Giampaolo tells Samp to enjoy their football ahead of Juve challenge

Beginning with their home match against Juventus tomorrow Sampdoria begin a 49-day period without another break, during which they can expect to play between 9 and 11 league and cup matches.

As his side prepares to welcome the champions to the Marassi, boss Marco Giampaolo underlined how important it would be for his side to put in a good display and build some momentum.

“Tomorrow a new mini cycle begins. We have a long way to go and we’re going to be tested, constantly,” he said.

“We’re going to play as many games in the next 50 days as we’ve had to deal with in three months. We’ll play with calm. We want to have fun, to bring enjoyment to our supporters.”

One interesting statistic which came up during the news conference was the fact that, since Massimo Ferrero has been club president, Doria have managed to beat all of Serie A’s so-called big teams at least once – except for the Bianconeri.

Nor has Giampaolo overseen a victory against Juve, who are on a run of six straight league titles and could be considered a bogey team for the Blucerchiati. However the boss says his time will come.

“This time I’ve got more of a chance of beating them. Last year we caused them some problems. Believing now that we can play our game against them is a feat in itself, I think.

“Last season it was spoken of as an impossible task, now it’s almost impossible. Sooner or later I’ll get a point against them.”

As for his team selection tomorrow, the Doria coach said he has been left with food for thought after seeing the squad in training.

“The team looked good to me this week. They all trained very well. I have some question marks – because of how many of them are in good shape.

“I need to set the team up in the most functional way and pick an eleven.”

With several players coming back from international duty, including Bartosz Bereszyński and Karol Linetty who returned earlier, and Ivan Strinic and Duvan Zapata, Giampaolo has had a chance to check on their condition.