Mantovani’s death in 1993 was “the beginning of the end at Sampdoria”, according to Italian football journalist David Ferrini.
He added: “Mantovani’s reign attracted talent and kept them happy in Genoa, but his passing – combined with the hangover of the Scudetto success – meant that Sampdoria’s best players became prime transfer targets.”
In 1994 they lost Vialli to Juventus for a then-world record £12m, while Inter Milan paid £7m for Pagliuca, a record for a goalkeeper at the time.
Vierchowod joined Juventus 12 months later before Mancini followed Sven Goran Eriksson – who had replaced Boskov as manager in 1992 – to Lazio in 1997.
Gullit and Platt joined for brief spells in the latter stages of their careers, but Sampdoria no longer had the same appeal they once did.
Enrico Mantovani took over as president but failed to replicate his father’s success – and a steady decline followed the Coppa Italia triumph of 1993-94. In 1999 the club were relegated to Serie B.
Things improved under the presidency of local entrepreneur Riccardo Garrone, who guided the club back to Serie A in 2003 and signed future cult heroes Fabio Quagliarella and Antonio Cassano.
Yet the highlights of the 21st Century have been losing the Coppa Italia final in 2008-09 and a fourth-place league finish the following year.
Outspoken film producer Massimo Ferrero bought the club in 2014 – taking on its growing debts – but what followed was seven years of selling their best players, spending little on replacements and flirting with relegation on a regular basis.
“He seemed more concerned with bolstering his own image, as the bizarre star of his own one-man reality football show, than making sure Samp prospered,” says Kasiewicz.
In December 2021 Ferrero was arrested and jailed as part of an investigation into corporate crimes and bankruptcy, unrelated to the club. He resigned as president.
“The club effectively ceased to function. It’s been like a house of cards,” says Nima Tavallaey, Italian football journalist and co-host of The Italian Football Podcast.
With no funds available and Ferrero refusing to relinquish control, Sampdoria narrowly avoided relegation from Serie A in 2022. But in 2023 they did go down, amid reports of unpaid player wages.
With the club starring down the barrel of bankruptcy and demotion to the fourth tier, a consortium led by former Leeds United owner Andrea Radrizzani and London-based financier Matteo Manfredi – and his company Gestio Capital – bought the club, though Radrizzani has since divested his shares.
Gestio Capital say they and their investors now own 99.96% of the club and deny reports in Genovese newspaper Il Secolo XIX, external that Singaporean businessman Joseph Tey Wei Jin – named in the 2015 Panama Papers – actually owns the majority of shares through his company Kickoff Ventures.
