Sampdoria’s organised supporter culture is centred on the Gradinata Sud of the Stadio Luigi Ferraris, the historic home of the Blucerchiati faithful. More than a section of the stadium, the Sud has developed into an independent community with its own groups, internal divisions, codes of conduct and international connections. Its influence has often extended beyond matchdays, particularly during periods when the club’s identity or existence appeared to be under threat.
The Sampdoria scene cannot be understood as one organisation speaking with a single voice. Some relationships involve the entire Gradinata, while others belong only to individual groups and generations. Alliances have changed, historic banners have disappeared, groups have dissolved and new areas of organised support have emerged, but the Sud has remained the central reference point of the Blucerchiati support.
The Birth of Organised Support
The first major organisation was the Club Fedelissimi Sampdoriani, founded under the guidance of Beppe Andreotti on 27 November 1961. Initially closer to the traditional supporters’ club model than the ultra groups that would follow, the Fedelissimi gradually became one of the defining forces of the Gradinata Sud. Their history predates the organised Italian ultra movement and makes them the oldest active component of the Sampdoria terraces.
The roots of the Ultras Tito Cucchiaroni can be traced to the 1968-69 season, when young supporters from Sestri Ponente gathered under the name Ultras Sant’Alberto. In 1969, the identity that became Ultras Tito Cucchiaroni took shape, honouring Ernesto “Tito” Cucchiaroni, the Argentine winger who played for Sampdoria from 1958 to 1963. Cucchiaroni scored 40 league goals across five seasons and became one of the most admired players of his era in Genoa.
The Ultras Tito are widely regarded as one of the earliest organised groups to adopt the word “Ultras” as part of their identity. Terrace tradition also connects the word to the phrase “Uniti Legneremo Tutti i Rossoblù A Sangue”, a fiercely anti-Genoa slogan whose initials spell ULTRAS. That explanation forms part of the group’s oral history, although its significance lies less in the acronym than in the group’s pioneering role during the formative years of the Italian ultra movement.
During the 1982-83 season, the Gradinata Sud produced one of its most celebrated visual displays, covering the entire stand with a single giant Blucerchiati flag. It is widely remembered as the first time an Italian terrace had been completely covered by one flag. The display helped establish the Sud as one of the most visually innovative stands of its generation.
The Groups of the Gradinata Sud
The scene expanded during the following decades. Hell’s Angels were formed in 1977 and developed strong roots in Sampierdarena, while Palati Fini appeared in 1985 with an important base in Savona. Struppa followed in 1986 and Valsecca Group in 1991, adding further local identities to an increasingly varied Gradinata.
Fieri Fossato were established in 1999 through the merger of Fieri Sampdoriani and Fossato Sampierdarena. The new organisation soon became one of the most visible groups in the lower part of the Sud. Later generations produced Blacklist in 2014, Molesti in 2016, Valle Scrivia in 2022 and Cornigliano in 2023.
Internal unity has not always been guaranteed. In 1998, serious disagreements within the Gradinata led the Ultras Tito and Struppa to relocate to the upper Sud, separating them physically from the groups based in the lower section. That arrangement lasted for 24 years, until the groups moved back together in the lower Sud in 2022 and opened a new period of coordinated support.
As of 2026, the active identities associated with the Gradinata Sud include Fedelissimi 1961, Ultras Tito Cucchiaroni 1969, Hell’s Angels 1977, Palati Fini 1985, Struppa 1986, Valsecca 1991, Fieri Fossato 1999, Blacklist 2014, Molesti 2016, Valle Scrivia 2022 and Cornigliano 2023. Their presence does not mean that every group follows the same policy on friendships, away matches or relations with the authorities. The Sampdoria scene has always been a collection of distinct identities rather than a single centrally controlled organisation.
Most of the organised groups eventually began using “La Sud” as a collective signature for joint statements and campaigns. In April 2025, however, the Fedelissimi announced their withdrawal from La Sud following disagreements over away-match policy, particularly their decision to attend the restricted trip to Reggio Emilia. They remained active in the Gradinata Sud and stressed that respect and dialogue with the other groups would continue.
A New Blucerchiati Presence in the Gradinata Nord
One of the most significant recent developments began on 26 July 2022, when supporters unable to secure places in the increasingly crowded Sud established Gruppo Cajenna in the Gradinata Nord. The name was chosen as a tribute to the Campo della Cajenna, the old ground used by Andrea Doria from 1909 until 1926. That ground stood on the area later incorporated into the northern side of the Luigi Ferraris.
The historical reference is particularly striking because the same end is traditionally associated with Genoa’s organised support when the Rossoblù play at the shared stadium. By adopting the Cajenna name, the new group reclaimed part of Andrea Doria’s early history and brought an organised Blucerchiati presence into a section that had not previously developed a lasting Sampdoria group.
Gruppo Marassi and Boys Sampierdarena joined the Nord during the 2023-24 season. Cajenna and Gruppo Marassi established themselves in the upper area, while Boys Sampierdarena occupied the lower section. The Nord did not attempt to replace the Gradinata Sud, but gave more Sampdoria supporters an opportunity to participate actively in coordinated chants, flags and visual displays.
 |
| Foto: Ultras Avanti |
An Apolitical Identity and the Battle Over Restrictions
The collective identity of the Gradinata Sud has traditionally been described as apolitical. The principle is that party politics and ideological symbols should not determine the direction of the stand. This does not mean that every individual or every group in Sampdoria’s history has held identical beliefs, but the public position of the organised scene has been that the Sud should be united by Sampdoria rather than political alignment.
The range of friendships developed over the years reflects that position. Sampdoria groups have maintained relations with supporter scenes carrying very different political reputations, from Hellas Verona to Ternana and St. Pauli. For the Sud, those relationships were built primarily through terrace culture, personal trust and shared experiences.
The disappearance of the main group banners after 2007 is another central part of the modern identity of the Gradinata. Following the introduction of stricter national rules, banners and choreographies required advance approval, photographic documentation and the identification of responsible individuals. The Ultras Tito’s historic banner made its last appearance in the Sud on 17 March 2007.
It is therefore inaccurate to say that every group banner was simply prohibited by law. The regulations allow approved material to enter the stadium, but many Sampdoria groups rejected the identification and authorisation system as incompatible with their understanding of ultra independence. Their absence from the railings became a deliberate protest against the new framework.
The same position has shaped away-match policy. La Sud has frequently refused to attend when ticket sales are restricted by residence, supporter cards or other selective conditions. Its principle has been that an away match should be open to the entire Sampdoria support, not only to those who satisfy particular administrative requirements.
In February 2025, representatives of the organised scene established the Associazione Difesa Sampdoriana. The association was created to protect the collective interests of Sampdoria supporters and provide legal assistance against measures considered excessive, discriminatory or illegitimate. It represented an attempt to challenge restrictions through a structured organisation without abandoning the principles traditionally defended by the terraces.
Historic Friendships in Italy
The friendship with Hellas Verona began on 6 May 1973 at the Bentegodi. Sampdoria and Verona supporters had clashed during the first meeting in Genoa on 30 December 1972, but that confrontation produced an unexpected mutual respect. When they met again in Verona, the previous hostility was transformed into one of the oldest surviving relationships in Italian terrace culture.
The connection is not interpreted identically by every Sampdoria group. Ultras Tito have historically been connected with the main Verona ultra current, while Fieri Fossato developed a direct relationship with the Hell group. Molesti and Valsecca also recognise the friendship, whereas the Fedelissimi have traditionally respected it without considering themselves formally twinned.
The relationship with Ternana dates to 1977 and remains another of the scene’s oldest connections. On the Sampdoria side, it has been maintained particularly by Fedelissimi, Fieri Fossato and Hell’s Angels, with repeated visits between Genoa and Terni. A joint march before Sampdoria-Ternana in April 2024 demonstrated that the friendship remained active after almost five decades.
The Parma connection began during the 1990-91 season and was initially built between Ultras Tito Cucchiaroni and Boys Parma 1977. The defining moment came when the Parma supporters displayed the message: “A noi l’Europa, a voi la gloria, lo scudetto alla Sampdoria.” Sampdoria went on to win the only Serie A title in the club’s history, while the friendship continued through changing generations.
In May 2019, the two clubs recognised that relationship with the #BluCrociati initiative. Sampdoria wore a shirt based on Parma’s cross design, while Parma appeared in a yellow and blue interpretation of Sampdoria’s horizontal bands. The match-worn shirts were auctioned, with the proceeds supporting the Giannina Gaslini Institute in Genoa and the Children’s Hospital of Parma.
Relations with Bari had existed before their formal consolidation in 2006. The decisive gesture came on 1 April during Bari’s match in Cremona, when the Ultras Tito banner was displayed above the Bari ultras banner in the away section. The relationship subsequently expanded, although it has not always been interpreted in the same way by every group in the Gradinata Sud.
The friendship with St. Pauli developed during the early 2000s through contacts between sections of the Gradinata Sud and the Südtribüne at the Millerntor. The former Rude Boys, the Fedelissimi and other Sampdoria supporters played important roles during its early years. Although the Rude Boys dissolved in 2017, the relationship survived through other groups and continued to produce visits, flags and messages of solidarity.
International and Group-Specific Connections
Not every international relationship belongs to the whole Sampdoria support. Fieri Fossato have a direct friendship with Colectivo Ultras 95 of Porto, maintained through mutual visits and anniversary celebrations. Struppa 1986 have similarly developed a long-standing relationship with organised supporters of Eintracht Braunschweig.
For more than three decades, one of the best-known international connections involved Ultras Tito and Commando Ultra 84 of Olympique de Marseille. It began on 4 January 1987, when members of the French group travelled to Genoa for Sampdoria-Roma. The two groups developed a deep relationship that included regular visits, joint processions and celebrations of their anniversaries.
In 2017, Ultras Tito and Commando Ultra 84 publicly celebrated 30 years of friendship. More recent accounts, however, indicate that the formal twinning ended around 2022-23 following generational changes and the gradual erosion of the relationship. It should therefore be presented today as a major historical alliance rather than an active official twinning.
The position of the South Winners, another major Marseille group, was always separate. Their connections with parts of the Genoa scene did not represent the entire Marseille support, just as the Commando Ultra relationship did not automatically involve every Sampdoria group. Treating an entire stadium as if it followed the policy of one group creates a misleading picture of ultra relations.
Sampdoria supporters have also maintained forms of respect with Modena, Savona and other smaller Italian scenes. Fieri Fossato have had contacts with supporters of Sanremese, while the cultural affinity with Boca Juniors is linked partly to the Genoese origins of the Argentine club. These connections are better described as respect, personal friendship or cultural affinity rather than official twinnings.
The “Giù le mani dalla Sampdoria” campaign of 2023 also produced solidarity from several unrelated terraces. Banners appeared in Parma, St. Pauli, Braunschweig and Augsburg, among other places. The Augsburg display was an important gesture of support during Sampdoria’s financial crisis, but a single banner should not be presented as evidence of a formal alliance.
 |
| Photo: Ultras Avanti |
Former Alliances
Sampdoria’s friendship with Atalanta began on 29 June 1977, when members of the Brigate Nerazzurre joined Ultras Tito in the Gradinata Sud for the promotion play-off between Atalanta and Cagliari. The twinning ended during the second half of the 1980s amid internal changes in Bergamo’s Curva Nord. Despite the formal break, personal friendships and mutual respect survived.
A relationship with Cagliari’s Sconvolts developed during the early 1990s. It later weakened as Sampdoria’s friendship with Verona became stronger, since the Veronese and Sardinian scenes were bitter rivals. The full alliance disappeared, but contacts and respect between parts of the Sconvolts and Ultras Tito continued.
Sampdoria and Fiorentina supporters were linked from the 1970s until 1992. The break followed an incident involving a Viola banner at the Luigi Ferraris and eventually produced hostility between sections of the two fanbases. The friendship with Inter also ended in 1992 and was replaced by a rivalry that became increasingly visible during the following years.
Relations with Spezia followed a different path. A friendship dating to the late 1970s gradually deteriorated through disagreements between groups and incidents around friendly matches in 2006 and 2009. Personal contacts survived for a time, but the remaining relationship collapsed completely in January 2022.
The Derby della Lanterna
The defining rivalry is with Genoa. Both clubs share the Luigi Ferraris, but their organised supporters occupy opposite ends, with Sampdoria in the Gradinata Sud and Genoa in the Gradinata Nord. On derby day, the competition for visual and vocal control of the stadium becomes almost as important as the match itself.
The rivalry reflects more than football results. It contains competing interpretations of Genoese identity, neighbourhood influence and ownership of the city’s colours and symbols. Sampdoria’s birth in 1946 is frequently used by Genoa supporters to emphasise their club’s greater age, while the Blucerchiati answer by invoking the histories of Andrea Doria and Sampierdarenese, the two clubs whose merger created Sampdoria.
The first serious confrontations between the organised fanbases developed during the 1960s. As both ends became more structured during the following decade, the derby evolved into one of Italy’s most elaborate terrace contests. Giant flags, card displays, smoke, banners and choreographies have repeatedly transformed the shared stadium into two sharply divided worlds.
Rivalries Beyond Genoa
Torino represent another historic rival. The hostility was strengthened by Torino’s traditional connection with Genoa, although the earliest Sampdoria and Torino ultra generations had initially shown a degree of mutual respect. Over time, confrontations and opposing alliances replaced that early relationship.
Relations with both major Milan clubs are also negative. Sampdoria’s former twinning with Inter ended in 1992, after which the relationship became openly hostile. The rivalry with Milan developed independently and was hardened by violent incidents during the 1990s, but poorly documented injury totals should not be repeated as unquestioned fact.
The rivalry with Bologna has one of the clearest historical turning points. On 16 May 1999, Sampdoria led 2-1 at the Dall’Ara before Bologna were awarded a controversial penalty in the fourth minute of added time. Klas Ingesson converted for 2-2, mathematically condemning Sampdoria to relegation.
The anger exploded on 12 October 1999, when the teams met at the Luigi Ferraris in the Coppa Italia. Objects were thrown towards former Sampdoria goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca, including oranges, bottles and metal taps removed from the stadium facilities. The match was abandoned, Bologna were awarded a 2-0 victory and Sampdoria received a six-match stadium suspension, creating the episode remembered as the “Night of the Taps”.
The collapse of the Spezia friendship created one of the scene’s most recent rivalries. Before the match at the Picco on 23 January 2022, offensive chants by Sampdoria supporters were followed by Spezia fans burning Blucerchiati scarves inside the stadium. The incident confirmed that the remaining relationship had ended and turned a deteriorating regional friendship into open hostility.
Relations with Napoli were historically influenced by the old Genoa-Napoli twinning and the former connection between Ultras Tito and Marseille. Both of those alliances later ended, Genoa-Napoli in 2019 and the Tito-Commando Ultra relationship around 2022-23, but terrace rivalries often survive the networks that originally strengthened them. Negative relations also exist, in varying degrees, with Juventus, Roma, Lazio, Pisa, Livorno and Reggiana, although none approaches the central importance of Genoa.
The Supporters and the Fight for Sampdoria
The role of the organised support became especially visible during Sampdoria’s financial crisis in 2023. Under the slogan “Giù le mani dalla Sampdoria”, thousands of supporters demonstrated outside the club’s offices and marched through Genoa towards the Luigi Ferraris. The campaign opposed the previous ownership and demanded action to prevent the club from disappearing.
The movement produced support from friendly groups and from terraces with no formal alliance to Sampdoria. It also showed that the Gradinata’s influence was not limited to chants and choreographies. During a period of genuine uncertainty, the supporters attempted to act as guardians of the club’s name, colours and place within the city.
Another important initiative emerged in memory of Giacomo “Bek” Fantoni, a highly respected figure of the Ultras Tito who died in a scooter accident on 23 December 2021. The Associazione Giacomo Fantoni was presented in 2023 and began working on solidarity projects, urban renewal and assistance during emergencies. Its work demonstrated the social dimension that had long existed behind the public image of the Gradinata.
Sampdoria’s organised scene remains complex, decentralised and occasionally divided. Its friendships belong to different groups, its policies change with each generation and its history cannot be reduced to a fixed list of allies and enemies. What has remained constant is the position of the Gradinata Sud as the centre of Blucerchiati identity and the place from which Sampdoria’s supporters defend their understanding of the club.