Giampaolo on Parma clash: “For the shirt and the fans”

Last week’s defeat to Lazio means Sampdoria’s European dream is over for another season and Marco Giampaolo knows it – but he nonetheless stressed his side still have plenty to play for.

“It’s natural for your motivation to drop when an objective you are striving to achieve is no longer possible, but then you have to play for the shirt and the fans and try to improve on what you achieved last season,” the coach began at his media conference on the eve of Sunday’s visit to Parma.

“Parma will be motivated as they’ll be looking to make their place in Serie A a mathematical certainty, although they’re virtually there already. They’ve had an excellent first season back in the top flight, picking up loads of points in the first half of the season – credit to the coach and the club’s planning.”

Doria head to the Stadio Tardini without suspended trio Gaston Ramirez, Jacopo Sala and Lorenzo Tonelli and the boss admitted he has several selection doubts going into the match.

“I’ll be making changes in the last few games to give chances to those who have played less but always trained well this season.

“[Gianluca] Caprari is looking better but I don’t know if he’ll start. The same goes for [Edgar] Barreto. I have some difficult choices to make because some players are tired while others are short on match fitness.

“[Alex] Ferrari is reaping the reward for all the hard work he’s put in. He’s a reliable player that I’d always like to have.”

Sampdoria fans have long been ‘twinned’ with their Parma counterparts and the two clubs have decided to celebrate this historic bond by playing in a special version of each other’s shirt on Sunday.

“The shirt swap is a way of paying homage to the two sets of fans,” Giampaolo concluded. “It sends out a nice message for football and sport and general. Initiatives like this help to foster respect and harmony.”