Walter Zenga insists his team have to bounce back after their defeat in the Europa League.
Sampdoria lost 4-0 to Vojvodina in the first leg of their Europa League 3rd qualifying round tie, leaving them on the brink of elimination but Zenga insists the tie is not over.
“We have to get back on the field and bounce back,” Zenga told La Repubblica.
“Not everything is lost, if we perform to our best in the second leg then who knows what could happen.
“There was no excuse for the performance, everyone at the club knows how bad we were.
“I thought we were ready to play and to win but we got it wrong.
“I am the coach so I take full responsibility for the defeat.
“I can only apologise to the fans and I promise this will not happen again.”
Have to admit, I didn’t like this hire from the get-go. I gave Zenga the benefit of the doubt, I thought he was great at Italia 90′, and had fond memories of him between the sticks. Then I started reading his comments to the media and watched a couple youtube clips of interviews and I started thinking: this guy seems like a prick.
Then I saw that Ferrero was looking to bring Cassano home, and I thought “sounds good/reasonable to me.”
We all know Cassano has a singular passion for Samp and our tifosi, we all know his wife is from Nervi so he could be with his family. And we all know that since Okaka left we are woefully thin in attack. (I mean there are a measly three forwards on this roster for crying out loud…)
Looked like a good idea for: 1) the club, which has a desperate need, 2) the fans who adore him and want to see him blucherciati, and 3) for Cassano himself.
He deserves the opportunity to play his last “elite” years in a good/supportive environment. He deserves the chance to leave a legacy of playing well and working hard for a team that appreciates him. In Samp’s case, a team that adores him…
But Zenga pulls an end around on Ferrero, goes to media and ways he’ll quit if Fantantonio is added to the club, and that cemented it for me. You, Mr. Zenga, are a deuche-lord, and an idiot. I would have fired him on the bratty spot.
The Vojvodina result, therefore, came as no surprise to me. I could tell this was a bad fit from the get-go, and that the locker room would not be filled with good energy.
The 4-0 loss is a crushing humiliation for Samp. But it also does terrible damage to the Peninsula as a whole. The UEFA coefficient of Serie A was making a surging comeback (to again gain 4 entrants to the Champions League), and Zenga and Samp getting blown out of Europa essentially kills off any chance of Serie A completing it’s club coefficient campaign to the top spots in Europe.
The whole Zenga thing is a fiasco and a tragedy. He must be fired IMMEDIATELY.
Mr. Ferrero: If Del Neri is willing and able, sign him up and forget this whole Zenga thing ever happened.