Sampdoria manager Giampaolo spoke to the press leading up to the blucerchiati's match against Milan tomorrow at San Siro.
"The match against Milan is always an important one. There's always the possibility to continue challenging ourselves with more noble opponents who are built for different objectives. Since our mission is to frustrate others a bit, this is another match in which we can measure our strength. They're a squad that I like, built in a logical way. They chase victory with different ideas of play, even though they lost their past two against Inter and Betis. Those two matches cannot undermine their value, I like the team and I always keep in mind their presentation against Napoli, which was of great quality."
After speaking on the group, Giampaolo spoke on Milan's manager: "I have great respect for Gattuso, he's a very direct and straightforward person. The league, the matches, the history...when you lose a match, it complicates everything. For us, tomorrow will be a challenging match."
Giampaolo was then asked about the three matches following Milan, against Torino, Roma and a derby against Genoa after the break: "If I think about the matches that await us, I get nervous. If I think one match at a time, I don't. I only know the difficulty of individual matches. Goals? We cannot set them 30 matches from the end, our values are put into discussion every time we play, it's like the stock exchange. We must be prepared one match at a time."
On his team: "I don't only have doubts on Saponara, but on the entire formation because the whole team is well and many are challenging the so-called starters. Those who play shouldn't consider the job to be theirs, because there are other players breathing down their necks. The matches are important, but it's also important that the players show up to play them. Defrel? He's recovered. Jantkto trained yesterday and today, he's feeling well. I have different players that train with great seriousness and are able to make my selections difficult. This match will be a technical challenge, both for contrast and one-on-ones. I read that they could change the style of play, but our preparation is based on the things we are certain we know. Regardless of the style of play, the players are still the players."
