Scudetto to brink of Serie C - where did it go wrong for Sampdoria?
Italy has more than its fair share of iconic football clubs. AC Milan. Inter Milan. Juventus. Napoli. Lazio. Roma. These institutions roll off the tongue.
For many English fans of Italian football, particularly those whose love of calcio can be traced back to Channel 4's 'Football Italia', Sampdoria belong on that list.
In the decade between 1984 and 1994 Sampdoria won six major titles, while Trevor Francis, Roberto Mancini, Gianluca Vialli, Ruud Gullit and David Platt all wore the club's iconic strip.
The Blucerchiati of that period acquired a cultural cachet that was hard to match.
Yet after years of turbulence Sampdoria, Serie A winners in 1991, are 180 minutes from the unthinkable - relegation to the Italian third tier for the first time in the club's history.
Where did it all go wrong?
