Dejan Stankovic was ‘proud’ of 10-man Sampdoria for their performance against Napoli and thanks the fans for their tribute to Gianluca Vialli and Sinisa Mihajlovic. ‘This is the attitude a Doriano wants to see.’
It was an emotional evening at Marassi, as before kick-off there was a tribute to Vialli and Mihajlovic, two Blucerchiati legends who were lost in the space of a few weeks.
The first half was certainly eventful too, as Matteo Politano saw an extremely controversial penalty fingertipped onto the upright, then Victor Osimhen met a Mario Rui cross and Tomas Rincon was shown a straight red card for hacking down the Nigerian.
Only a late Eljif Elmas spot-kick managed to further dent 10-man Sampdoria, though, as they emerge with a 2-0 home defeat.
“It was a tough match, we prepared well and up until the opening goal we certainly weren’t inferior to Napoli,” Stankovic told DAZN.
“We knew who we were up against, a complete team that plays good football, but we were solid and courageous, so I want to congratulate my players despite the defeat. I gave them my sincere thanks and said I am proud of them, as they gave their all and leave here with heads held high.
“Obviously, it all becomes more difficult when you are down to 10 men. I won’t comment on those decisions. We have our objective this season, which are different to those of Napoli. I still believe.”
The coach confirmed that Manolo Gabbiadini went off at half-time due to a fitness issue rather than a tactical decision.
It was a very emotional night for all Sampdoria supporters, with tributes to Gianluca Vialli and Sinisa Mihajlovic during the warm-up.
There was then a minute’s silence, with Samp President and former teammate Marco Lanna holding up Vialli’s jersey, while Stankovic held up Mihajlovic’s shirt flanked by his friend’s three sons.
When the game was lost at 2-0 in the final minutes, Sampdoria ultras united in the old chant they had for Vialli when he won the Scudetto here.
“Even during the warm-up there was so much emotion, I have to thank the crowd for showing their affection towards Luca and Sinisa.
“This stadium has to become a fortress, the fans were spectacular and I think the players did not disappoint them tonight. This is the attitude that a Doriano wants to see.”