In 1997, Sampdoria's star player and core of the team, Mancini, got into a bitter clash with club chairman Mantovani Jr. and stormed out of the club. The last glimmers of the "Golden Samp" faded away.
Just as the Sailors' fans cursed Mantovani Jr. and fretted over the new season, head coach Boskov promoted a young prodigy from the youth academy.
Fabrizio Spinola
At first, no one paid any attention to this scrawny striker, who looked as if he might fall over at the slightest touch.
That is, until he scored a staggering 16 goals in his first Serie A season, topping the scoring charts with an average of 1.5 goals per game.
"The people of Genoa say he blows through like a storm, leaving nothing but ruins in his wake."
Every Sampdoria fan was proud of him.
Every match day, they would proudly pull on their number 10 jerseys and head to the Luigi Ferraris Stadium to watch him perform.
Every time they played at home, they would chant: "Salpa! Samp!" (Set sail! Samp!)
As far as the eye could see, Genoa was awash in a surging tide of blue number 10 jerseys. That sea of blue seemed endless, churning with blazing passion and boundless pride.
He said, "The people of Genoa have never feared a cliff. Either we smash to pieces, or we knock our opponents off!"
He was the blue storm, a super striker. But at first, he was just a little boy with an aristocratic surname and so little money that he nearly had to sell his blood.
P.S. He will transfer to another club.
Theme: Hard work, sweat, and effort. Success never falls from the sky.
