An ordinary display will not suffice against Udinese, says Giampaolo

Despite Sampdoria’s defeat last weekend at the hands of AC Milan, Marco Giampaolo did not appear entirely downbeat as regards his team’s display.

Speaking ahead of the Blucerchiati’s next test, against Udinese, the boss said: “I’ve re-watched the match against Milan twice. Then I watched it with the staff and the players.

“Defensively – so from the defenders and midfielders – it was one of our best performances so far. Our defending and build-up play was good, but I can’t say the same for our attackers and attacking midfielder.

“We made poor decisions and were not clinical. Had we been more so, who knows what would have happened?”

Switching attentions to tomorrow’s contest, he added: “We’re faced with a very tough test, and not just from a technical point of view.

“Udinese have great physicality and I’m expecting them to cause us problems. We’ll need character and real will to win. An ordinary display is not enough – we need something extraordinary.”

Giampaolo also took a moment to congratulate two of his players that were called up to train with the Italian national team: “Well done to Gianluca Caprari and Gian Marco Ferrari for the call-up – I hope they feature beyond the training camp.”

“As for tomorrow,” he continued, “we’ll need quality, desire as well as quick and clear thinking from all the starters. Individuals are not enough.”