It was always expected to be a tough season for Sampdoria after the departure of influential coach Sinisa Mihajlovic, who had transformed the club and led them to European qualification last term. That particular dream died at the first hurdle as Samp were thrashed 4-0 at home by minnows Vojvodina in Walter Zenga's first competitive game in charge. They managed to win 2-0 in the return leg but it was scant consolation as they exited the Europa League at the qualifying stage. It wasn't the best omen for Zenga but the former Sampdoria goalkeeper did lead his side to a respectable start in Serie A. Samp were scoring goals for fun, led by the prolific Eder who bagged the majority of them and was producing some fine individual performances. However, he couldn't continue to rescue the team all on his own and the cracks soon started to appear. Zenga was perhaps unfairly dismissed very early on in the season without really being given the chance to see the job through. However, it seemed the club had been lured by the opportunity to bring in Vicenzo Montella. Another former Samp player, Montella's mangerial reputation was far greater than that of Zenga and he was seen as one of the best young coaches in Italy after his work with Fiorentina. However, Montella failed miserably to live up to the lofty expectations and there were no real signs of improvement from Zenga's tenure. Eder's departure for Inter in January didn't do anything to help the coach who was forced to try to get the best out of an ageing Antonio Cassano in attack along with Luis Muriel who also flattered to deceive at times. Safety was just about secured in the end but Montella risks ruining his reputation unless he can work some magic in the summer transfer market.
