Sampdoria Coach Vincenzo Montella fears the Roma 'wizard' Luciano Spalletti, but admits they are still friends.
The current Giallorossi Coach managed the Aeroplanino back in their days together in the Italian capital, but now they will face each other competitively, and from the bench.
“We're colleagues, but we're friends too,” Montella told the Press. “We know each other's strengths and weaknesses.
Sampdoria Coach Vincenzo Montella fears the Roma 'wizard' Luciano Spalletti, but admits they are still friends.
The current Giallorossi Coach managed the Aeroplanino back in their days together in the Italian capital, but now they will face each other competitively, and from the bench.
“We're colleagues, but we're friends too,” Montella told the Press. “We know each other's strengths and weaknesses.
“In football, numbers talk for themselves. We score many goals but we concede many too, far too many. We must find our balance.
“It takes confidence, work, and not seeing things negatively. If Sassuolo had scored [last Tuesday] people would have talked about a breathless Roma, while if the game against Torino had ended ten seconds earlier, Fiorentina would be called resurgent.
“Everything is in a delicate balance, we must work on our mistakes without being pessimistic.
“In the last 7-8 games I saw a team that always tried to win the game, we were never completely dominated by the opponent.
“Our objective is to keep growing, not least by means of the results. The team must believe in that and be positive.
“The league table is short and a couple of victories can make you leap ahead.
“I've always enjoyed abundance and giving continuity to my players. I think there's space for everyone. There are four or five strikers in the squad of an average team.
“Roma's squad is stronger, they can play in many ways and Spalletti is a wizard in arranging them.”
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Sampdoria squad for Roma: Brignoli, Puggioni, Viviano; Cassani, Dodo, Moisander, Pereira, Ranocchia, Silvestre, Skriniar; Alvarez, Barreto, Christodoulopoulos, Correa, Fernando, Ivan, Krsticic, Palombo, Soriano; Cassano, Muriel, Quagliarella, Rodriguez