Belec impresses on surprise debut: “I’m ready and want to stay at Samp”

The news that Vid Belec was going to play this evening only reached him half an hour before kick-off against Napoli when Emiliano Viviano pulled up in the warm-up.

“Knowing that you’re starting a game changes the way you prepare for it,” the Slovenian keeper admitted, “but I think I managed alright, even though I haven’t played for a while. I’ve been training well and I was ready.”

Despite his impressive performance, tonight’s loss rules out European football for next season.

“It’s a shame, we had our chances to qualify for Europe,” the No.72 continued. “We tried to get the result, but Napoli are a great side. We knew that already.”

Finally, the keeper expressed his wish to extend his stay at Sampdoria.

“My future? Samp have the option to buy me out, we’ll see in the next few days. I want to stay here.”