UC Sampdoria UC Sampdoria has lived through one of Italian football's most dramatic rises and falls. Founded in 1946 from the merger of Sampierdarenese and Andrea Doria, the club became a byword for style and efficiency at the turn of the 1990s — under Serbian coach Vujadin Boškov, with Gianluca Vialli and Roberto Mancini leading the attack, the Blucerchiati won the 1990 Cup Winners' Cup, beating Anderlecht 2–0 in the Gothenburg final thanks to two extra-time goals from Vialli.
A year later, in 1990/91, Sampdoria claimed the only Serie A title in its history, and in 1992 reached the European Cup final at Wembley, where they lost in extra time to FC Barcelona.
Today the Genoa club operates in a very different reality. Since being relegated from Serie A in 2024, it has spent several seasons battling in Serie B to return to the top flight while grappling with serious financial troubles. Home matches are still played at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris, shared with local rivals Genoa CFC and named after a club official killed in the First World War.