Big club can save the place in “overtime”: – A fever dream

You thought the European club season was over? Think again.

In Italy, things are boiling like never before. On Sunday at 20:30 the floodlights will be turned on over the Stadio Arechi in Salerno. Salernitana will be visited by Sampdoria. The winner will keep their place in Serie B, which is the second level in Italy.

– Now we are far, far, far into overtime. This must be the absolute last league match that has been played in Italy in modern times, says Tor-Kristian Karlsen to NRK.

Karlsen is a well-known name in football. He has previously worked as a scout and sports director at a number of top clubs around Europe, including Bayer Leverkusen and AS Monaco.

But the favorite team has been Sampdoria since the Italians’ triumph in the Cup Winners’ Cup back in 1990.

– The kits were very beautiful, and there was an exotic feel to it, as it was a team that was not that well-known in Norway. I was captivated as soon as I saw that team. For a young teenager in Norway, it was love at first sight, he says.

LIVING IN HOPE: Tor-Kristian Karlsen has a heart for Sampdoria from Genoa. Now he is cautiously optimistic before the fateful match against Salernitana.

Saved from bankruptcy

Sampdoria leads 2–0 after the first leg, but the fact that the old powerhouse would even have the opportunity to save its place was completely unthinkable a few weeks ago.

After the last round of Serie B, Sampdoria was in 18th place. Normally, that would indicate relegation to level three.

– I was watching local TV from Genoa the night they were actually relegated. There was a funeral atmosphere and helplessness. No one quite understood the way out of this. Everything was open. It was “Ground Zero”, says Karlsen.

Then came the counter-message.

The scheduled qualifying match between places 16 and 17 was canceled on the same day it was supposed to be played, May 19.

The reason was that Brescia, who finished the season in 15th place, went bankrupt and lost the right to play in the Italian league system.

BANKBREAKING: Italian star Mario Balotelli played for Brescia no later than 2020. Now the club has gone bankrupt.

The entire relegation battle turned upside down – after the season had basically been completed.

Sampdoria had suddenly secured the extremely important 17th place.

– It was a feeling of joy. We felt for the Brescia fans, but the sympathy eventually turned into joy for our own team, says Karlsen.

The situation that has arisen at the end of the football season has been described as a small earthquake by Italian media.

– It has all been a kind of fever dream among Sampdoria supporters, explains the Norwegian supporter.

Postponed after food poisoning

As if the relegation battle in Serie B wasn’t messy enough already, there was also complete chaos after the first match between Sampdoria and Salernitana.

A number of Salernitana players fell ill on the flight back to Salerno, and several had to be hospitalized with food poisoning.

– We are sincerely shocked by what has happened, and by the sequence of events that risks putting Salernitana’s calm and peaceful preparations for the final and decisive minutes of the season at risk, said Salernitana’s CEO, Maurizio Milan.

The return leg was originally scheduled to be played on Friday, but Salernitana were granted their request to move it to Sunday.

– The conspiracy theories in Italy are that this is “fake”, and that Salernitana wanted a little better time. They had at least one or two players on national team duty, and it seems a bit strange that a dozen players had gotten food poisoning on a plane. But I’ve gotten food poisoning on a plane myself, so I know how unpleasant it is, says Karlsen and laughs.

TWO REGRESSIONS IN A ROW? Salernitana were in the Italian top division last year. Next season they could be in the third tier.

Despite all the chaos that has arisen, the former Monaco director is not surprised by the scenes that have unfolded in recent weeks.

– It’s typical Italy. It’s a league with 20 teams, and almost half of them are struggling very badly financially. You’re never sure if all the teams will be able to finish the season, and at the level below it’s even worse.

– It’s extremely messy, and it’s probably Europe’s toughest league at the highest level. There are such long distances, a very tight schedule, poor facilities and poor pitches, so it’s not always about being the best on the pitch, he continues.

– Absurd

The road from heaven to hell is short in the Italian league system, something several clubs have noticed in recent times.

Sampdoria, who won the Italian top division in the 1990/91 season, fought for European places as recently as four years ago.

– It is absurd that Sampdoria, as the historic club it is, has ended up here. Even if they are going to save the club, there are a lot of open questions about the future, says Karlsen.

ECONOMIC BLOW: In 2015, Parma went bankrupt with nearly two billion kroner in debt. This resulted in a relegation to the amateur league Serie D.

On the ownership side, there is also complete chaos. According to Karlsen, there is uncertainty about who actually owns the club, and the hope is now that an extended stay at level two can help local players come forward to buy the club.

– There is no easy way out of this, but as a supporter it is also about living a little in the present. Other things have to be put on hold when there are matches like this, says Karlsen.

And even though Sampdoria has a two-goal lead from the first leg, the Norwegian supporter emphasizes that anything can still happen.

– With the 2-0 win we are allowed to hope a little, but there is absolutely no one taking this for granted. It is going to be a terribly hostile atmosphere. It is one of the last places on the European map you want to go to play an away game of such great importance.