Serie A's Big Surprise: How Sampdoria Has Earned Their Spot in the Top 5

It has been an interesting decade for fans of Sampdoria. In contention for European spots for long stretches of the mid-2000s—especially after Calciopoli—they finally made the Champions League in the 2009-10 season. But with coach Luigi Delneri gone to Juventus and the thin roster stretched by a European schedule, the team collapsed and ended up in Serie B for the first time in nine years.

The team struggled in the second division, but they managed to finish sixth. They then went on an unexpected run through the promotion playoff that saw them upset Sassuolo and Varese and return to the top flight after a year. They played the transfer market aggressively and stayed comfortably up despite a one-point deduction in the preseason for involvement in the Calcioscommesse match-fixing investigation.

After a two-place improvement in 2013-14, the Blucerchiati have become the young Serie A season's biggest surprise.

Their meteoric rise to the top of the table—they currently sit fourth, separated from Lazio on goal difference—has been down to two main factors. One has been outstanding defensive play. The other is the effect of manager Sinisa Mihajlovic.

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The arrival of Mihajlovic—who played 110 times for Samp from 1994 to 1998 and scored 12 times—was a major catalyst for the team's rise. Mired in the relegation zone when they fired Delio Rossi on November 11, 2013, Samp went on a good run of form by the end of the season and briefly cracked the top 10 before settling in at 12th.

They key was Mihajlovic's switch to a 4-2-3-1 formation.  The move slid young forward Manolo Gabbiadini from a pure striker role to the right wing, where he could take advantage of his otherworldly pace and howitzer of a left foot. It also gave support to the defense with a strong holding-midfield pair made up of Nenad Krsticic and Angelo Palombo.

Mihajlovic's system evolved this season. According to WhoScored.com, Samp has lined up in a 4-3-3 for eight of their 10 games this year. With Gabbiadini and Eder flanking Stefano Okaka in front and a solid back four of Lorenzo Di Silvestri, Daniele Gastaldello, Alessandro Romagnoli and Fabrizio Cacciatore, they garnered a 3-4-1 record. When Mihajlovic has tinkered with this base, good things have happened. Shifts to a 3-5-2 and 4-1-2-1-2 have produced 3-1 and 2-1 victories.

The Serbian coach seems to have found the vital ability to get the best out of the players at his disposal that he lacked in previous stops at Fiorentina, Bologna and the Serbian national team. His players are buying into his system, and players like Okaka and Gabbiadini have taken great steps in their development. Gabbiadini in particular seems to have benefited from being taught by one of the greatest free-kick masters of the last two generations.

Mihajlovic has the team motivated and functioning well within his tactical setups. It's been one of the better managerial performances in Italy this season.

The other major contributor to Samp's stirring start is that back four, who have been nothing short of spectacular.

The Ligurians have one of the best defensive records in the league this season. They're tied with Roma for the second-fewest goals allowed in the league (six) and have kept clean sheets in six of their 10 games this year. Two of the six goals they've allowed have come after they were reduced to 10 men and lost starting goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano to injury. In their 1-1 draw against Palermo, they held the Rosaneri scoreless for 49 minutes after Vasco Regini was sent off.

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The defense has been supplemented by midfielders Pedro Obiang and Roberto Soriano, who WhoScored has clocked at 3.3 and 2.7 tackles per match, respectively. That allows the defensive line to rely on their positioning to shepherd the ball to less threatening areas and intercept passes coming into the danger zone.

The result has been a team that allows the sixth-fewest shots in the league—and a team that can't shoot can't score.

There are some worrying signs. Samp has only scored 12 times in their 10 games. Gabbiadini has scored a full third of them—and two of those four have been direct free kicks. Of the team's remaining tallies, the only man with more than one goal to his name is a defender, Gastaldello. Sunday's win against Fiorentina was the first time all year they've scored more than twice in a game.

Even with such a good defense, it will be difficult for the team to sustain the success they have had so far if their attack continues to be anemic.

Their schedule has also been a help so far. Samp has only played one team that is currently in the European places and only two that have been in the top five at any point this season. The first of the games was a tremendous defensive effort in a goalless draw against Roma, the other a 1-0 loss to Inter. Even in that loss the Blucerchiati only lost via a penalty, but their inability to create goals against high-level teams could derail their drive for a top-five position.

Sampdoria has certainly been the surprise of the season. With defensive soundness and a coach with a hot hand, they've risen higher than anyone expected them to get. Every fan will now be looking to see if they can keep that pace. If they improve their offense, they may find themselves playing in Europe for the first time in five seasons.