Giampaolo: “Proud of my team – it’s like they have the jersey tattooed on their skin”

Marco Giampaolo was full of praise for his Sampdoria side despite them conceding a late goal to allow Roma to steal a point from Marassi in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw.

“We’re disappointed it finished 1-1, but that doesn’t take anything away from our performance,” said the coach, speaking after the game. “Samp produced another great showing tonight. The lads never fail to surprise us.”

The Doria coach went on to laud his players’ commitment to the cause.

“It’s like the players have the jersey tattooed on their skin,” he said. “I’m proud to coach them. The most disappointing thing is not the dropped points but the injury to [Dennis] Praet. He’s a great player and had another unbelievable game today.

“Quagliarella has enough experience to know when he needs to come off – I don’t think it’s serious. We worked our socks off today so now we need to recover for Sunday.”