Giampaolo calls for fitting Marassi send-off for Samp’s ’12th man’

Sampdoria’s last home game of the season, against Napoli, offers them the chance to show their gratitude to the Doria faithful for another campaign of magnificent support.

Marco Giampaolo knows there would be no more fitting way of signing off from Marassi than with a win but he also appreciates the size of the task.

“Tomorrow is an opportunity for us to thank our fans because they’ve been our 12th man throughout the season,” the boss began in his pre-match press conference.

“We’re going to be up against a team that has boosted the reputation of the Italian game and earned plaudits from around the world with their attractive brand of football.

“We’ll have to muster everything we’ve got and leave it all on the pitch because we want to end the season on a high.”

The coach went on to draw parallels between his own side and Sarri’s team.

“Napoli never sit back and wait for the opposition and we’ve tried to do the same thing in principle here at Sampdoria. We might win or lose but one thing you can’t say is that Samp are a defensive team.”

Recent media reports have linked Giampaolo with a possible switch to the Napoli but the coach was quick to put the rumours to rest.

“The only president I hear from is Massimo Ferrero.”

Meanwhile this week’s defeat to Sassuolo all but ended Samp’s hopes of playing European football next season.

“That chance has 99% gone now,” the coach admitted. “We didn’t really have enough in us to beat Sassuolo but we shouldn’t have lost it either. Mathematically it’s not over yet but we have other reasons for wanting to do well tomorrow anyway.”