Formed: 1946
Nickname: Blucerchiati (Blue Hoops)

UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets)
• European Champion Clubs' Cup: (1992)
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1990, (1989)

Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets)
• League title: 1 (1991)
• Italian Cup: 4 (1994)

History
• Founded in 1946 by the merger of Genoa sides Sampierdarenese and Andrea Doria, Unione Calcio Sampdoria wore the latter's blue shirts with a red-and-black band representing the former; their badge, a later addition, depicts a silhouette of a sailor, 'Baciccia', smoking a pipe.

• Relegated from Serie A for the first time in 1966, they swiftly returned to the top division; during a later spell in Serie B, in 1979, the club were acquired by oil tycoon Paolo Mantovani, who oversaw their return to Serie A in 1982 and the signing of Italy's brightest young star, Bologna FC's Roberto Mancini.

• Forward Mancini set appearance and goalscoring records at the club as well as helping them win the Coppa Italia in 1985, 1988, 1989 and 1994; the first two of those trophies were won under Serbian coach Vujadin Boškov, who also led the club to their only Serie A title in 1991.

• As well as Mancini, Boškov's side boasted the likes of Gianluca Pagliuca, Gianluca Vialli, Cerezo and Pietro Vierchowod; they lost 2-0 to FC Barcelona in the 1988/89 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final but beat RSC Anderlecht in the following season's showpiece, 2-0 after extra time.

• Defeated 1-0 by Barcelona in extra time in the 1991/92 European Champion Clubs' Cup final, Sampdoria went into decline in the late 1990s; relegated in 1999, they did not return to Serie A until 2002, finishing fourth in the top division under coach Luigi Delneri in 2009/10.

Club records
Most appearances: Roberto Mancini (566)
Most goals: Roberto Mancini (171)
Record victory: Sampdoria 7-0 Pro Patria (1 January 1956)
Record defeat: 7-1 twice, most recently at Udinese Calcio (22 January 1961)

Last updated 31 December 2010