Sampdoria were very much the "Jekyll and Hyde" club of the 2012/13 Serie A season. Former Juventus boss Ciro Ferrara was named as the new manager in the summer replacing the outgoing Giuseppe Iachini, who had guided the club back to the top flight via the Serie B play-offs. Ferrara's approach was bold and his side arrived in Serie A with an absolute bang as they came away from the San Siro with a 1-0 victory over Milan on the opening day of the season. It was a result which gave the side immediate confidence and they went on a run of five matches unbeaten to start the campaign. However, the novelty soon wore off and teams began to figure them out. Their refreshing and attacking 4-3-3 system started to look a little too exuberant and they were being picked off defensively. Many of the players in the side were young and struggled to cope mentally with losing games. Indeed, Samp went on a horrific run of seven straight defeats in the league. Ferrara had to deal with an injury to leading scorer Maxi Lopez and tried several options to replace him but eventually put faith in Mauro Icardi. It proved a master-stroke as the youngster, who played for Barcelona as a youth alongside the likes of Lionel Messi, truly began to fulfil his potential in what was a breakout season. His decisive goal in the Derby della Lanterna against Genoa proved a turning point of sorts for Sampdoria who ended their losing streak and began to become more consistent. However, that consistency was rarely ever maintained at throughout the season and another downturn in fortunes saw Ferrara eventually sacked before Christmas. Controversial coach Delio Rossi was given his first job since being sacked from Fiorentina for assaulting one of his players. However, the new manager brought a surprising level of steadiness to the side. He went with a 3-5-2 formation which seemed to get the best out of the squad of players at his disposal. The midfield contained some fine young talent including the creative influence of Andrea Poli and the imperious Pedro Obiang, who was both powerful and imaginative going forward. The manager brought Angelo Palombo back into the side in a three man defence which made the team more solid at the back. After a losing start at the end of 2012, Rossi revived Samp's season as they started 2013 with another bang by incredibly coming from behind to beat Juventus away from home despite only having ten men on the pitch. Icardi almost single-handedly won them the match with a magnificent brace which put the bigger clubs on further alert of his talent. It was the biggest shock of the season and one which again helped the team's morale. Indeed, Samp were quite a fragile young side who played almost exclusively on confidence. Following the Juventus result, they were able to pick up points which virtually secured their safety before another blip during the run-in before leaving the season with another huge shock as they did the double over Juventus with victory over the champions on the final day. It was certainly very eventful for the Samp faithful on their return to the top flight and they'll be delighted to be staying but the hope is for more consistency next season. That might be hard to achieve with several of their big players possibly leaving. Icardi is already on his way to Inter whilst the likes of Obiang and Poli are being closely monitored by bigger clubs. It will be a key summer ahead for the club.
