Zdenek Zeman insists he was happy with Roma’s performance in the draw with 10-man Sampdoria and defended Maarten Stekelenburg.
Zdenek Zeman insists he was happy with Roma’s performance in the draw with 10-man Sampdoria and defended Maarten Stekelenburg.
“These things can happen in football and I am happy with the performance of my team,” said Zeman after the 1-1 stalemate.
Samp played with 10 men for the entire second half following Enzo Maresca’s dismissal, but a Stekelenburg howler gifted the equaliser.
“We had done very well in the first half and unfortunately a mistake from the goalkeeper meant we conceded. It can happen and Stekelenburg is doing well overall, so there is no reason to suggest he won’t start the next game.
“After that, though, we were unable to play with our heads. We should’ve tried to draw Sampdoria out to then find space.
“We created several scoring opportunities, but with another goal we could’ve created more space to hit the Blucerchiati. We started just throwing the ball forward with hope.
“In any case, I have nothing to complain about my team’s performance. We had more than 20 attempts on goal.”
Zeman had a row with Sampdoria Coach Ciro Ferrara this week and the pair did not shake hands before kick-off.
“We didn’t cross paths,” said Zeman. “As I am older, it was Ferrara’s duty to come to me.”
However, Ferrara insisted “my parents taught me that you welcome a guest to your home. Marassi is my home, I was a guest at the Olimpico. I was absolutely ready to shake hands with Zeman, as this is the civilised thing to do.”