Fabio Borini, a former Liverpool player, has experienced a significant career shift. After spending three years with the Reds from 2012 to 2015, he now finds himself relegated to the third tier with Sampdoria, former European champions and Italian giants.
Borini joined Liverpool in July 2012 from AS Roma as an exciting young forward. His move reunited him with Brendan Rodgers, under whom he had previously worked at Chelsea and Swansea City. He had made his mark at Stamford Bridge before aiding Rodgers and Swansea in reaching the Premier League through a productive loan move.
His return to Italy saw him star for Roma, where he scored nine goals in just 20 league starts - form that earned him a spot in Italy's squad for Euro 2012. Despite Italy finishing as runners-up at the tournament, Borini was buoyed by becoming the first signing of Rodgers' reign at Liverpool.
However, his debut season was plagued by two significant injuries, which limited his appearances on the field. Despite this setback, he managed to open his Premier League account as a substitute against Newcastle United during the final weeks of the season.
The following season saw Borini loaned out to Sunderland, where he thrived, scoring ten goals, helping them reach the League Cup final and avoiding relegation.
Despite this success on loan, upon returning to Anfield for another shot at securing his place within Liverpool's ranks, opportunities were limited, leading him back to Sunderland permanently during the summer of 2015.
Sampdoria’s Historic Relegation
Borini now finds himself relegated to Serie C with Sampdoria, at the club's historic low point. The 34-year-old contributed zero goals and zero assists from eleven appearances for the club this season.
He joined the club in 2023 and has scored 9 goals in 30 Serie B appearances since moving to the Genoa-based giants.
It's been an unstable season for Sampdoria, who were not long ago in the Italian top flight, marked by managerial upheaval. The club finished their final Serie B match with a goalless draw against Juve Stabia, leaving them in 18th place.
This means they finish a point behind Salernitana, who secured a relegation play-off place with a victory over Cittadella. Salernitana themselves were in Serie A not too long ago and could become another big Italian club to drop down to the third tier.
Sampdoria, who clinched their only Serie A title in 1991, have been playing in the second tier since their relegation at the end of the 2022-23 season.
Andrea Pirlo just among the victims of Sampdoria's horror season
The club's troubles were compounded by managerial instability. Andrea Pirlo, an Italian World Cup winner, was appointed as coach in June 2023 but failed to secure an immediate return to the top flight after losing out in the playoffs.
Despite being hailed as "a key part of the project" by club owners before Sampdoria's playoff exit, Pirlo was dismissed three games into the current campaign following two defeats and a draw.
Andrea Sottil replaced him, but his tenure too ended abruptly after just four wins from fourteen games. His replacement, Leonardo Semplici, also faced backlash from fans, leading to his dismissal following a home defeat by Frosinone.
Alberico Evani took over as Sampdoria’s fourth coach of the season with hopes of keeping them up. Despite promising beginnings under Evani and assistance from club legends Attilio Lombardo and Roberto Mancini, they could not avoid relegation.
This tale serves as a reminder that football is unpredictable, even for former Liverpool stars like Fabio Borini or historic clubs like Sampdoria.
