Giampaolo: “Napoli almost impossible to beat – but nothing is impossible”

Marco Giampaolo is well aware of the size of the task facing Sampdoria when they host Napoli at the Stadio Ferraris on Sunday but sees the game as an opportunity for his team to kick on following a difficult start to the campaign.

Having seen their opening-day fixture against Fiorentina called off in the wake of the Morandi bridge collapse, the Blucerchiati were slow out of the blocks against Udinese last weekend and left Friuli empty-handed, despite finding their stride in the second half.

Napoli meanwhile, under new boss Carlo Ancelotti, are flying high after beating Lazio and AC Milan in their first two games and look set to challenge Juventus for the title once again.

“This is a game with lots of pros and cons for us,” Giampaolo observed during his media conference the day before the game. “First of all, it’s a match for ourselves, as a team and with our fans. It’s our first at home since the Morandi bridge disaster.

“Napoli are an excellent side and they’re almost impossible to beat – but I say ‘almost’ because nothing is impossible.

“I was familiar with [Maurizio] Sarri’s football and now I’m getting to know Ancelotti’s too. He’s one of the most successful coaches in the world and it’s true that I’ve never beaten him before – but that’s merely a statistic.

“Let’s just say that he’s spent a lot of time driving a Ferrari while I’ve been on a scooter – and often got wet.

“Napoli have changed a little this year but they’re still playing 4-3-3. At the end of the day, the difference often comes down to the individual quality – and they have players with fantastic technical ability and goalscoring prowess.

“We struggled physically against Udinese but oddly enough we played our best football in the last half an hour and finished the game in the ascendancy.

“We’re obviously going to need to produce our best football for a much longer period if we want to get a result against Napoli tomorrow.”

Ahead of the match, a group of Sampdoria fans have organised a fund-raising campaign for victims of the Morandi bridge disaster on 14 August.

“I’ve heard about our fans’ initiative to help those who are suffering because of that terrible tragedy – it’s yet another reason for us to give the very best of ourselves.

“I’m counting on our fans to really get behind us because the emotional side of football is just as important as the rational side.”