Sampdoria
Youth Cup & Shield Semi-Finals: First Leg Drama Sets Up Tantalising Returns
CSKA Moscow lay down marker with Milan mauling
CSKA Moskva 4-0 AC Milan (Youth Shield)
There are emphatic victories, and then there is what CSKA Moskva served up to AC Milan at the Arena CSKA on Saturday night. This was not merely a defeat for the Rossoneri – it was a comprehensive dismantling that has surely ended their Shield ambitions before the return leg has even been contemplated.
Karim Konaté was the chief architect of Milan’s misery, his hat-trick a masterclass in clinical finishing. The striker opened the scoring on 11 minutes with a composed finish, doubled his tally from the penalty spot ten minutes later, and completed his treble six minutes into the second half with the sort of scuffed effort that somehow finds the net when everything is going your way.
Nestory Irankunda’s sublime strike off the post in the 41st minute was merely the cherry on top of what had already become a rout. Milan, deploying a desperately defensive 4-3-3 formation, were overrun in every department. The statistics tell their own story – 60% possession to CSKA, 14 shots to seven, and a chasm in quality that the scoreline perhaps even flattered the visitors.
Milan’s ultra-defensive approach backfired spectacularly. Manager tactics of sitting deep and hoping to catch CSKA on the break proved woefully inadequate against opponents who combined pace, power and precision in equal measure. The Italians will need something approaching a miracle at San Siro to overturn this deficit.
Leverkusen edge thriller in six-goal spectacle
Bayer Leverkusen 4-2 Sampdoria (Youth Shield)
If CSKA’s victory was a statement of intent, Bayer Leverkusen’s triumph over Sampdoria was pure box office entertainment. Six goals, end-to-end action, and a result that leaves this semi-final tantalizingly poised ahead of the return fixture.
Jayden Addai and Adrian Segecic emerged as the protagonists in this breathless encounter, each claiming a brace in a match that swung back and forth like a pendulum. Addai’s early opener set the tone, only for Vanja Vlahović to double Leverkusen’s advantage before half-time. Segecic’s response was immediate and devastating – two goals in six minutes either side of the interval to level the tie and serve notice of Sampdoria’s attacking threat.
But it was Estêvão’s moment of magic that proved decisive. The Brazilian’s free-kick on 58 minutes was a thing of beauty, bending around the wall and leaving the Sampdoria goalkeeper rooted to the spot. Addai’s second, seven minutes later, should have put the tie to bed, yet with Sampdoria carrying such menace in attack, Leverkusen will know their work is far from done.
The German side’s superior possession (62%) and shot count (26 to 14) suggests they controlled proceedings, but football is rarely that simple. Sampdoria’s two away goals could prove priceless currency in the return leg.
Barcelona survive Leicester scare in Camp Nou classic
Barcelona 3-2 Leicester City (Youth Cup)
At the Camp Nou, Barcelona discovered that reputation alone does not guarantee safe passage to finals. Leicester City, those perennial overachievers, served up a performance brimming with belief and quality that has left this semi-final hanging in the balance.
Kobbie Mainoo’s early strike suggested Barcelona might cruise to victory, but Leicester’s response was immediate and impressive. Florian Wirtz’s equaliser just before half-time was reward for the visitors’ bold approach, and when Kassoum Ouattara’s delightful chip found the net with six minutes remaining, Leicester had secured the sort of away goal that can transform ties.
Djeidi Gassama and João Neves had seemingly put Barcelona in command with second-half strikes, yet Leicester’s refusal to buckle speaks volumes about their character. Their attacking approach – matching Barcelona’s adventurous formation and high tempo – was vindicated by that crucial late goal.
Barcelona’s 58% possession and slight edge in shots (16 to 14) reflected their marginal superiority, but Leicester’s away goal means the Catalans’ advantage is more fragile than the scoreline suggests. The return leg at the King Power promises to be a nervy affair for the Spanish giants.
Internacional’s slender advantage built on solid foundations
SC Internacional 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur (Youth Cup)
While the other semi-final produced pyrotechnics, Internacional’s victory over Tottenham was built on more pragmatic foundations. William Osula’s 14th-minute winner – a scrappy affair that saw the Tottenham goalkeeper fumble the ball over the line – proved enough to give the Brazilians a slender but significant advantage.
The game’s defining moment came four minutes into the second half when Tottenham’s Mario García saw red for a crude challenge. From that point, Spurs were fighting a rearguard action, their ultra-defensive setup becoming a necessity rather than choice.
Credit must go to Internacional for maintaining their composure against ten men. Rather than forcing the issue, they controlled proceedings intelligently, content to preserve their lead while probing for the knockout blow that never quite came.
Tottenham’s resilience in adversity was admirable – they matched their hosts for shots (10 to 11) and created several decent chances through Goran Vidović. But they now face the daunting prospect of overturning a deficit without their suspended midfielder, though the narrow margin means hope remains alive.
The reckoning awaits
Four first legs, four contrasting narratives. CSKA appear to have one foot in the Shield final, while Leverkusen hold a commanding but not unassailable advantage. The Youth Cup remains wide open, with both Barcelona and Internacional holding slender leads that their opponents will fancy overturning.
The beauty of knockout football lies in its unpredictability, and if these first legs have taught us anything, it is that nothing can be taken for granted. The return fixtures promise drama, tension, and the sort of football that reminds us why we fell in love with the beautiful game in the first place.
Samp report conspiracy - Admin against Super Samp!
Super Samp manager Beddows' side have started Season 22 like the Japanese bullet train - YET the authorities seem to be against them.,,,
PRIOR to game 1 - 1 player suspended from last season
GAME 1 - Nicolas Jackson sent off for two yellow cards - AWAY to Marsden? Which Samp win 2-1? Coincidence?
GAME 2 - Another red for two yellows - Admin trying to thwart little old Super Samp?
GAME 3 - Straight red for Nmecha - the destroyer of Marsden and two injuries picked up as Sunderland play dirty? Surely too much this?
BEDDOWS: "We will go to the authorities but expect very little - especially as we effectively relegated CSKA Texas and Chris Meida last season - we will fight on but it is clearly a battle that ultimately we will lose!"
A Top 100 "Super Samp" Trip
My own personal love affair with Italy began in Jan 2007 when I moved there for work aged 22 and worked as an EFL teacher. My first stop on that journey and HQ of my employer - was Genoa - but it was a flying stop - 16 years later I finally went back to fulfill a dream - see the city properly but also visit the Super Samp stadium - the place where dreams come true.
Beddows arrived in Milan - left my daughter with her Grandad and continued on the Genoa - the home of Super Samp - my main aim was to visit and hopefully get inside the Stadio Luigi Ferrairs - would I succeed?
Day One - I arrived in Genoa and ironically stayed in a suburb called Sampierdarena - complete with some Samp graffitti near my hotel to make me feel at home. Drank some beers and planned what I'd do the next day.
Day two - we started with a 5km run to reach my May challenging of running 100km in a month - #runwanker - then an impromptu Internet search I discovered Samp train at a place called Boglisaco which is by the sea - so naturally a short 25 minute train journey and a morning at the sea followed by a photo shot outside the Super Samp training HQ - the place that has produced players like Thuram, Cambiaso and now is developing Jackson.
and that afternoon the Sir Stephen Beddows mantra in life of "never give up, keep trying - no does not exist..." came up trumps again... - once back in the City I walked to the stadium but it was all closed up! 😞 I walked all the way round and no one was to be seen but clearly people were working. I rang a buzzer at the back of the stadium and explained I come all the way from England to see the ground and they said I couldn't...
so naturally I ended up at a bar drinking with two Inter Milan fans from Albania who when I said I hated Man City offered me a beer - naturally I said Yes and thought your luck is in - go try again.
So back round the stadium I walk and got all the way around and saw a groundsman called Raimundo and I said... please can you let me in and he said I couldn't and I said come on I've come all the way from England - he said give me 5 mins - he then returns with the keys and let's me in (rightfully so) to my Top100 home!
Nice to have ticked off something I've wanted to do for a long time - hopefully I'll try and get to a serie B game next season!
The next day time for more running, sea, sun, beer, pizza/pasta and ice cream!
Super Samp - the road forwards
So far +32 overall on the ratings reviews - but we need to be honest and look hard - most of our +'s are mid 80's and wont help in the relegation fight - long term many of those mid 80's will be 88+ but is a relegation a necessary evil on the way to longer term glory?
Audero's fall was a little harsh in my opinion - but the rise of Christensen should mean come next ratings review we have an alternative 1st choice keeper.
At centre back the acquisition of Bauer and Alexsandro who both rose bodes well - Webster should finally rise and hopefully Pepe keeps his 90. At left back we are blessed and the short term acquisition of Kaderabek helps us out.
In central midfield we still have the trio of Thorsby, Thuram and Lemina all safe ratings wise to help us compete and up front Albrighton will fall - but the rise of Nicolas Jackson long term ensures a replacement for him. A formation change is a possibility and if we lose again tonight something we may consider.
Let Samp Entertain you!
Beddows Defies Top 100 Authorities breaking rules galore as Samp partied as they played in Season 18 - late into the night - masses of alcohol and mistakes - but most importantly with great levels of entertainment! The Division's 5th highest scorers and 5th worst defence delighted to finish joint 12th in Season 19!
BREAKING NEWS from the Italian Port City of Genoa this morning as a dishevelled and scruffy looking Beddows signed a new 3 season contract despite admin not agreeing - this was after partying all night with Balotelli, Nmecha and co to celebrate finishing 13th (joint 12th in reality) and achieving next seasons contract already! In Season 17 we finished 15th so progress clearly being made.
But according to contract guru Dan Wallace - achieving your season 3 target in season 2 does not mean free season - so Beddows will have to work hard again next season. So Beddows' response to give himself another 3 season contract anyway to bat away speculation of him moving to Manchester United.
The end of S17 capture of Nmecha and Forsberg critical to this seasons success where we were vying for play offs for a decent amount of time before falling away - between them they got Nmecha (11 goals, 16 assists) and Forsberg (14 goals, 11 assists) - so 25 of our goals or almost 50% of the teams total!
"We love our little project here at Samp! We have built a far from spectacular side - but a side with some strong assets and plenty of players who will rise. We will look at the side over the coming days and list a few who we may consider moving on - but last night we fielded
A side we an average age of 25 - 11 of the 18 will rise and the others should all be safe - arguably the full backs might get +1s too to be fair."
"and with the experience of these 7 above we are in a good position - De Silverstri is a club legend - like Thuram he has been here since I joined - 299 first team appearances for him - a magnificent servant."
The Samp Season 18 Youth side has also been regenerated again - with Beddows scouring the market for 20 years and under players that Samp can develop. Next seasons youth side is looking like this - 5 of whom were captured post Youth Cup exit - and a few others in the season - 12 of that 18 were bought in externally and have good first team minutes and most are youth internationals for their respective countries! Then we have a clutch of 22-23 years olds including Ribeiro Alexsandro - now getting first team minutes at Lille and Colpani at Monza - the future is looking decent! Next season survival needed again!
Sampdoria Season 17 in review
Season 17 was Sir Stephen Beddows' 6th season in the Italian Port city of Genoa - being neighbors and living in the shadow of the great Frank Hirst has always been a challenge but recently it has been the successes of Sampdoria that have trumped their more illustrious neighbour with back to back play off successes seeing them jump from Division 5 to Division 3.
Mister Malcolm predicted we'd finish 10th in reality our form was patchy - at times flirting with relegation at others on good runs and in a tight division the play offs were a possibility - the end result 15th and in truth a comfortable 15th.
Sampdoria player ratings and end of season player awards
Pepe (CB) 9/10 - despite his age he has proven once again to be a fantastic leader (along with Balotelli) Can we get at least 1 more SM season from him?
Audero (GK) 6/10 - a replacement for Ramsdale - a deal we might regret and let in a few too many for our liking. Needs to improve.
Shelvey (CM) 8/10 - after 4 complete seasons at Samp and 2 promotions Voldermort finally moves on to pastures new - the rise of Thuram has finally made this possible. All the best Jonjoe!
Maehle (RB) 9/10 - still holding on to him - well thats the plan presently. In real life appears to have stalled but linked with moves elsewhere which might increase his value. We perservered with playing him LB but when switching him to his best SM position of RB results have picked up all around
Webster (CB) 8/10 - Hoping he goes 88 in coming weeks - which will be massive for us into Season 18. Formed a good partnership with Pepe and will continue to do so into next season.
Going forward to season 18 we have made 4 internal deals already today! Total Madness from me! Aim to lower the age and see them rise!
Sampdoria make history!
Season 16 has ended the same way as Season 15 - trophies (they all count even if a play off one) and success! At the Azteca stadium in Mexico City - 85,000 Italians and Turks gathered on what is a cold winters day back in Europe singing their hearts out and with the game failing to deliver 0-0 - it was a second successive play off final penalty shoot out for Samp!
And VICTORY again - this time it was Lukas Skorpuski the newly 88 rated keeper with two saves and Samp scoring all theirs!
"It has been a great season! Started superbly. We have broken the season in 3 x 13 (including the play off final)
PART ONE: New arrivals included Pepe, Albrighton (although at the end of last season - thanks Alex Mcclean), Federico Fernandez and players like Roberto Inglese wo made a minimum contribution.
W5, D6, L2 - Great and solid start for a newly promoted side. Andrea Petagna and LUcas Lima started the season on fire.
PART TWO: We added Ekdal to the side and had a few rises in the youngsters as well. Youth team making the quarter finals of the Youth Cup.
W2, D6, L5
PART THREE: The run to end all runs - got us in the play offs - although we needed a last day win to secure it!
W8, D1, L2
Then a crazy play off semi final!
Then history - where do we go now - great question - side needs improving which means I need to go to market!
Sampdoria - Season so far? Have they hit a block in the road?
Sampdoria can't really complain about their first season back in Division 4. Flying at the start but 1 win in the last 6 really makes it tough.
Beating Juventus in the cup and having a favorable draw in the 4th Round gives us some decisions to make but staying up was the priority can I really be disappointed with the start?
Lucas Lima and Andrea Petagna started season on fire but have dropped off lately which is concerning. We feel the signing of Pepe has been key and are hopeful the good form of Webster, Zappa and Maehle in real life will see all of them get rises in rating in the coming months helping us to push on next season and push for a potential title.
In midfield Gonalons is leaving us in exchange for Ekdal in a deal with Swansea in the coming weeks as soon as one or both of us are out of the cup. Lemina is emerging as a real leader in real life in a very young and exciting Nice team and Thorsby will only improve. Can Shelvey keep his 88? Who knows?
Ratings wise out greatest worry is in that forward line. Time will tell. But great start for Sampdoria overall!
Sampdoria announce quartet of signings
Busy day at Sampdoria as they have concluded their business for Season 16 early with the capture of the following.
- Pepe - he might be 38 years old but his 90 rating is safe for a little while and at very worse he will drop to 88 - in any which case it will still be an upgrade on the current centre-back capabilities of Sampdoria. Pepe played under Beddows as Real Madrid and described joining a team managed by God himself once again was a no brainer.
2. Federico Fernandez - another who might be on the old side - but regular premier league minutes makes him a very useful addition. With a few good young centre backs in the youth side he will become a stop gap solution until the youngsters develop. Another who has played for Beddows in the past at Milan winning trophies such as Copa del Duomo, the Pavarotti Cup etc.
3. Sofiane Boufal - great start to the season at Angers in real life. Gives us extra options at front. Chance of an 87? Ligue 1 has always been undervalued by SM.
4. Zeljko Gavric - a youngster signed alongside Pepe as part of the Bradaric deal. Just moved to Hungary in real life and player with great potential and recently won his first cap for Serbian national side.
What did we lose Bradaric (86) Javier Hernandez (87) and long serving CB Siovas (87)
Can Samp challenge next season? Time will tell? Options in the forward might influence this?
Could Beddows become a God at Samp too?
What a season for Samp - up until tonight World Club Cup Semi Finalists - Youth Cup Semi Finalists and Beddows having to fight like a lion daily to thwart off bids from Doug et al for the likes of Maehle, Zappa, Bradaric and many others!
And tonight a play off final v Stuttgart? More heartache?
So onto tonight - Could Samp do it? Could they get back to Division 4? Watch the video to find out?
Post match incredible scenes just like 1991!
Here is one for the ages