Thirty-one years ago this month Sampdoria dismantled Ancona 6-1 on aggregate to lift the Coppa Italia for the fourth time in nine years.

It was their seventh major trophy in a decade and capped an extraordinary run, which included the European Cup Winners’ Cup victory in 1990.

The Scudetto famously followed in 1991, finding its way into the Marassi trophy cabinet along with the Supercoppa Italiana.

But the mighty have fallen drastically in the past three decades and after Sunday night, Sampdoria are heading for relegation to Serie C.

It is hard to reconcile the club that was once of Roberto Mancini and the late Sven-Goran Eriksson with the 2025 iteration.

Bar the iconic kit, there are no discernible similarities. 

Then again, the current Sampdoria vintage has nothing in common even with its more modest predecessors. This, after all, is a club that up until August had spent just five seasons in Serie B in over four decades.

But the abyss now looms after a 2-0 defeat in La Spezia left them 18th in the table, three points from safety.

Arithmetic suggests the Genoese still have a chance to avoid what would arguably be the biggest shock in Italian football since the Calciopoli scandal.

But sums do not win games and, as it happens, neither do the Blucerchiati, who are sinking without trace. 

Winless in seven matches, Sampdoria are going through the motions, resigned to the inevitable and waiting to be put out of their misery.

Ahead of the short trip down to La Spezia, Leonardo Semplici had urged his players to “turn the disappointment into anger” after last week’s 3-0 thrashing at home to Frosinone. 

But there was no anger to be found, among his players nor the fans in a desolate away end after another meek surrender.

Sampdoria were competent enough in the first half and were close to opening the scoring when M’Baye Niang forced an unorthodox save from Stefano Gori.

Spezia never quite found their rhythm in the opening stanza but shifted through the gears in the second half. 

It was almost as if they needed reminding their opponent would implode at the faintest hint of pressure. And so it proved.

Samp’s dam had been creaking as Spezia wasted three glorious chances to take the lead and now it came apart at once as Gianluca Lapadula scored twice in eight minutes to keep his side’s faint hopes of automatic promotion alive.

As the Picco erupted, there was no reaction from Sampdoria players nor Semplici, just a desolate sense of acceptance. 

The same eerie spectacle played out in the away end, where bar a short salvo of insults aimed at the Blucerchiati brass, the loudest sound was that of silence.

It was a stark contrast to Semplici’s desperate rallying cry on Friday.

“What matters is the mentality and spirit with which we approach the games,” he said. “We’re committed to fighting and giving everything we have.”

His tenure began against Spezia in December and may have ended against the same opponents, as it appears unlikely he will deliver another teamtalk this season.

Sampdoria have won just two of the 16 games the Tuscan has taken charge of since replacing Andrea Sottil and another managerial change may still come to pass before the campaign is over.

It would be the third time this season. A desperate roll of the dice? Absolutely. 

But if the alternative is drifting into oblivion, then it is time to break the emergency glass. 

Quite who would be handed the hammer is another matter as Sampdoria have been a poisoned chalice this season.

Andrea Pirlo was sacked after three matches of the campaign and Sottil was jettisoned after just four wins in 14 games.

The decision to part ways with the former increasingly feels like an ominous sliding doors moment. It is less than 12 months since Pirlo, who was described as “a key part of the project” by club owner Matteo Manfredi, took Samp to the Serie B play-offs.

Manfredi’s role in the club’s sorry demise cannot be overstated. 

The London-based financier took over along with former Leeds United owner Andrea Radrizzani – who has since divested his shares – in 2023 as Samp stared down the barrel of bankruptcy.

Manfredi’s Gestio Capital company and their investors control 99.96% of the club and invested £45m last season in a bid to bring it back to Serie A at the first time of asking.

But whatever credit Manfredi had with the fans has been drawn, as hopes of promotions have been replaced by the fear of relegation.

In turn, falling through the Serie B trapdoor could mean financial disaster for the Blucerchiati.

Once calcio royalty, Sampdoria are sleepwalking into the abyss.