Sampdoria” data-scaytid=”1″>Sampdoria are third in Serie A, but Sinisa Mihajlovic sarcastically “thanked” Antonio Conte for not calling his players.
Sampdoria are third in Serie A, but Sinisa Mihajlovic sarcastically “thanked” Antonio Conte for not calling his players.
The Blucerchiati visit Cagliari” data-scaytid=”7″>Cagliari on Sunday at 14.00 UK time (13.00 GMT), click here for a match preview.
“I thank the Italy Coach Conte for not calling any of my players, despite being third in the Serie A table,” said Mihajlovic in a Press conference.
“This allowed us to train in the best way possible during the break for international duty. I’ll invite him to our Bogliasco training ground, so at least he can see them up close.
“There are some Samp players who would be very useful for Conte, but I’m sure he knows better than me. I don’t want to get into the merits of his decisions, because I know the role,” added the former Serbia manager.
“It’s down to my players to continue showing what they can do.”
Sampdoria take on Cagliari tomorrow and their revolutionary tactician Zdenek Zeman.
“Zeman is a master of attacking football and I want to remind everyone of his favourite quote: ‘It doesn’t matter where you run and how much you run, but why you are running.’
“He and I are different, but we have some things in common. We are both honest and courageous people. It will be an honour for me to challenge him and shake his hand before the match.”
Mihajlovic was also asked about this week’s abandoned Euro 2016 qualifier between Serbia and Albania, which descended into a riot after a drone flew a politically-sensitive flag over the stadium.
“I don’t want to comment, as I feel football should remain about football. My country does not deserve this. I watched the game and was cheering on my country, but it was terribly disappointing what happened.
“As Coach of Serbia I played a game in Zagreb against Croatia and everything went well. It’s only right for everyone to take their share of the responsibility.”
Sampdoria and Genoa have also united to raise funds for the city of Genova after floods caused millions in damages and left one man dead.
“This is much more important than football,” noted Mihajlovic. “Now I feel like I am from Genoa and seeing that pain is difficult.
“We have already started raising funds within the locker room and tomorrow will step on to the field with the slogan: ‘We’re here for Genova, what about you?’
“We will also try to do our jobs, earning a victory to make the people smile. Some tragedies can and should be avoided.”