U.C. Sampdoria enjoyed its best season since 1993–94, when the club finished third in Serie A and won Coppa Italia. In 2004-05 Sampdoria was able to finish fifth in the standings, thanks to a robust defence and a goalscoring ace in secondary striker Francesco Flachi, who played the football of his life. With only 29 goals conceded, the defence of Sampdoria was fully comparable with those of top sides Juventus and Milan, and coach Walter Novellino was hailed for the strong performance in the club's second season since its return to Serie A. Squad Goalkeepers Francesco Antonioli Luigi Turci Daniele Padelli Emanuele Bianchi Defenders Moris Carrozzieri Marcello Castellini Giulio Falcone Marco Pisano Simone Pavan Stefano Sacchetti Cristian Zenoni Midfielders Sergio Volpi Andrea Gasbarroni Mark Edusei Angelo Palombo Max Tonetto Aimo Diana Cristiano Doni Vincenzo Iacopino Biagio Pagano Attackers Simone Inzaghi Francesco Flachi Fabio Bazzani Vitali Kutuzov Fausto Rossini Thomas Job Serie A Matches Sampdoria-Lazio 0-1 0-1 Paolo Di Canio (29 pen) Siena-Sampdoria 2-1 0-1 Francesco Flachi (5) 1-1 Simone Vergassola (10) 2-1 Daniele Portanova (71) Sampdoria-Juventus 0-3 0-1 Alessandro Del Piero (19 pen) 0-2 Zlatan Ibrahimović (69) 0-3 David Trezeguet (87) Fiorentina-Sampdoria 0-2 0-1 Fabio Bazzani (11) 0-2 Stefano Sacchetti (64) Sampdoria-Livorno 2-0 1-0 Fausto Rossini (78) 2-0 Aimo Diana (88) Reggina-Sampdoria 0-1 0-1 Fabio Bazzani (36) Sampdoria-Brescia 0-1 0-1 Luigi Di Biagio (58 pen) Chievo-Sampdoria 0-2 0-1 Sergio Volpi (32) 0-2 Aimo Diana (35) Sampdoria-Milan 0-1 0-1 Andriy Shevchenko (76) Atalanta-Sampdoria 0-0 Sampdoria-Cagliari 0-0 Palermo-Sampdoria 2-0 1-0 Luca Toni (18) 2-0 Franco Brienza (47) Sampdoria-Parma 1-0 1-0 Francesco Flachi (90 + 4 pen) Roma-Sampdoria 1-1 0-1 Biagio Pagano (81) 1-1 Francesco Totti (84 pen) Sampdoria-Messina 1-0 1-0 Francesco Flachi (16) Lecce-Sampdoria 1-4 0-1 Francesco Flachi (37 pen) 0-2 Francesco Flachi (50) 1-2 Mirko Vučinić (53) 1-3 Max Tonetto (60) 1-4 Vitaly Kutuzov (90 + 2) Sampdoria-Udinese 2-0 1-0 Francesco Flachi (68) 2-0 Marcello Castellini (75) Inter-Sampdoria 3-2 0-1 Max Tonetto (44) 0-2 Vitaly Kutuzov (83) 1-2 Obafemi Martins (88) 2-2 Christian Vieri (90 + 1) 3-2 Álvaro Recoba (90 + 4) Sampdoria-Bologna 0-0 Lazio-Sampdoria 1-2 0-1 Vitaly Kutuzov (1) 0-2 Francesco Flachi (4 pen) 1-2 Tommaso Rocchi (64) Sampdoria-Siena 1-1 0-1 Simone Vergassola (66) 1-1 Fausto Rossini (79) Juventus-Sampdoria 0-1 0-1 Aimo Diana (34) Sampdoria-Fiorentina 3-0 1-0 Francesco Flachi (15) 2-0 Max Tonetto (33) 3-0 Aimo Diana (74) Livorno-Sampdoria 1-0 1-0 Cristiano Lucarelli (82) Sampdoria-Reggina 3-2 1-0 Francesco Flachi