Giampaolo calls for an ‘all-round display’ against Parma

In the pre-match press conference ahead of Sampdoria’s clash with Parma, coach Marco Giampaolo reflected on the memorable conclusion to last week’s epic encounter with Lazio.

“The most beautiful image is without doubt that goal from Riccardo Saponara – it was a touch of genius, artistic inspiration, something you cannot replicate. Then came the celebration, with all of those on the bench coming over to celebrate with the fans. Events like this show what this team is about – a side that works hard and with passion,” he said.

Though a negative to come out of the match was the controversial penalty awarded to Lazio, following consultation with the VAR, allowing them to take a late 2-1 lead.

“VAR offers an element of guarantee, but the assessments can vary. Sometimes the notification comes from whoever’s in the VAR room and sometimes from the referee. Nobody is faultless – not players, managers or referees. That said, work needs to be done on the mistakes that are made. We don’t get those big errors we used to any more. The frequency of mistakes was previously too high,” he said.

Looking ahead to the clash with Parma, Giampaolo added: “We played a friendly against them in the summer. They’re a big team – they’ve developed well since then and done good work. It’s no coincidence that they’ve picked up big wins in Genoa, Turin and Milan.

“It’ll be a tough match – they know what they’re good at and maximise that. We’ll need to be focused and show quality and application when we lose the ball. We’ll need to be at 100% and to put in an all-round display.

“Who will play? This is the first or four matches in two weeks, meaning everyone has a part to play.”