Sampdoria president Massimo Ferrero was shocked by their Europa League thrashing against Vojvodina.

Vojvodina thumped Samp 4-0 tonight in the first-leg of their qualifier.

“I can only say that I thank our fans, who as always were marvellous," said Ferrero on the official club website.

“We deservedly lost and I can only apologise. This was a game that we got completely wrong. The emotions around summer matches can trip you up and this was a genuine blackout.

“This is not my Samp, it is not the strong team that we built and intend to reinforce.

“Perhaps it was written in the stars that we would not go into the Europa League. In any case, we have a second game to play and in football you must never say never.

“I am sure this team is strong. We will make more buys, but they cannot play in the return leg. I repeat, the fans were the only winners, once again they were generous and extraordinary."