New Sampdoria head coach Andrea Pirlo says he needs the trust and the support of the fans to help get them back to Serie A. The former Juventus and Milan midfielder gave his first press conference as Blucerchiati boss and talked about the challenges that await the club in Serie B next season, and his vision for the football he wants to play in Genoa:
“I thank the president for this opportunity. For me coaching Samp is like coaching a Serie A team, divisions don’t count. I came with great enthusiasm, I want to start again. They have managed to save a historic club that is a symbol of Italy. As a child I grew up with the Samp legend of Vialli and Mancini. Now I will have the opportunity to be a protagonist here, I can’t wait.”
“I’m starting from here, I had two different experiences with Juventus and Karagumruk that I think were very positive. In my first year I achieved the goals and I am satisfied with the work done, then in Turkey I started again from the bottom to grow as a coach. We did a very good job. Now I am much more experienced and aware.”
“Sampdoria for me is a great opportunity because I consider it a great team. Although we are in Serie B, there is an important project to do things well, the league does not matter. The goal is to work to have a great season, Serie B is different from other competitions but you have to always put 100 percent. It was recently saved, we have to be realistic without selling dreams. We can only say that we will give 100% to make Sampdoria return to its full glory.”
“Footballer and coach are two completely different jobs. When I made the choice to start my career on the bench I didn’t have in mind to start from the top right away, there was the opportunity. In Turkey I had little chance to do a great job but I went with a great desire to put myself out there.”
“We will evaluate the market day by day, between who will arrive and who will leave. There will be a sustainable project, we want to grow over time. In the meantime we think about working, we are convinced that with work we can achieve any result.”
“What convinced me? It didn’t take that much to convince me, I had already met with the president in the past weeks. Coaching Samp is an important goal for a coach, when one decides to come here it is because he knows what it means to coach this club. We ask the fans for trust, we need enthusiasm from everyone to get back to the top.”
“You always play to win, we know where we are starting from and it will take time, but the goal is to get as high as possible in the shortest time possible. The dream and the goal must be an immediate return to Serie A.”
“Nicola (Legrottaglie, ed.) and I see football in the same way, this is a great start. I was a player of a certain type and it is normal that I like a certain type of soccer. The more quality players you have the easier it is to play well, but it’s not enough: you also need dynamism and aggressiveness.”
[image from Sampdoria.it]
