Zanoli: “I’ll give everything for Samp”

One day you may be training with one team and then facing them as an opposition player the next. This is the exact scenario that 22-year-old Alessandro Zanoli has found himself in, having swapped life in Naples for a stint in Genoa before the two sides met at Marassi on Sunday.

“It was a special feeling,” revealed Zanoli in his first interview with his new club. “It’s a shame that the result didn’t go the way we were hoping. Now we’re focused on our upcoming games in Florence in the Coppa Italia and then Empoli in the league.

“I didn’t expect to leave Napoli in January in all honesty, but as soon as I heard that Sampdoria wanted me, that was my first choice. We’re talking about a prestigious club that doesn’t deserve to be where it is in the league right now. The coach convinced me to come here. I hope to be useful to him as a wing-back in a midfield five but I can also play in a back three. I’m available and I’ll give my all.

“My goal is to help the team reach safety and to establish myself in this division.”