by Sampdoria’s women’s team soaked up all adversities faced last year to come out with a bang and secure their place in the Serie A with matches to spare this season. Behind the scenes, Fabio Barabino & Francesco Scibilia have been working to develop the next crop of players to take the club to the next level.
Developing Talents At Sampdoria
Italian side Sampdoria had many questions over the continuation of its women’s sector last year, but having made the decision to continue it, has rendered positive results. Despite a tumultuous and uncertain start to the season, the senior women’s team kept themselves well away from the drop zone to secure their place in the Women’s Serie A for next year with matches to spare.
Their works are being followed by the youth academy whose members are focused on raising the next generation of talent. Two such individuals are Fabio Barabino and Francesco Scibilia who coach the U15 and U19 teams respectively, with the aim of preparing their youngsters to face the challenges of the Serie A.
Noting the stages of development of players, Fabio Barabino explained the focus on technique at tender years until U15, where players play in a 9-a-side setup, before increasing focus on tactics at U17 level where they switch into 11-a-side. Following that, players participate in the national league which U19 coach Francesco Scibilia leads, “At that stage the intensity is very high in Italy. So, I focus on developing their ability to reach and play at that intensity.”
The coaching duo were in Malta for the inaugural Girls KHS U16 cup, which marked the first participation of Sampdoria’s women’s academy in an international tournament. The tournament incorporated their participation together with local sides Hibernians, Valletta, Lija Athletic and Swieqi United.
While using the opportunity of travelling to Malta for the KHS Cup to encourage the team’s growth off the pitch, the two coaches explained the importance of seeing their players navigating the challenge of meeting a new opponent, “In these situations we expect players to come up with solutions on the pitch. We can guide but we want to see them finding their own ways of dealing with the opponent. These tournaments help our team to develop. Winning trophies is nice, however, ultimately our objective is to prepare players for the first team.”
Nodding to the development, U19 coach Francesco Scibilia continued, “I have seven players that have been at Sampdoria for around eight years and are now in the U19 team.” The aim remains to prepare them for the final step into the first team.
The Growing Link With Malta
Though already existing, the link between Malta and Sampdoria grew further last summer, as Lexine Farrugia made the switch from Raiders Lija into the U19 team of Sampdoria, while Nina-Lee Naudi signed with the U15 team from Swieqi United.
The duo will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of one of Malta’s leading talents, Rachel Cuschieri, who became a critical pillar in Sampdoria’s senior team since joining in 2022, bringing championship-winning pedigree to the team. Cuschieri has had another strong season, missing just two matches in the Serie A, thus forming part of a core group of players who delivered every week to secure the team’s stay in the Italian top flight with matches to spare. This, in parallel with being one of the standouts within Malta’s Women’s National Team throughout the past year, securing the most number of assists across the UEFA Women’s Nations League competition held between September and December of 2023.
Having delivered quite a few stunners in Malta, Lexine Farrugia was scouted by the club and coach Francesco Scibilia nodded to the work displayed by the youngster since making the leap at the beginning of the season. “She is a very good player, works hard and is focused on the objectives, so I’m very happy with her work this year with the U19 team. She scored fourteen goals, which helps the team, but the most important is that she is focused and works hard. In fact, her performances earned her a first appearance also with the senior team against Juventus.”
Meanwhile, Nina-Lee Naudi is under the tutelage of Fabio Barabino after being picked out in a trial. The coach referred to the raw talent on display which he hopes to continue developing, “Nina is a very good talent. Of course she is young and we must continue to help her develop, but she is doing well. She’s played at U15 and is sometimes called up to the U17 level, so she’s doing well.”
The youngster made a memorable first return to Malta with Sampdoria in the KHS Cup, including a goal-scoring performance against her former club Swieqi United to back up the strong displays in Italy.
Staying At The Top
The Italian Serie A continues to rise in prominence among the major women’s leagues in Europe. AS Roma have been making waves in the UEFA Women’s Champions League, while continuing to take the challenge to giants Juventus. This year, Fiorentina will finish the league in third place and it is another club that is no stranger to titles. It continues to make huge investments and will continue to be one to look out for in the coming years. As the level continues to rise, so does the challenge for all clubs to compete and edge out their competitors for the top place.
Sampdoria are no different and asked about the next steps required to stay at the top of Italian football, Francesco Scibilia was clear, “We don’t want to just stay in the top league, we want to go further. However, that requires good investment, firstly in infrastructures. We have a few pitches but currently the women’s teams are training in different locations. It would be good to have all the teams train next to each other, with good facilities. A good coaching program is of course also important, with the right technical staff to support it.”
Having lifted the inaugural KHS Cup, the team certainly left Malta with good memories. Asked about the return to Malta for another international tournament, the duo welcomed the opportunity to compete with other talents in search of continuing to develop their side.
Lead Image: Michael Azzopardi
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