Semplici was sacked shortly after. Getting one over his former team could materialise into a dream start to life at Marassi.

It won’t, however, be simple.

Earlier this year, we visited the Stadio Luigi Ferraris to watch Sampdoria compete in Serie B: