Ahead of the 2005–06 season, Samba was called up to the first team for the first team and trained with the senior players at the pre–season training camp. He made his first team debut for Hertha BSC, coming on in the 86th minute and played for the rest of the game, as they beat TuS Koblenz in the first round of the DFB Cup. Seven days later on 26 August 2005, Samba made his league debut for the club, coming on as a 70th minutes substitute, in a 3–0 loss against Bayern Munich. Since making his debut for the club, Samba appeared in the first team, mostly coming from the substitute bench. But Samba often returned to play for the Hertha BSC II and scored once in twelve appearances. It was announced on 18 March 2006 that he signed a contract extension with the club, keeping him until 2008. However, as the 2005–06 season progressed, Samba suffered a hamstring injury that kept him out for the rest of the season. Despite this, he went on to make twelve appearances for the senior team in all competitions.