Sampdoria brutally mocked after historic relegation to Serie C

Former Italian champions and European Cup finalists Sampdoria have been brutally mocked by Genoa after their historic relegation to Serie C.

Sampdoria have plummeted down to third tier of Italian football for the first time in their 78-year history after a disastrous campaign in Serie B.

The club won the Serie A title in 1991 and were runners-up in the European Cup in 1992 – the season before it rebranded as the Champions League.

The 1990s decade was very much a golden period for Sampdoria, who had a star-studded team featuring Gianluca Vialli and Roberto Mancini.

Sampdoria started the 2024-25 campaign with Italian World Cup winner Andrea Pirlo as their head coach but he was dismissed after a poor start.

Andrea Sottil replaced him but he only lasted until October, with Leonardo Semplici then stepping in, before angry supporters pelted stones and flares at a team bus carrying him and his Sampdoria players in March.

Alberico Evani became Sampdoria’s fourth manager of the season but he too failed to turn things around and not even club icon Mancini – helping in an unofficial capacity – could do anything to avoid the historic relegation.

Sampdoria were only relegated from Serie A in 2023 – the top-flight of Italian football – and it was somewhat unthinkable that they’d sink this low.

Their relegation to Serie C was widely celebrated by Genoa fans all night, who loudly sang songs of ‘Sampdoria is no more’ and set off fireworks in the streets after their rivals drew 0-0 against Juve Stabia on Tuesday.

Sampdoria and Genoa contest one of Italy’s most intense rivalries but it might now take several years for them to meet again, given the latter are still playing in Serie A.

Sampdoria’s relegation to Serie C branded ‘heartbreaking’

Supporters of other clubs around the world have expressed sympathy over the relegation of four-time Coppa Italia champions Sampdoria.

‘It’s always heartbreaking to see a historic club go down like this,’ @thatnickyboy posted on Reddit.

‘I [went] to my first match at the Luis Ferraris this season and what an experience it was,’ @draymond_gruen added.

‘The team was s*** but their fans were incredible. Hope they can bounce back from this, sad day for a big club. Their fans deserve better.’

‘Another example that in football doesn’t matter how big of a club you are, if you are surrounded by incompetent fools, bad things will happen,’ @jrbill1991 said.

‘No other “fallen giant” even comes close to Sampdoria in terms of popularity and recent history,’ @Masca77 commented. ‘Seeing them in Serie C without going bankrupt is quite shocking.’

‘Really hope this doesn’t mean the end of the club,’ @valhallasgard666 opined.