Dall’inferno ritorneremo

There are some jobs you take because they make sense.

And then there are jobs you take because they mean something.

When the call came from Sampdoria, one image immediately sprung to my mind: dall’inferno ritorneremo.

From hell, we will return.

A banner once held aloft by a fractured fanbase, aimed not simply at relegation or seemingly endless poor results, but at years of chaos off the pitch : rogue ownership, uncertainty, decay…

It wasn’t a slogan about hope. It was a promise of defiance.

That idea – of pulling a club back from somewhere darker than just their league table position – is what made this feel irresistible.

A club that never shrank in my mind

In my head, Sampdoria have never been a small, Serie B club.

Growing up, they were huge.
A side with swagger and colour, defined by players who felt larger than life: Ruud Gullit, Roberto Mancini, Gianluca Vialli. The shirt. The badge. They had an aura!

So seeing Sampdoria marooned in Serie B, drifting rather than fighting, has always felt… wrong.

Last season told a familiar story. Ninth place. Five points behind my Arezzo Calcio side. Competitive, but unspectacular. The underlying numbers backed that up – 11th in the xG table. A mid-table team in every measurable sense, stuck between memories of what they were and uncertainty of what they might become..

That tension is exactly what drew me in.

The reality: age and wages

Romanticism aside, this is not a clean rebuild.

The squad I’ve inherited is unbalanced and aging, with much of the best talent already past 30. In the 4–1 defeat to my Arezzo side late last season, the contrast was stark: Arezzo’s average age was 25; Sampdoria’s just over 28.

“Yes, but this is Italy — age doesn’t matter,” I hear you say.
Maybe. But succession planning still does.

Plus, we’re already over the limit of 18 players aged Over 23 who can be registered in Serie B.

I need players ready to peak as others decline, not scramble to replace them after the drop-off has already begun.

Compounding that issue is the wage bill. Even after allowing all expiring contracts bar one to run their course, the club remains well over budget. Improving the squad means hard decisions – trimming, reallocating, and in all likelihood converting transfer funds into wages just to restore balance.

The state of the squad

To understand the scale of the task, here’s how this squad compares to the Arezzo side I’ve just left behind:

• Goalkeepers (Arezzo wins)
  Piana (Serie B Goalkeeper of the Season) and Trombini are both stronger than what I now have.
• Full-backs (Sampdoria wins)
  Marginally better — once I sign a reserve right-back.
• Centre-backs (On par)
  Less balance and technical quality than Arezzo, but marginally stronger physically.
• Midfielders (Sampdoria wins)
  Clear upgrade in overall quality.
• Wingers (Arezzo wins)
  A better mix of profiles and styles at Arezzo — Patterello, Tavernelli, and others.
• Strikers (On par)
  I currently have just one striker. Cianci and Capello weren’t elite, but they were reliable and a system-fit.

Overall, the level isn’t wildly different.
The problem? These Sampdoria players earn a lot more money.

This squad, once trimmed and rebalanced, isn’t far from being stronger than the Arezzo side. I don’t want wholesale change – four or five additions, dead wood cleared, wages under control – and this can be a competitive team.

But the gaps are obvious:

• Only one right-back
• No left-footed centre-backs
• Only one left-footed winger
• Only one striker

There are good players here.
There is no margin for sentimentality.

A plan disrupted before it began

There was, initially, a centrepiece to this project.

Gennaro Tutino was meant to be the axis around which everything turned. Eighteen goals last season and a profile perfectly suited to the system I have in mind.

Then reality intervened.

Tutino had already agreed a move to Le Havre AC, departing for just £675k – a startlingly low fee for a player of his output. In one moment, the plan vanished. In the next, an opportunity emerged.

If this rebuild is about anything, it’s adaptation and regeneration.

Two signings, a statement of intent

It didn’t take long for the rebuild to move from theory into practice.

Replacing Tutino was the first priority, and this is where managing Sampdoria quickly showed its advantages. Deeper scouting, better intelligence – and a shortlist that sharpened fast.

One player stood out immediately.

Luis Hasa arrives with a profile that fits both present and future. A former Juventus academy graduate, his path hasn’t been linear. Spells at Napoli and Lecce hinted at talent without traction, before he finally delivered on loan in Serie B with Modena – nine goals and eight assists last season.

At 23, he fits the wider plan perfectly. If things click, he has the tools to become our version of Nico Paz: a creative reference point capable of lifting the level around him.

Alongside him comes a signing that feels equally important, even if the headlines are quieter.

Samuel Giovane is a player I’ve tracked closely. He impressed on loan here last season, and when his contract situation at Atalanta became clear, the opportunity was obvious. I’d tried to sign him at Arezzo – unsuccessfully. He wanted a bigger stage. Sampdoria offers that.

To secure a player of his quality on a free transfer feels significant. Giovane brings control, intelligence, and physicality – the kind of midfielder who gives structure to everything else. In a squad in transition, he has the potential to anchor this team for years.

Two signings. Two clear signals.

Youth over sentiment. Structure over noise. And the first real steps in turning dall’inferno ritorneremo from a banner into a direction of travel.

Luis Hasa – Scouting Report (Attacking Midfielder)

Key strengths

• Ball progression: Excellent Dribbling (14), Technique (14) and the Runs With Ball Often trait make him a natural line-breaker.
• Creative output: Strong Vision (14), Passing (13) and Flair (14) suit a roaming role where he can improvise rather than dictate tempo.
• Off-ball intelligence: Off the Ball (13) and Anticipation (12) allow him to find pockets rather than wait for the game to come to him.
• Mental edge: High Determination (15) and a Resolute personality suggest upward development and resilience under pressure.

Samuel Giovane – Scouting Report (Defensive Midfielder)

Key strengths

• All-round midfield base: Strong, even spread across Passing (13), First Touch (13), Tackling (12) and Marking (13) allows him to function on either side of midfield.
• Decision-making & mentality: Decisions (14) and Determination (15) point to consistency and trustworthiness in structured phases of play.
• Positional flexibility: Comfort at WB(L), DM and CM gives you in-game solutions without sacrificing system integrity.
• Physical reliability: Good Stamina (13), Agility (13) and Pace (12) suit a role that requires constant shuttling and coverage.

Depth Signings

Elayis Tavsan arrives as ready-made depth rather than a project signing – and that’s precisely why the deal works. With Serie A experience at Hellas Verona and peak-age physicals, he offers reliability, tactical flexibility, and insurance across the front line without blocking development pathways elsewhere.

Let’s face it, there was always going to be a familiar face from Arezzo – and Alessandro Renzi makes a lot of sense. At 23, he arrives as a ready-to-use squad option with upside, rather than a pure developmental punt. Crucially, he gives tactical continuity behind club captain Fabio Depaoli at fightback without forcing a system compromise. He joins for £450k up front with another £400k in instalments. He’s dependable, tactically aligned, and still young enough to appreciate in value. The kind of player promotion sides are built on.

Giacomo Gabbiani comes in with a very clear brief: cover, energy, and development. He’s smaller than ideal for a lone Serie B striker, but his profile leans more towards movement and anticipation than physical dominance – and that gives him a defined use as a backup. He joins on a pure loan and provides a low-risk option having made 16 appearance in Serie A for Cremonese last season, scoring 1 goal.

Leaving Arezzo in good hands

Walking away from Arezzo Calcio wasn’t easy. We’d just taken a newly promoted side into the Serie B play-offs at the first attempt. The xG table told an even stronger story: second best in the division. Structurally, tactically, financially, the club is in a far better place than when I arrived.

And that is something that mattered to me.

This doesn’t feel like abandonment. It feels like a natural end point of leaving something stable behind, rather than unfinished business. You can see from the xG table below what a risk this move could turn out to be and how different the story could have been… hell, Arezzo could’ve finished SECOND! S.S. Arezzo Calcio could be in Serie A!

It does feel sad, but also exciting. Because the future at Sampdoria demands full commitment.

To replace me, they’ve added Como performance analyst and scout Roger Dios. He plays a 4-3-3 so inherits a squad built to succeed. Hopefully he’ll do well.

Ps – I even ordered an Arezzo shirt which I wear to 7-a-side on Monday nights. 

The tactics

That’s the philosophy I’m sticking to.

Tactically, there will be continuity. I’ll be retaining the 4-2-3-1 that carried Arezzo through an 11-game unbeaten run at the end of last season – a system built on structure, control, and aggression in all the right places.

There is, however, one deliberate tweak.

The standard defensive midfielder becomes a Deep-Lying Playmaker, a change that better reflects Samuel Giovane’s strengths and allows us to build with more composure from deeper areas without sacrificing balance.

The principles remain the same. The environment does not.

The real question isn’t whether the system works – it already has – but whether it can translate under the brighter lights, heavier expectations, and unforgiving scrutiny of Stadio Luigi Ferraris.

That answer won’t come on the tactics board.
It’ll come on matchday.