New Sampdoria coach Dejan Stanković spoke of reputation, honour and pride in a rousing opening interview which could have been delivered by a party political leader.
In a stirring monologue the Serbian vowed to change the mentality and approach of a club which has nosedived to last place in the classifica like an aircraft without a pilot.
The 44-year-old, who was also linked with the Doria job before the appointment of Marco Giampaolo in January, is a proven winner but takes charge of a team so beleaguered that they looked beaten before kick-off in most matches this season.
The former Lazio and Inter midfielder lost only 10 of 130 games in charge at Red Star Belgrade and delivered three successive Sebian Super Leagues from late 2019 until August this year.
The Italian top flight will prove exponentially more demanding with Sampdoria’s lamentable season statistics a clear indication of a club in crisis. A zero occupies the win column with a meagre two draws and just four goals – a league low – in eight mostly forgettable games.
While continued chatter about a Qatari takeover offers the faint hope of a cash boost to transform the playing squad, Stanković’s immediate mission is to lift a squad sapped of all confidence and coherence.
He might have to multi-task as a combination of drill sergeant, sports psychologist and therapist to prise the best out of a side so discombobulated that they seem to have forgotten the basics of the game. For the Blucerchiati’s loyal and passionate tifosi the campaign has been like enduring a nightmarish series of jump scares from slasher films with no one surviving at the end.
Steely eyed Stanković has promised to instigate a revival as he continues Sampdoria’s Seribian connection. He is no stranger to a club which has been home to many of his compatriots.
He namechecked the great Vujadin Boškov, who coached Samp to their only Scudetto in season 1990-1991 and the Champions League final, former midfielder Vladimir Jugović and ex-Doria tactician Siniša Mihajlović when detailing his knowledge of the Marassi based team.
Assistant Nenad Sakić, who played for six years at Doria and was also Mihajlović’s right-hand man, will provide a wealth of information as Stanković attempts to drag Samp away from the relegation zone.
The only way is up for a group featuring several internationals, although you wouldn’t know it from their woeful early term displays.
Shoring up a defence which has been ripped wide open with alarming ease on a weekly basis and injecting some desperately needed urgency and vitality into a sopirific midfield are the two main priorities. In attacking midfielder Abdelhamid Sabiri, Samp possess an exceptional talent capable of winning matches on his own. Making sure the Moroccan international plays closer to the understandably frustrated Francesco Caputo up front should be at least one strategy to unlock Serie A defences.
Caputo, Manolo Gabbiadini and the great Fabio Quagliarella have all played for Italy and with a modicum of improved service can fire Doria away from the bottom three.
Giampaolo looked like a man bereft of ideas as he watched from the stands as newly promoted Monza embarrassed the Blucerchiati in front of an exasperated Marassi last week. The three goal thumping signaled the end for a coach out of touch with his players and incapable of finding an effective system to prevent a slide to the foot of the standings.
Stanković, who won six Serie A titles and all three major European competitions as a player, is not a coach that will accept second best. He’s not someone you would pick an argument with either.
An animated training ground motivator, he made it clear that two days was sufficient preparation time for tomorrow’s critical trip to fellow strugglers Bologna.
There is no time to waste for a man who reached the very top of the Italian game but starts his coaching career in Serie A with a club at rock bottom.
This article was featured on the Football Italia website on Friday, October 7, 2022.
What to expect from new Sampdoria coach Stankovic
Stephen Kasiewicz 