Genoa - The Luigi Ferraris - Capacity: 41,197 All Seater
The Stadium – The Luigi Ferraris Via Giovanni De Prà, Genoa
One of the most intimidating stadiums in Europe, the home of Sampdoria and Genoa is one of the most recognisable in world football due to its innovative corner towers. The stadium has been the home to Genoa since 1911, and to Sampdoria since they were formed in 1946.
When the stadium originally opened in 1911, it had a capacity of just 20,000 and was a very simple affair. It has some significant redevelopment work during the 1930’s and was one of the venues for the 1934 World Cup – hosting a 30,000 sell out game between France and Brazil. The stadium had further work completed in 1945 to 1948, and as a result crowds close to 60,000 were often seen in the stadium.
When the decision was made to host the World Cup in Italy in 1990, the stadium was completely demolished and rebuilt in the style of and English ground with stands close to the pitch and the four distinctive corner towers. In the 1990 finals, the stadium hosted Group C games between Scotland, Sweden and Costa Rica as well as the 2nd round game between the Republic of Ireland and Romania. Since both teams were relegated to Serie B in the 1990’s, crowds have waned but since returning to Serie A Sampdoria have averaged nearly 20,000 and Genoa around about 18,000.
Who Plays There? AC Genoa The club were formed in September 1893, thus making it one of the oldest teams in Italy, although they were actually originally set up as a cricket club by a group of English Merchants. The club’s charter set them as a representation of the British Empire abroad and during their formative years they played cricket against the visiting ships crews from the British Navy. In 1898 they played their first game of football versus the crew of HMS Revenge, and just 12 months later they became the first champions of Italian football, repeating the feat in 1900. In the early years of the 20th century they adopted their famous Red and Blue halved shirts, earning them the nickname Rossoblu. The club continued its dominance of Italian football with four further championships as well as a Coppa Italia in 1937, which was to be their last major domestic honour. The next fifty years were a dark period for the club as they suffered frequent drops into Serie B, and even as low as Serie C in the early 1970’s.
The good times seem to have returned in the early years in the 1990’s as they were promoted again back to Serie A, and even managed a fourth place finish in 1991. The following season they faired well in the UEFA Cup, their first European adventure for many years. Fired on by the goals of Tomas Skuhravy the club reached the Semi-Finals of the UEFA Cup, where they lost 4-3 on aggregate to Ajax. On the way to the semi-final they beat Dinamo Bucharest, Boavista, Steaua Bucharest and an impressive 4-1 aggregate victory of Liverpool. In 1996 the team won their only European title, capturing the last ever Anglo-Italian cup by beating Port Vale at Wembley on their return to Serie B. It took the club two owners, and ten years to reach the top of Serie B when the club won the second tier in 2005. Unfortunately the joy of promotion soon turned to despair as the club were found guilty of match fixing in a game versus Venezia and were relegated to Serie C. The club were forced to take their position in the third tier of Italian football in 2005/06 but did manage to make the end of season play-offs where a 2-1 victory over Monza secured their place back in Serie B. The club bought Corrado Grabbi from Blackburn to hopefully take them back to Serie A at the first attempt.
Sampdoria Sampdoria’s enforced absence from Serie A for four years has now been consigned to the history books, and they are firmly back amongst the top teams in Italy. Last season they re-acquainted themselves with European football with a place in the UEFA Cup. Having overcome a tricky first round tie with Setubal of Portugal, they fancied their chances in a group with Halmsted, Lens, Steaua Bucharest and Hertha Berlin. However, a defeat away to Lens in the final group game saw them eliminated at the expense of the French team. This season they will target European qualifying again, especially with the points handicap imposed on rivals Lazio and Fiorentina. Injury-free Emillano Bonazzoli will be the key to the campaign in terms of goals, but the team will miss the creativity of Sam Dalla Bona who has moved onto Napoli.
Sampdoria are actually quite new on the block, having only been formed in 1946 when the Sampierdarenese and Andrea Doria merged. The club then started working its way up the leagues and reached Serie A for the first time in the 1980’s. They won their first trophy in 1985 when they captured the Coppa Italia, repeating the feat in 1988 and 1989.
In 1990 the team made the European Cup Winners Cup, beating Dortmund, Grasshoppers and Monaco on the way to a 2-0 victory over Anderlecht in the final. The following season, the club captured their first (and only) Scudetto, with players like Atillo Lombardo, Roberto Mancini and Gianluca Vialli playing a major part in the success. The title also gave them the opportunity to compete in the European Cup for the first time. After a couple of easy early round games, they found themselves in a group with Anderlecht, Panathinaikos and Red Star Belgrade. The group went to the wire with a winner takes all game versus Red Star in Belgrade which the Italians won 3-1 to make the final at Wembley versus Barcelona. In a hard fought game that went to extra time, the game was won by a stunning free-kick from Ronald Koeman to take the cup back to Spain.
In 1992 Sven Goran Eriksson joined as the new coach and immediately made some changes to the squad, bringing in players like David Platt, Ruud Gullit and Walter Zenga as he hoped to retain the Scudetto. Unfortunately the money from Milan and Turin ensured that the title wouldn’t leave those cities for many years, and the star of Sampdoria started to fade. English players came and went though with regularity including such well known names as Des Walker, Lee Sharpe and Daniele Dichio but success eluded the team. In 1994 they did win their last trophy, the Coppa Italia for the fourth time. At the turn of the century the team were relegated back to Serie B and only returned to the top division in 2004. As we go into December the team has had a mixed bag this season, sitting in the lower half of the table after inconsistent away form has undone the good work at home.
How to get to the Luigi Ferraris stadium The stadium is located to the north east of the city centre, just a 1km walk from Stazione Brignole. On a match day special buses runs from the station to the ground, although it is often quicker to walk, following the river bed up to the ground.
For a more detailed view as to where the stadium is in Genoa, go to Footiemap.com.
How to get a ticket for the Luigi Ferraris stadium In the 2005-2006 season new laws have been introduced to help fight violence in football stadiums. Tickets are supposed to be issued to named individuals, upon provision of address and ID. The application of these laws is causing a headache for everyone, and as we write most clubs still haven't organised their online ticket sales or published guidelines for purchase. Some interpretations mean you need to buy your ticket in advance (with no sales on matchday at the stadium) upon presentation of ID, address and maybe even an Italian tax code. This seems to us to discriminate more against the innocent (like the overseas fans who turn out in force for Italian fixtures), than the guilty. Overseas fans buying tickets online will have been used to providing their details anyway, but now it is likely that full details are required for each member of your party. If you can't buy tickets online before your trip, purchase them as soon as you arrive in Italy. Hotels can sometimes be good sources of advice. Make sure everyone in your group takes their ID (passports are best) with them when you collect your ticket, and to the football ground.
Sell out’s are very infrequent at the Luigi Ferraris. It has been a number of years since there has been a derby, although events at the end of last season did raise the hopes of all football fans in Genoa for a few weeks.
Tickets for Sampdoria matches go on sale around 10 days before the matches in a number of outlets throughout the city including Sampdoria Point in Via Cesarea, as well as at the stadium itself. The website http://www.listicket.it also sells them online. . Tickets for Genoa matches cost €30 for a Tribuna Superior ticket, and €14 for a Gradinata Sud ticket. Tickets for Sampdoria matches are more expensive at €40 to €20.
Ryanair make this regular journey from London Stansted to Genoa. The airport is also served by British Airways and XL.com Airlines daily from London Gatwick with scheduled returns starting from £60 return including taxes. From the airport the easiest way into the city centre is to use one of the half hourly buses that run to both Stazione Principe and Brignole. Tickets cost €3. The first bus departs the airport at 6.15am daily.
The Stadium – The Luigi Ferraris