The Decline of Sampdoria

Courtesy of www.acmilan.com

If a team loses its best player, it will impact them greatly. If a team loses its best two players, however, they are destined to struggle until they buy suitable replacements. Sampdoria find themselves in the latter position. With Antonio Cassano leaving the club to Milan after a foul mouthed tirade at club president Riccardo Garrone and Giampaolo Pazzini off to a resurgent Inter, Sampdoria have in return bought misfiring Massimo Maccarone and Federico Macheda on-loan, two players who have scored between them three goals in competitive football this season. Despite the fact that Sampdoria haven't scored a single goal in six Serie A matches, there still is hope for them in the path that lays ahead.


It is impossible to overestimate the importance of Pazzini and Cassano to last year's Sampdoria side. The two strikers formed the fulcrum of the team, almost leading them to the Champions League by finishing fourth in Serie A last season. 
In Cassano, Sampdoria had a creative talent, a mercurial player who could create chances out of nothing, who could severe a defence with a single piece of skill or a pass. Some even considered him the best Italian player last season, especially as the Cassano-less Italy squad finished last in their World Cup group which featured the likes of Slovakia and New Zealand; believed to be easy pickings for the reigning Champions. 
While Cassano played in a withdrawn role to the left of the Sampdoria attack, his forward partner, Pazzini, played as a natural goalscorer. Cassano created chances. Pazzini took them. A player with great finishing abilities, Pazzini was also clever in his positioning to create himself the best scoring opportunities. 
With these two players, Sampdoria looked again like the 1991 Scudetto-winning side, banishing the memories of Gianluca Vialli and Paolo Mancini away. Sampdoria were finally good again. Finishing fourth was a cause for major celebrations in one half of Genoa. This footballing Renaissance didn't last forever and the beginning of the end of it started at an awards ceremony.


At the awards ceremony in October, Sampdoria chairman Riccardo Garrone apparently invited Cassano to come and speak for an award he was about to  receive. Cassano refused, saying he had other commitments. Later, Garrone asked Cassano at the training ground dressing rooms on why he had refused to come to the awards ceremony, as it had embarassed him to give an award to player who wasn't there and seemingly didn't care about the award. Cassano, who after making his name as the food crazed love-rat at Roma, started swearing at him, according to Garrone, calling him a 'fat s**t' among other profanities. Cassano denies these allegations, but Garrone stayed unmoved and appealed to the Italian court of justice to have Cassano's contract rescinded, which was eventually rescinded from January 2011 onwards with Sampdoria having to pay 50% of the rest of his contract. A free agent, Cassano moved to Milan to join up and form a strike patnership with other controversial players, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Robinho and Alexandre Pato.

With Cassano gone, Pazzini also left, joining Inter for a reported £15 million and Jonathan Biabiny. On his debut for the Nerazzurri, Pazzini came on as a substitute at halftime with Inter losing 2-0 and subsequently scored two goals and scored a penalty which Samuel Eto'o dispatched for the Inter comeback.


The loss of Cassano and Pazzini has left Sampdoria considerably short of fire power this calendar year. In their last six games, Sampdoria have only gained one point (a 0-0 draw with Juventus) and have scored no goals. Nothing. And its not suprising. Sampdoria now have to rely on Maccarone, who for all his substitute heroics for Middlesbrough isn't a regular goalscorer, and Federico Macheda, who has only scored four goals in his proffesional career. Sampdoria have now slipped to 14th place, a shadow of the team they once were.


Now would usually come the natural end of this article. But it isn't over. Because Sampdoria have something rare which other Italian teams don't possess. A talented youth section. With Vladimir Koman and Andrea Poli Sampdoria have their midfield sorted for the next few years, with the former providing a powerful engine and the former a long term replacement for team stalwart Angelo Palombo. Furthermore, the Pazzini sale brought Jonathan Biabiny, a French winger with electric pace and a player who feautured for the Inter team regularly this season. Sampdoria also traditionally have been a team which take risks. This can be a bad thing, but since many Italian have been reluctant to play youngsters or vary their formations (it is a proffession in Italy, not just a game as we see it) Sampdoria can set themselves away from the crowd and provide something different. And they might just be successful! But don't count on them winning anything for the time being.

Talent Scout: Genk's New Superstars

Trailing champions Anderlecht by three points more than halfway through the season, Genk have been a bit of a success story. Two players who Genk can thank for this lofty position are Jelle Vossen, a penalty box predator, and Kevin De Bruyne, a skillfull winger. These two players are only 21 and 19 years old respectively and are part of a magnificent generation of Belgian footballers, who include Maroune Fellaini, Alex Witsel and Steven Defour. So how good are they?

Jelle Vossen

Name: Jelle Vossen
D.O.B.: 22/03/1989
Age: 21
P.O.B.: Bilzen, Belgium
Position: Striker, Second Striker
Club: Racing Genk
National Team: Belgium
Previous Clubs: Cercle Brugge (Loan)

After Romelu Lukaku's 15 goal haul last year, Belgium has found another young potential top-scorer in Jelle Vossen. Vossen, however has already beaten the burly striker in terms of goals in the season; Vossen is currently on 16 goals for the season with only 23 games played, one more than Lukaku achieved for the whole season. The Bilzen native also differs from Lukaku in playing style. While Lukaku is a targetman, holding the ball up for others and is as strong as raging bull, Vossen is slender in physique and relies more on predatory instinct and speed rather than strength. Vossen is also more of a natural finisher than Lukaku, but at 17, Lukaku has the raw potential to become a world-class player.

A talented player, Vossen's career potential really began to show when he played for Cercle Brugge on loan from Genk. At Cercle, he scored 6 goals in 11 games, helping them to the Belgian Cup Final. This season Vossen started playing regularly for Genk and rewarded coach François Vercauteren's faith in him with 14 goals in 11 matches. His best performance of the season was when he scored two goals in Genk's Europa League clash with Porto. His first was a quick finish inside the area and his second a glancing header. Vossen's performance in that game, however, was eclipsed by a great Hulk hat-trick and a long range Fernando strike, ensuring Porto took all three points home. The young Belgian missed three league games through injury, making his scoring record all the more remarkable.

Strengths:

• Great off-the ball movement inside the area allows him to find space to score
• The ability to finish in the corner of the net regularly makes it difficult for the opposition goalkeeper to stop it going in
• Being fast, Vossen can outpace a defender in counter-attack situations
• Confident header off the ball

Weaknesses:

•  Has a limited passing range, which is a problem for when he plays in his second striker role as he cannot create chances for others
• Lack of physical strenght means he cannot tussle with defenders and hold the ball up

Verdict: 

If Jelle Vossen can stay clear of injuries and continue his scintilating form, he could become a very good poacher in the future.


Ability: 6/10
Potential: 8/10




Kevin De Bruyne:

Name: Kevin De Bruyne
D.O.B.: 28/06/1991
Age:19
P.O.B.: Drongen, Belgium
Position: Winger, Attacking Midfielder

Club: Racing Genk

National Team: Belgium
Previous Clubs: None

When a big club like Chelsea are after you, you know you're something special. And De Bruyne is a special player. A technically gifted footballer, De Bruyne is blessed with close control and great dribbling skills and has put them to good use with Genk this season. The young Belgian is following an increasing trend of putting wingers on the opposite flank, so De Bruyne is often found cutting in from the left flank onto his strong right foot. He also possesses a thundering shot, which has led him to score several screamers for Genk already at his young age. 


De Bruyne's breakthrough season was last year, where he played 25 games for Genk, ten of which were starts. He also featured in Europa League qualification for them. This year, however, De Bruyne has started in 13 league games and contributed six assists and four goals for Genk. Seen by many as the successor of Defour for Genk, De Bruyne has electrified the Belgian Jupiler League with his displays and has hence been linked to clubs such as Chelsea and Bayern Munich.

Strengths:

• De Bruyne's great dribbling ability, coupled with his sublime first touch, leaves him able to beat defenders and get a shot or cross in
• A great long range shooting ability will provide him with plenty of goals
• A good cross gives him plenty of options when on the wing
• Can create chances with through balls

Weaknesses:

•  Lack of maturity means De Bruyne will often make wrong decisions and shoot when a pass is on
• Hasn't got a great positional sense which will leave Genk or any team he is playing to exploit the space vacated by him

Verdict:
 
The weaknesses above are due to a lack of experience, hopefully he will sort them out when he is older. De Bruyne has great potential, but he needs to work hard to achieve it.


Ability: 5.5/10
Potential: 8.5/10

An Adriatic League?

Football can learn a few things from other sports. Goal line technology, after being implemented in Rugby, is on the forefront of everyone's lips today. Salary caps are being re-considered and used in the MLS as several other sports are using them to keep clubs fiscally healthy. Another theory considered by many people is amagalism, the joining of leagues, especially in the former Yugoslav Republics. The inspiration of this comes from the successful Adriatic Basketball League (ABA), which has increased the standard of basketball in the former Yugoslavia along with being a commercial achievement. Three years ago foreign delegates visited FIFA to discuss the issue, suggesting that the Yugoslav republics join their leagues together. But is this really a viable option? Will amagalism improve domestic football in the Balkans or will the nationalist Ultras tear it apart?

If a general Yugoslavian league were to be created, it would have to be different from how the current ABA league in basketball is run. The ABA is a franchise-run league which clubs compete in along with their national leagues and Euroleague (Champions League) in the offseason. Franchising is when clubs are picked to participate, not via a relegation-promotion system found throughout Europe, but by clubs being invited to the league prior to when the season starts. The issue with franchising is that it can only be used if the Yugoslavian-wide league is run along with national division, as it will leave a relegation-promotion system operating in domestic competitions which will form the bulk of a club's season. If clubs only participate in a Yugoslavia-wide league, the league won't benefit smaller clubs as they won't have a chance to participate in it due to the franchising system. That said, the lack of relagations will mean that clubs have a stable income, as they won't have to worry about dropping out, leaving them to spend money on such things as much-needed infrastructure. 

Another issue needed to be sorted out is whether the league will be short and running parallel to national championships, or will it form the actual league championships clubs participate in. A shorter league could be run like the Baltic League or King's Cup in Scandinavia, in that the highest placed clubs in each national division would qualify for the championship. This, however, would put a strain on the clubs, especially as the time they can play is cut short by long winters, which has adverse effects on th poor pitch conditions. 
A full league system will means the bigger teams will play against each other more, improving the low attendances as old rivalries such as Crvena Zvezda - Dinamo Zagreb can be relived. A longer league will also benefit more clubs as more clubs would participate. National divisions can still exist, but as second or third tier divisions if a relegation-promotion system is utilated. A full league system will reap greater benefits, but the independence of the football federations will be put under question. 

Currently, football in the Balkans is played at a very poor standard when compared to Communist times. One reason for this is that under Communism, proffesional players were not allowed to leave their domestic leagues until they were 28, leaving talents such as Dragan Džajić, Darko Pančev and Safet Sušić to play their best years in Yugoslavia. Furthermore, the best teams throughout Yugoslavia played against each other, while today teams like Dinamo Zagreb only play against other Croatian teams. A league for all the Yugoslavian countries will increase the quality of football as there will be better clubs for the amount of places available. Another issue it could solve is poor attendances. Attendances throughout the Balkans rarely reach 10,000 for domestic games, leaving stadiums such as Hajduk Split's 38,000 seater Poljud stadium redundant. More fans will watch games if the quality of football is improved and they can watch big teams such as Crvena Zvezda and Dinamo Zagreb play against each other. Instead, Crvena Zvezda fans await Javor, a team from a town of just 12,000 souls, in the Serbian SuperLiga. 

One obvious problem would be the nationalist tensions in matches between clubs from different nations. Many people believe that the Yugoslavian wars of the 1990's started with the infamous Dinamo - Crvena Zvezda match of 1991, where rioting fans interrupted the match, leaving many people stabbed, shot and blinded by tear gas. Many nationalist sentiments are still present throughout Yugoslavia today and are present in football matches in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where clubs representing different ethnic groups come to meet each other. The result involves fights between the opposing teams Ultras, many ethnically fuelled, but the situation is improving. For a pan-Yugoslavia league to work the police need to be well prepared and aware of the troubles that they may face, but it will be hard for them to prevent every possible trouble.

Overall, a pan-Yugoslavian league can work, but it relies on the attidutes of the natives to ensure incidents do not become aggravated.