Sampdoria Greatest All-Time Team

This blogger Artur Yanturin of Russia copied many of my blog teams.  This blog was one of them.  It was my Russia All-Time Team here.  His team was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014.   His Spartak Moscow All-Time team entry of was published in October 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2017.  His entry of the Dutch-German rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014.  He also copied many many of my blog entries.

His Facebook and Instagram

1990-1991 Cup Winners' Cup

Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index.

AC Milan, Juventus, Inter Milan,
Roma, Lazio, Torino, Napoli, Fiorentina,
Sampdoria, Geona, Bologna, Parma, Udinese, Brescia.

This is my selection of a 25 member all-time team for the club.  The number 25 was chosen because it is the official squad size for the Champions' League.

Sampdoria have won the scudetto only once in their history, in the 1991 season. The club has also won the Coppa Italia four times (1985, 1988, 1989, and 1994) and one Italian Super Cup. Their biggest European success came when they won the Cup Winners' Cup in 1990. They also reached the European Cup final in 1992, losing 1–0 to Spanish side FC Barcelona after extra time.

The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, Sampierdarenese and Andrea Doria. Both the team name and jersey reflect this, the first being a combination of the former names, the second incorporating the former teams' colours (blue-white and white-red-black) in a single design. The team's colours are blue with white, red and black hoops, hence the nickname blucerchiati ("blue-circled"). 

1984-1985 Coppa Italia Winner

Team
GK: Gianluca Pagliuca (Italy)
Gianluca Pagliuca made his name with Sampdoria, winning the league in 1990-1991 and reaching the European Cup's final in 1992.  In 1994, Inter Milan broke the world transfer record for a keeper to sign him.  While at Inter, he reached UEFA Cup Final twice, winning it in 1997-1998.  For the national team, he had 39 caps between 1990 and 1998.  He was the starting keeper at both World Finals in 1994 and 1998.  

Gianluca Pagliuca

GK: Ivano Bordon (Italy)
During his Serie A career from 1970 to 1989, he played for Inter Milan (1970–83), winning two Serie A titles in 1971 and 1980, as well as two Coppa Italia titles; he also reached the 1972 European Cup final with Inter Milan, where they were defeated by Cruyff's Ajax side.  He later played for Sampdoria (1983–86), where he won another Coppa Italia in 1985.  Capped 21 times.  He was a member of the Italian team that won the 1982 FIFA World Cup.

GK: Pietro Battara (Italy)
Born in 1934, Pietro Battara started with Vicenza in 1957 before moving to Sampdoria in 1961.  He spent 10 seasons there.  He is the all-time appearance record holder there for a goalkeeper until  Gianluca Pagliuca  broke it. He left in 1972, joining Bologne.  Over there, he won the 1974 Italian Cup, the only major trophy of his career.  

RB: Moreno Mannini (Italy)
Moreno Mannini joined Sampdoria in 1984 and played 15 seasons there.  In the late 80's/early 90's he was part of a defensive sector which also included Gianluca Pagliuca, Luca Pellegrini, Pietro Vierchowod and Amedeo Carboni, with Roberto Mancini and Gianluca Vialli providing the goals.  He won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1990.  He later played for Nottingham Forest with his former teammate David Platt.  Capped 10 times for Italy.

Moreno Mannini 

SW/DM/RB: Fausto Pari (Italy)
Fausto Pari played for Inter Milan, Parma, Sampdoria, Napoli, etc. As a younger player, he was with Inter Milan when they won the league title in 1980, but he did not play any game. With Sampdoria, he played with their great team in the late 1980's and early 1990's.  He won a league title and a Cup Winners' Cup in 1990 and Serioe A the following season.

CB: Pietro Vierchowod (Italy)
Pietro Vierchowod was the son of an Red Army soldier.  He was widely regarded as one of the greatest Italian centre-backs of all-time. With Roma, he won a Serie A title in 1983. With Sampdoria, he won four Italian Cups, one European Cup Winners' Cup and another scudetto. In 1995 he signed for Juventus and won his only Champions League in 1996 at the age of 37.   He held the 5th all-time appearance record in Serie A.  Capped 45 times.  He was the youngest member of Italy's WC winning team in 1982.  

Pietro Vierchowod

CB: Luca Pellegrini (Italy)
Luca Pellegrini started his career with his hometown team Varese in the lower division. He played for 11 seasons (262 games, 3 goals) in the Serie A for U.C. Sampdoria.  He also played for Hellas Verona and Torino.  With Sampdoria, he won the European Cup Winners' Cup and another scudetto in 1991. He represented Italy at the 1988 Olympics.

CB/LB: Sinisa Mihajlovic (Yugoslavia)

Sinisa Mihajlovic was capped 63 times between 1991 and 2003 for Yugoslavia.  He won the European Cup with Red Star Belgrade. In 1992, he moved to Italy and became was one of the best defender in Serie, notably played for Roma, Sampdoria, Lazio and Inter Milan.  With Lazio, he won UEFA Cup Winners Cup: 1998–99. He was part of the golden generation of Yugoslav players who won the 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship in Chile.

CB: Francesco Morini (Italy)
Francesco Morini played for clubs such as U.C. Sampdoria and, most notably, Juventus F.C., with which he achieved great success.  He won five Serie A titles, a Coppa Italia and an UEFA Cup, also reaching the European Cup final during the 1972–73 season, and the semi-final of the European Cup Winners' Cup during the 1979–80 season. Capped 11 times. He went to the 1974 WC Finals in West Germany.

LB: Amedeo Carboni (Italy)
Carboni played for a number of Italian clubs before joining Roma in 1990. He stayed there for 7 seasons mainly as a starter before he went to Valencia in 1997.  With Valencia, his team made it to the Champions' League Finals twice and won the UEFA Cup/League Double in 2003/2004.  He played 9 seasons with them.  He represented Italy at Euro 1996, where he earned two of his 18 caps for Italy. 

LB/CB/DM: Hans Peter Briegel (Germany)
Briegel's original sport was Decathlon.  From 1975 to 1984, he played with FC Kaiserslautern before he moved on to Hellas Verona in Italy. With Hellas Verona, he surprisingly capturing the Serie A title in 1985. The same year Briegel was named Footballer of the Year in Germany, remarkable as he was the first foreign-based awardee in the history of the award.  With West Germany, he won the European Championship in 1980.  He played in the WC Finals of both 1982 and 1986.

DM: Angelo Palombo (Italy)
Born in Ferentino, Angelo Palombo has played in Serie A for Fiorentina, Sampdoria and Internazionale. From 2002 to 2017, he played for Sampdoria. Palombo won 22 caps for Italy at full international level, and represented his nation at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2010 FIFA World Cup, also winning a bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

DM: Srečko Katanec (Slovenia)
Katanec is regarded as one of the greatest Slovenian footballers of all time and represented Yugoslavia at the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games, UEFA Euro 1984 and the 1990 World Cup. After Slovenian independence, Katanec made five appearances for the newly formed Slovenian national team before retiring from professional football.  In a five-year spell at Sampdoria, Katanec won the Serie A championship, the Coppa Italia and the European Cup Winners' Cup, 

DM: Gaudenzio Bernasconi (Italy)
Gaudenzio Bernasconi played for 13 seasons (388 games, no goals) in the Serie A for Atalanta B.C. and U.C. Sampdoria. He currently has third-most appearances for Sampdoria with 334, after Roberto Mancini and Moreno Mannini.  He made his debut for the Italy national football team on 25 April 1956 in a game against Brazil.

DM: Toninho Cerezo (Brazil)
Throughout his career, Cerezo played as a defensive midfielder with Atlético Mineiro, Roma, Sampdoria, São Paulo and the Brazilian national team. He was a legend at Atlético Mineiro. With São Paulo FC, he was the two-times winner of the Intercontinental Cup and Copa Libertadores.  He went to Argentina 1978 and Spain 1982. During his time in Italy, Cerezo won the Coppa Italia four times; in 1991 he won the Serie A with Sampdoria, but lost the Coppa Italia final to A.S. Roma.

Toninho Cerezo

CM: Vladimir Jugovic (Yugoslavia/Serbia)
Jugovic was a member of Red Star Belgrade that won the European Cup in 1990.  He won another one with Juventus in 1996. He also played for Sampdoria, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, Lazio, LR Ahlen, AS Monaco FC and VfB Admira Wacker Mödling. He earned 41 caps. He played at Euro 2000 and the World Cup 1998 for Yugoslavia.

CM: Ernst Ocwirk (Austria)
Ernst Ocwirk is regarded as one of the greatest Austrian footballers of all time.  He was probably the best centrehalf of his generation.  Between 1945 and 1962, he played 62 times for Austria. He went to the World Cup Finals in 1954, where Austria finished 3rd. He spent the majority of his playing and coaching years between Austria Wien and Sampdoria in Italy. He was the second Austrian to play in Italy. He served as the captain of Sampdoria at one point.

Ernst Ocwirk 

CM: Mario Bergamaschi  (Italy)
Mario Bergamaschi played for 14 seasons (392 games, 7 goals) in the Serie A.  He started with Calcio Como.  He joined AC Milan in 1953.  With Milan, he won two league titles.  Between 1958 and 1964, he played for Sampdoria. He played 5 times for Italy. made his debut for the Italy national football team on 5 December 1954 in a game against Argentina.

RW: Attilio Lombardo (Italy)
Lombardo is best known for his two spells at Sampdoria, especially during the club's golden period in the 1990's. He is one of the few players that has won the Serie A title with 3 different teams: Sampdoria, Juventus, and Lazio. At international level, he represented the Italy national football team on 19 occasions, although he was never called up for a major tournament.  He was capped 19 times between 1990 and 1997.

Attilio Lombardo 

LW: Lennart Skoglund (Sweden)
Lennart Skoglund is regarded as one of Sweden's greatest players.  He played in Italy from 1950 to 1963.  His best stint was probably with Inter Milan.  He also played for  Hammarby IF, Sampdoria and Palermo.  He only had 11 caps because Sweden's ban on professional players. He was a star in the World Cup Finals in 1950, where Sweden finished 3rd behind Uruguay and Brazil.  He also played in 1958, where they finished 2nd.

FW: Antonio Cassano (Italy)
Antonio Cassano was controversial figure known to have clashes with managers, teammates, etc.  He made a big move to Roma as a 19 years old as one of Italy's brightest young players.  Initially, he found successes with the club, but clashes with manager Fabio Capello led to his falling out with the club.  He would play for Real Madrid, Sampdoria, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Parma with mixed results.  He gained his first caps in 2003, but he was in and out of the players' pool.

Antonio Cassano

AM: Ruud Gullit (Netherlands)
Ruud Gullit was the iconic captain of Netherlands' Euro 1988 winning team.  He is one of Netherlands' greatest players. In 1987,  he moved from PSV Eindhoven to A.C. Milan for a world record transfer fee.  He was an important player for AC Milan during the 1980's where they won two straight European Cups. He was the European Footballer of the Year in 1987 and the World Soccer Player of the Year in 1987 and 1989.  He spent one season with Sampdoria winning the Italian Cup in 1994.

Ruud Gullit

FW: Roberto Mancini (Italy)
Roberto Mancini  started his career with Bologna, but probably best remembered for his years with Sampdoria.  He formed a great partnership with Gianluca Vialli there, winning the Cup Winners' Cup in 1990 and the scudetti in 1991. He only played 36 times for Italy because of fierce competition from Gianfranco Zola, Giuseppe Signori, Roberto Baggio and Alessandro Del Piero. He participated at Euro 1988 and the World Cup Finals in 1994.

Roberto Mancini

ST: Vincenzo Montella (Italy) 
Montella played for Italian clubs Empoli, Genoa, Sampdoria and Roma, and also had a spell on loan in England with Fulham. His best years were spent with Roma, where he scored many, important goals, despite having conflicts with Coach Fabio Capello.  He won won the Serie A title and the Supercoppa Italiana during the 2000–01 season. For Italy, he went to Euro 2000 and the WC Finals in 2002, but saw limited action. 

FW: Gianluca Vialli (Italy)
Gianluca Vialli first made his name with Sampdoria, helping them to win the Cup Winners' Cup in 1990.  In 1992, he made a world record breaking transfer to Juventus.  In 1996, he helped Juventus to win their first ever Champions' League.  He moved to Chelsea in 1996.  For the national team, he went to Euro 1988, where he was named in the team of tournament.  However, at Italia 1990, he lost his starting spot. After the World Cup Finals, he forced him out of the national team.

Gianluca Vialli

Honorable Mention
Giovanni Invernizzi (Italy), Marco Lanna (Italy),, Guido Vincenzi (Italy), Giovanni Lodetti (Italy), Michele Serena, (Italy), David Platt (England), Giovanni Invernizzi (Italy), Francesco Flachi (Italy),Giuseppe Baldini (Italy), Juan Sebastian Veron (Argentina), Alberigo Evani (Italy), Vladimir Jugović (Yugoslavia).

Squad Explanation
-- Sampdoria's greatest victory was the Cup Winners' Cup in 1990.   They also captured the Serie A title during the 1990–91 season and reached the Final of the 1992 European Cup.  Please do not forget that they never finished above 3rd in the league before taking that Serie A title. They finished 5 points ahead of second place Inter Milan. Gianluca Pagliuca, Moreno Mannini, Toninho Cerezo, Attilio Lombardo, Pietro Vierchowod, Toninho Cerezo, Luca Pellegrini, Fausto Pari, Srečko Katanec, Gianluca Vialli and Roberto Mancini who were on that team also made my All-Time Team.  
-- From 1983 to 1995, Pietro Vierchowod played for Sampdoria.  Of course, his contribution to Italian football needs no introduction.
-- I selected both Gianluca Vialli and Roberto Mancini. The pair was known as "The Goal Twins ("I Gemelli del Gol"). The Vialli/Mancini attack duo was the club's greatest ever.  Together, they helped Sampdoria to win their first ever Serie A title.
-- The team lacked a great left back.  Carboni won a Cup Winners' Cup with them.  And Hans Peter Briegel was a famous player in his time.  I admitted not knowing much about them when they played for Sampdoria.
-- Srečko Katanec did not gain the same recognition as other players from his generation because he played during Yugoslavia's ban on international football. He was also not from Red Star Belgrade.
-- I admitted not knowing about Ernst Ocwirk's career with Sampdoria until I started to research for this team.  He played 5 seasons here and became their captain.
-- David Platt was a relatively successful player in Serie A.  Perhaps, he deserved to be on this team.  He spent three seasons here playing along Ruud Gullit, Roberto Mancini, Vladimir Jugović, etc.  I only put him on Honorable Mention.
-- By contrary, Toninho Cerezo spent 6 seasons with Sampdoria, but probably not remembered for being a Sampdoria player.  He was a part of the 1990-1991 Serie A winning season. However, he had an injury-riddled season in that year.  His reputation outside Sampdoria played a factor in my selection.  I am not sure I made the right choice here between Toninho Cerezo and David Platt.
-- I dropped Francesco Flachi for his personal issues with drugs and gambling.
-- The team lacked a good left wing.  So I took Lennart Skoglund  despite the fact that he only spent two seasons here.  I do know that he performed well over here, but I do not know how well is well. His reputation outside Sampdoria played a factor in my selection.
-- AC Milan gave up on Ruud Gullit when he joined Sampdoria.  His career bounced back while with Sampdoria.  He led led them to victory in the Coppa Italia in the 1993–94 season. Even AC Milan bought him back briefly.  He again returned to Sampdoria afterward.
-- Cassano had a resurgence while with Sampdoria.  He even became their captain.  However, I still have some question mark over him.

Vialli and Mancini

Formation