Dejan Stankovic opened up about the difficult state of things at Sampdoria and if he made the right choice joining the club.
The 44-year-old Serbian coach took over from Marco Giampaolo in Liguria back in October after a terrible start to the season, and he’s struggled to turn things around since his arrival. Stankovic has only managed to guide Sampdoria to four points in seven games and the team sit 19th heading into the World Cup break, seven points behind 17th place Spezia.
Speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Stankovic first discussed how he’s dealing with the difficult situation at Sampdoria.
“I’ll start from a premise: I’ve always had great coaches in my career, capable of awakening something within me that I didn’t think I had. From them I understood that a footballer’s career is beautiful, but short.
“About 15 years, more or less. So I don’t want to see my boys angry with the world, we have to imagine we are in theatre. The beauty of this profession and the luck of doing it will only be fully perceived when they see the curtain on the other side.
“Wondering perhaps why they wasted too much time on unimportant things. It is the most beautiful sport in the world, they are paid to do it. Why waste energy on something else?”
He commented on if he still feels like Sampdoria was the right choice.
“Absolutely. But first, I want to reiterate that I am still convinced today that I made the right choice in coming to Samp. We knew all the problems and I accepted in total awareness of the situation. The break comes at the right time.
“Let’s reset, hoping then to reinforce ourselves. I never thought of leaving, it’s not in my DNA. With those words I wanted to stimulate everyone to believe in themselves more. It’s not possible that after a negative moment a total blockade takes over.
“You have to recover self-esteem, the retreat will also serve this purpose. Last year I went to Antalya with Red Star, we were five points behind Partizan. After the break we did not lose a match again, winning the title with two points over second. This is history.”
The former midfielder reflected on the matches he’s overseen so far and his criticisms.
“We had started well in Bologna, with Roma came the goal from a penalty kick-off, then in Cremona the team was able to suffer and in the end luck helped us, even if you have to earn it.
“With Toro, two conceded goals to be avoided, so the self-esteem dropped. For the match against Lecce I am self-critical, maybe I overloaded the squad. It wasn’t the right thing to invest it with such a big responsibility in a match that wasn’t decisive for relegation or salvation.
“I thought I would shake things up, by winning we would have gone on holiday in peace. I make no promises, but I know that with the help of my collaborators, President Lanna and the Board of Directors we will manage to improve.”
Stankovic discussed the fact that he’s worked at many top clubs and where Sampdoria fits in.
“It’s all true what you say about my past. Look, though, that for me Sampdoria is also a top club, even if they’re in a situation that they don’t deserve and is difficult to accept. Know that for me that avoiding relegation this year is worth as much as a Scudetto.
“Of course, it will take a different energy, maybe I am not a specialist in these situations, but it has already clicked inside me and I will prove it. My Scudetto will be to stay in Serie A.”
Finally, Stankovic gave his thoughts on the Serie A title race this season.
“Here the league is never over, I think of last year. In any case, Spalletti is well deserving for the level of football and intensity. Mine is not a jinx.
“A top team, Napoli, at world level. But now Milan, Juve and Inter are arriving and we were expecting them to be among the main players. Anything can still happen.”