Sampdoria coach Dejan Stankovic reflected on his time against Inter and what needs to be done in tomorrow’s clash against the two.
The Serbian coach spent nine years of his playing career with the Nerazzurri from 2004 to 2013, making 326 appearances across all competitions for the club. In that time, he won six Scudetti, a Champions League title and four Coppa Italia. Stankovic took over as Sampdoria coach earlier this month and has picked up four points in three league outings since his arrival.
Speaking to Sampdoria’s media department ahead of tomorrow’s game against Inter, Stankovic reflected on his past with the Nerazzurri and how he feels before the match.
“My past is something you cannot and must not erase. I will never erase it because it was the best ten years of my life. Ten years of success. I return as an adversary this time with my Sampdoria.
“And if the Inter fans know me well, and I’m sure they do, they know that I am loyal and I will be loyal on Saturday. I will be loyal to my Sampdoria. We must try to do the best we can, to be organised at all times in the match because Inter are going through a very positive moment.
“We have a very tough game ahead of us. They have great confidence, they are going very well both physically and mentally, they have overcome the – in quotes – negative period but they have a great coach like Simone Inzaghi.
“It’s not the first time they’ve went through such a period but he believes in them and it is right that they believes in his work. He is doing it very well, the team follows him and the results are visible. With patience and organisation we have to be able to suffer and not get down.
“We have to respond physically to challenges because Inter is a technical team but also a very physical one. We must be perfect.”
He then touched on how it’ll feel to play at San Siro.
“It can only be a joy to play at the San Siro with a full stadium. We have to go with a clear head because you can only do well. We are eleven against eleven. On the pitch you have to be full of motivation, full of confidence and go to play a beautiful game free of mind.”