Radz’s right-hand man shares Leeds United, Sampdoria blueprint, but there’s a few massive issues – View

VaselineMay 8, 2024

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Radz’s right-hand man shares Leeds United, Sampdoria blueprint, but there’s a few massive issues – View

GENOA, ITALY – AUGUST 25: Andrea Radrizzani, co-owner of Sampdoria, looks on prior to kick-off in the Serie B match between UC Sampdoria and Pisa at Luigi Ferraris Stadium on August 25, 2023 in Genoa, Italy. (Photo by Simone Arveda/Getty Images)

Former Leeds United owner Andrea Radrizzani is looking to revitalize Italian outfit Sampdoria in the coming years after leaving Elland Road to kickstart a new ownership project.

The 49ers are doing very well at steadying the ship at Elland Road right now, restructuring the entire club all the way from the boardroom down to the playing staff.

They inherited something of a mess from Andrea Radrizzani when relegation was confirmed, but the Italian’s divisive ways are no longer Leeds’ problem as he sits now nearly a year into his Sampdoria tenure.

Radrizzani’s business partner Matteo Manfredi shares Leeds, Sampdoria stadium comparison

Radrizzani and his business partner Matteo Manfredi completed the purchase of Serie B side Sampdoria last summer, aiming to restore the Genoa-based club’s top flight status in the same way he did Leeds.

ClubDoria46 have shared quotes from Manfredi this week, revealing the plans are to restore the stadium first and foremost at Sampdoria, having purchased Elland Road as one of Radrizzani’s first bits of business at Leeds, comparing the two.

He said:

“When Sampdoria arrived we thought it was a great asset to own because of the legacy and we have a community that really cares. This year we have sold more than 18,000 season tickets, which is a lot more than the average Serie A team.

“These ‘sleeping giants’ often have opportunities so there are several things in common. We buy the stadium here in Genoa as we did in Leeds. The aim is to renovate it so that we can create a lot of value.”

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Radrizzani’s plan has a few major holes Leeds fans would pick apart

It’s all well and good promising to buy the stadium, but then Radrizzani proved at Leeds that he didn’t really have the clout to go through with renovations that he constantly said were in the plans.

Elland Road has needed improvement for years, yet we never saw anything of the sort while Radrizzani was here, even with three years in the Premier League.

Then, even if all of this had taken place, Radrizzani still stabbed the club in the back after relegation by trying to use Elland Road as collateral to purchase his new club, completely erasing his first brilliant goodwill gesture when he took over from Massimo Cellino in 2017.

So, purchasing Sampdoria’s Stadio comunale Luigi Ferraris is all well and good, but his actions at Leeds undermine this ‘for the people’ gesture.

This is all before you even contemplate how Radrizzani builds a successful top-flight club, something that didn’t happen at Leeds.

His only flash-in-the-pan glory came riding the coattails of Marcelo Bielsa’s iconic work at the club, either side of the Argentine’s tenure was grim for Radrizzani at Leeds.