Sampdoria finally has a new coach: Luca D’Angelo
Sampdoria has finally reached an agreement after three days of negotiations, discussions, and negotiations. Luca D’Angelo will take over for the dismissed Bernardo Corradi. The announcement is expected later today, leaving the coach from Abruzzo very little time to prepare for the challenging match against Südtirol. In recent days, D’Angelo had also been linked to Catanzaro, which, however, after earning a draw on the road against Verona, decided to reaffirm its confidence in Giorgio Gorgone. D’Angelo’s most recent coaching stint was in Liguria with Spezia, which dismissed him during last season’s Serie B campaign following an unfortunate loss on the road against Monza.
The coaching change came after a home loss to Arezzo, which cost Corradi his job. The Blucerchiati, who took the lead through Liam Henderson, saw their advantage erased by Arena and were then overtaken by Chierico in the 60th minute. In the closing minutes, fans in the South Stand threw several smoke bombs onto the field, forcing referee Colombo to halt the match for a few minutes. The team’s record stands at five losses in the first seven matchdays, leaving them in last place with just four points, tied with Catanzaro. Shortly before that, there had also been a crushing 4-1 loss to Avellino.
Marco Giampaolo, who previously managed Sampdoria from 2016 to 2019 and again in 2022, was the top candidate to succeed him. However, negotiations stalled just before a deal was to be signed: the parties reportedly could not reach an agreement on salary, contract length, and the composition of the coaching staff. Giampaolo would also have had to be released from his contract with Cremonese, which had fired him in early September. With that option off the table, according to reports from Telenord, management also considered Paolo Zanetti, Roberto D’Aversa, and Michele Mignani, in addition to D’Angelo himself.
In the meantime, the team was entrusted to Attilio Lombardo, who led the squad during the waiting period. Lombardo could have remained on the bench for the two away games against Südtirol and Ascoli, scheduled for Saturday and Tuesday. With the choice of D’Angelo, the situation changes: the coach will have very few training sessions available before a match in which Sampdoria must try to climb out of last place.
In Catanzaro, too, the decision to stick with Gorgone came after days of reflection and searching for alternatives. Sporting director Polito had approached Mignani, with whom he had worked at Bari, nearly securing promotion to Serie A, but the coach had declined the offer. Davide Ballardini also turned down the offer, having ended up among the candidates for the head coaching position at the Turkish club Gençlerbirliği. At that point, D’Angelo was considered the front-runner, ahead of William Viali and Andrea Sottil. At the Bentegodi Stadium, Catanzaro then drew 2-2: after Candela’s goal and Mosquera’s two-goal performance for Hellas, Pecorino’s penalty kick sealed the final score.
