While all the summer hype has caused defenders to focus on Antonio Cassano, Vincenzo Montella and Andrea Caracciolo when Sampdoria come to town, it is another unassuming striker who has snuck under the radar to become the Blucerchiati’s early season hot-shot. Perhaps it is because Claudio Bellucci was beginning his second spell in Genoa that he wasn’t given the same fanfare as the more high profile arrivals, but his start to the new term has certainly reminded those who may have forgotten about his switch from Bologna that he is one to keep a close eye on.
English fans with good memories will probably remember Bellucci as the youngster whose goals in the dying minutes of the 1994-95 European Cup-Winners Cup semi-final almost eliminated holders Arsenal during his first spell with Samp, before a late Stefan Schwarz strike took the game to a penalty shoot-out. “I will remember those two goals until the end of my life. It seemed they would take us to the Final, but we were punished in the closing moments and then lost on penalties,” laments the Doria hero.
The image of him tearing from one end of the pitch to the other in his vest, wide-eyed with joy, was probably the last one most casual fans expected to have of the gap-toothed forward, as the following campaign was his last at the Luigi Ferraris. “I suffered a serious injury in training and lost my place in the squad, as we also had Roberto Mancini, Filippo Maniero and Enrico Chiesa at that time,” the diminutive attacker explains. “I had an operation in the summer and then it was decided to send me out on loan to Venezia.”
While he excelled with the Lagunari, it was not enough to salvage his career with the Blucerchiati and he was sold to Napoli. After a fine debut season, he was never able to hit a regular scoring streak with the Vesuviani, but that is hardly surprising given the turmoil at the club. “Corrado Ferlaino changed Coach so often – Bortolo Mutti, Giovanni Galeone, Carlo Mazzone. In four years there I was also trained by Renzo Ulivieri, Zdenek Zeman and Emiliano Mondonico, the list goes on and on.”
An ankle injury hampered his stint in Naples and in 2000 he accepted a new challenge at Bologna. Although a regular starter at the Dall’Ara, he again couldn’t find a regular supply of goals and ultimately the club slipped out of the top flight. “I had six years at Bologna and it is incredible how we fell,” he said. “Three-quarters of the way through the 2004-05 season we already had 39 points, but still ended up losing a relegation play-off with Parma. To this day I cannot explain how we ended up going down.” Curiously it was not until the club slid into Serie B in 2005 that he finally began to emerge as a clinical goal-getter. Second top scorer in the Cadetti in 2005-06, he was again pipped to the Golden Boot last year by a single Alessandro Del Piero strike.
That phenomenal form was enough to alert the Samp scouts and make them decide he was worth a second chance. Living again in Bogliasco – the town where he grew up – Bellucci is happy to be pulling on the blue shirt again. The broad grin on his face when he was presented to the fans and Press by Walter Mazzarri in the summer said it all, and he is confident that he has joined a side on the up. “We have a great looking squad, but I don’t like to make predictions about what we are capable of,” the front man states. “We could be one of the surprise teams this year and Fabio Capello has publicly said as much.”
Nevertheless, there is great competition for his position and should the goals dry up there will be plenty of contenders to fill his boots – as, along with the three aforementioned signings, Emiliano Bonazzoli and Salvatore Foti were already on the books. “When you have six players all fighting for the same role, there is always going to be someone upset,” he reasons.
If this Rome-born Ligurian continues to perform as he has done it is more than likely that it will be his teammates fed up with life on the bench – something that may not go down too well with Cassano. “I get on well with Antonio, I’ve had no problems,” he reveals. “His problems have always been with Coaches not his teammates, but it is something personal to him – his past is not an issue to our group.” Nevertheless, it might be worth enquiring about their friendship again in six months if his goals are still keeping the Bari brat on the bench.
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