Giampaolo: “Team effort needed to beat Atalanta”

Marco Giampaolo insists a strong collective performance will be needed from Sampdoria when they host Atalanta on Sunday.

Victories over Cagliari and SPAL in recent weeks have boosted the Blucerchiati’s hopes of securing European football for next season and they’ll be looking to make it a third straight win against Gian Piero Gasperini’s side – who are also vying for a coveted European spot.

“We’re going to need to work really hard as a team,” Giampaolo said at a news conference on Saturday.

“It’s a game between two teams battling for the same target – you only need to look at the league table to see that. It’s classic six-pointer. We’ll need to play with courage and quality in possession to make things happen.”

The boss is well aware of the threat posed by Atalanta having worked with one of their key danger men last season.

“Atalanta are a very good side with excellent stats. It will be nice to see [Duvan] Zapata again – he was a consummate professional when he was with us last season. Atalanta’s attack is more than just Zapata, though: they have [Alejandro] Gomez, [Josip] Ilicic and they play really well together as a unit.”

Giampaolo also confirmed some positive news from the treatment room.

“[Fabio] Quagliarella has had to take it easy this week but he’s ok. [Gaston] Ramirez and [Lorenzo] Tonelli will both be in the squad. They’re not up to match speed yet but the main thing is they’re fit.”

On Sunday Sampdoria will wear a commemorative shirt to celebrate the 120th anniversary of Sampierdarenese’s football division being set up – one of the two clubs that, along with Andrea Doria, gave birth to the most beautiful colours in the world on 12 August 1946.

“It’s a lovely idea to play in the Sampierdarenese kit,” Giampaolo commented. “It’s a way of reminding everyone of a part of our history. I’ve asked the club to put one aside for me to keep.

“Our fans will be with us tomorrow, as they always are. I know they’re meeting up before the match, which just shows you how important a game it is. We should be proud to be involved in fixtures like this.”