The China Mail - Sampdoria fighting relegation disaster as old heroes ride into town

Sat in the relegation play-off zone ahead of Monday's match at promotion chasers Juve Stabia, Sampdoria have a huge battle on their hands -- and they have called on some heroes from their golden age of the late 1980s and 1990s to save the day.

Former Italy midfielder Alberico Evani, flanked by assistant Attilio Lombardo, became Samp's fourth coach of the season earlier this month as the club moved desperately to turn around the team's fortunes and stop a groundswell of fan protests.

Evani began with a 1-0 win over fellow strugglers Cittadella at Samp's tense Stadio Luigi Ferraris in Genoa, in which around 27,000 fans roared on their ailing team after a pre-match mass march to the ground in a renewed show of support.

A fortnight before the team bus had been pelted with stones and flares by furious supporters following a 3-0 home thumping at the hands of mid-table Frosinone, and the following week's 2-0 loss to fellow Riviera outfit Spezia seemed to signal the beginning of the end.

But the atmosphere has changed with the appointment of Evani and Lombardo -- and the arrival of Sampdoria icon Roberto Mancini at a training session -- and the sense of hope was palpable both on the march and in the stands last weekend, when Samp won for just the third time since the end of October.

"The club have been very good actually," says Emanuele Vassallo, the president of supporters association Federazione Clubs Blucerchiati and one of the organisers of the march.

"We've given the club hell over the past few weeks and they've responded in the right way, in my opinion.

"Bringing in people who were a part of our golden age has really galvanised the fans and given us hope that we can stay up. It shows that they're listening."

Crowds for Samp home fixtures this season average over 22,000, the highest in Serie B, despite a rough few years which have been characterised by serious financial problems and poor performances on the pitch.

- Doom, gloom and debt -

Samp were close to going bust after relegation to Serie B in 2023, but were saved that summer by current president Matteo Manfredi and former Leeds United owner Andrea Radrizzani, who has since exited the club.

Previous owner Massimo Ferrero left Samp in such a parlous state that the incoming owners had to strike a debt restructuring agreement with the Court of Genoa.

That deal does not take in account relegation to Serie C, meaning Samp's continued existence would be uncertain should they go down.

Samp posted a loss of 29.8 million euros ($34 million) in their most recently published accounts, for 2023, with debts totalling 136.7 million euros even though players went unpaid during their most recent Serie A campaign.

However, the club's majority shareholder, Singaporean businessman Joseph Tey, said in a recent interview with Channel News Asia that Samp could be worth the investment if promoted back to Serie A.

"If you can make it happen, the reward is going to be great, but the risk can be significant. I would not go in if I don't think it was going to be profitable," said Tey, who holds 58 percent of the club.

Tey's involvement with Samp was called into question by Norwegian investigative media platform Josimar due to his role with sports gambling operator FUN88, but the Italian Football Federation raised no concerns over his presence.

And there has been investment in the team, with 10 players signed in January including some with Serie A experience like former Senegal forward M'Baye Niang, while there is a plan with local rivals Genoa to buy the city-owned Ferraris stadium.

"All the big Italian clubs are either part-owned or entirely in the hands of investment funds," says Vassallo.

"That's the reality for everyone, so it's not what worries us. What worries us is that this type of ownership isn't bringing results on the pitch."

O.Tse--ThChM