On the morning of the game the hotel receptionist said that the evenings derby proceedings were going to be ‘hot’.
Ahead of the much-anticipated Derby della Lanterna, tensions amongst certain groups of supporters in Genoa had been high and the vibe of what was occurring was well known in Genoa.
Murals inside the Luigi Ferraris had been defaced at either end of the historic ground a product of the Genoa rivals playing games at the stadium on alternate weekends.
Club fans in Genoa occupy different sectors of the Luigi Ferraris with the North Stand for Genoa supporters and the South Stand for the fans of Sampdoria. But when either has a home game it means these areas are inevitably populated with each others supporters.
Genoa ultras had clashed with their Sampdoria counterparts near the stadium the evening before and again outside the stadium on the afternoon of the fixture. Near the Piazzale Marassi Genoa fans sat waiting for the game while Sampdoria fans largely loitered around the Gradinata Sud.
The two arch-rivals were locking horns again, a rivalry that has traditionally been dominated by Sampdoria despite Genoa having a long history and being Italy’s oldest football club.
While Sampdoria were founded in 1946 as a Calcio Unione this effectively is the oldest derby in Italian football. The first match was played in 1902, when Sampdoria were known as Andrea Doria.
You see at the moment the two are no longer league rivals.
Historically Genoa are pre-war era club – winning nine league titles and a Coppa Italia. But Sampdoria, on the other hand, only really came into existence as a result of a post war merger between two Genovese clubs, Sampierdarense and Andrea Doria, in 1946.
In the post-war years, Samp have been more successful than their rivals, winning a Scudetto in 1991, four Coppa Italia’s during the 1980’s and 1990’s and reaching the European Cup final at Wembley in 1992.
The success of Sampdoria since the 1980’s grates with Genoa fans but so also the defeat by Barcelona is something that is celebrated not least because the colors of the two clubs are identical.
This Coppa Italia tie was to be the first meeting since the 2021/22 campaign which ended in Genoa’s relegation to Serie B. They did return to the top flight a year later, but ironically, it was Sampdoria’s turn to suffer demotion at the end of the of 2022/23 season.
Ships that pass in the night.
Nevertheless, the lack of action on the pitch hasn’t decreased the animosity between the two fanbases.
La Gazzetta dello Sport and other media outlets have been accused of flaming tensions reporting on minor skirmishes and tit for tat incidents as clashes between the two sets of Ultras.
If tensions off the field are sustained by passionate supporter bases so those who run the rival clubs would rather push a story of corporate unity and joint spirit.
In many ways the stadium in Genoa remains a legacy of Italia 90.
The Stadio Luigi Ferraris is located toward the north of the city of Genoa in the Marassi area.
It lies along the Bisagno river bed.
When you think of a river you think of fresh running water, birds, bridges and greenery.
This river though near the Marassi runs virtually dry. It is litter strewn and in some places virtually a trickle of water.
It has seen better days.
In the last decade, only minor renovations have been performed on the stadium, and its state has slowly deteriorated much like the river nearby. One look inside sees shabby concrete walls and spectator viewing is restricted in certain areas of the stadium. The huge Perspex walls that divide away fans from the home ends may well prevent projectiles being thrown but its a distraction for ticket purchasing fans.
Genoa and Sampdoria have looked into either redeveloping Stadio Luigi Ferraris, or explored the need to build a complete new stadium.
When looking at the city of Genova from an aerial point of view the stadium is still an architectural jewel, the oldest stadium still functioning in calcio and perhaps the most historic.
When US investors signaled an intention to significantly upgrade the Luigi Ferraris after acquiring Genoa alarm bells rang at least amongst some.
Previous owners have remained on the board of directors and continue to operate day-to-day operations of the club. But while the message has been to preserve and protect Rossoblù heritage its clear the new major US based share capital owners want to ‘find a new solution’.
That new solution will either be one of two things, namely an American sporting venue model at a new site which is ‘an active stadium that can be used every day of the year for events of various kinds” or alternatively a redeveloped Marassi stadium remodelled on modern design lines.
Redevelopment will almost certainly entail higher entry prices and make Genoa suitable as a venue for UEFA tournament football.
Genoa and Sampdoria both released statements on the day of the game announcing that they have created a new 50/50 entity named Genova Stadium Plc. The intention in the immediacy is to launch a joint bid to purchase the Stadio Luigi Ferraris from the local authorities but longer term the below statement is open to interpretation as to what the ultimate might be:
“We want a stadium that is open and available every day to fans and citizens, to visit it, do events and make the most of it.”
On match night the future of the Marassi was a theme if not a focus. The battle between the two sets of supporters was fought with insulting chants but also banners many of which referenced the new stadium venture.
The aim of each end of the ground is to be more vocal than the other; namely they who create the most noise will win.
The derby is a competition in itself outside of the two sets of players who face off against each other.
For various chunks of the fixture it looked like Genoa would win.
Pinamonti gave Genoa the lead early on but in truth Sampdoria dominated the game.
Chances came and went for almost the entire game until with just seven minutes left Fabio Borini struck home a right footed shot following an assist by Bereszyński.
That equalizer imbued Genoa with a new sense of purpose and in additional time it looked like the balance of things were swinging. David Ankeye was then hauled down as he bore down on goal and the chance was gone.
Simone Romagnoli was shown a straight red for the last man challenge and the free kick came to nothing.
One of the quirks of this season’s Coppa Italia is that a decision was made to remove extra time up to the semi-final and final. The Genoa derby was in effect a one-off match with only the semi-finals played over two legs.
With this version of the Genoa derby ending level it went straight to a penalty shoot-out.
The penalties went like most penalty shoot-outs go.
Genoa thought they had the upper hand with proceedings occurring at the Genoa end of the stadium.
After a succession of excellent and not so good penalties Alessandro Zanoli’s right footed shot was saved.
Up stepped Antonio Barreca of Sampdoria to convert the penalty with a left footed shot to the top left corner and Sampdoria had taken the honors by 6-5.
In the aftermath inside the stadium the players of Sampdoria celebrated wildly with fans.
Genoa fans meanwhile stood in silence aghast at the outcome of events in what had been a home tie.
Serie B had outdone Serie A.
Footnote: Both Genoa and Sampdoria faced severe consequences after the unsavory scenes after the Coppa Italia match.
Matches were ordered to be played behind closed doors (including the game against Juventus due that weekend) and away fans travel was banned for a number of games.
Outside the stadium Genoa fans had thrown lit rockets at police who had set themselves up at various strategic points outside the stadium.
The night sky was lit up by flares as a helicopter buzzed overhead.
Politically the reaction was harsh and far from diplomatically astute.
The President of the National Observatory on National Sporting Events called the post match events a ‘disgrace’ . He warned that the measures taken against Genoa and Sampdoria will ‘send a signal’ to other clubs and their supporters that such violence will be met with sanction.