MILAN – "Great players improve their ideas."
In the post-match television studios, Sampdoria coach Marco Giampaolo laid down his managerial philosophy. This philosophy has been shaped by a long apprenticeship at numerous Italian clubs, often in the lower reaches of the football pyramid, where he received praise and occasionally the sack, although not always through his fault.
Giampaolo was born in Bellinzona, Switzerland but grew up in Abruzzo where his family originated from. His father adored Inter and especially Helenio Herrera. It was partly thanks to paternal lectures on the Argentine genius ("whenever we spoke seriously about football at home, the boss of the Grande Inter side would come up") that Marco himself decided to try his luck as a footballer.
After his playing days came to an end, he demonstrated the necessary ambition to go far during his initial experiences as scout, team manager, assistant and eventually head coach; an education in the Herrera way sets you up for that as well.
Indeed, Giampaolo is far from a banal coach. In many respects, he's part of an elite of Italian managers who stick to a specific way of playing based on an ultra-organised defensive line. Gigi Delneri's miraculous Chievo Verona of yesteryear and Maurizio Sarri's current Napoli side are two standout examples of this approach to coaching.
Giampaolo's unwavering four-man defence is always set up in relation where the ball and the goal is, rather than purely the opponent's movement. In order words, the attackers' runs are absorbed into the flexible and natural movement of the defence. There isn't, and shouldn't be, too much space in which a defender has to operate on their own. All four defenders, five if you include the keeper, should always and exclusively operate as a single being.
Giampaolo's rigid conviction about his playing principles is something he shares with Delneri and Sarri. His defenders, who train the most during the week, are made to repeat drills and movements over and over again. Those who are unfamiliar with his methods often feel the strain during the first few weeks of pre-season.
However, there was a period when Giampaolo's career seemed on the knife-edge after an unpleasant incident at Brescia when some of the fans came out in protest against his assistant, former Atalanta player Fabio Gallo. Marco suddenly found himself unable to train the team properly and was forced to leave. He decided to drop down a division to bring Cremonese back up, a plan which ended in failure.
That could have been it but not for someone who grew up feasting on Helenio Herrera and a passion for the game.
Soon the opportunity arose at Empoli, a club known for their foresight who were looking specifically for a coach who delights in organising a defensive line. Giampaolo followed in Sarri's footsteps, but added something of his own as well.
Great players improve their ideas – this became a new credo to stick by. Thus the decision to put Leandro Paredes in the spotlight, thus Piotr Zielinski's explosion onto the scene, thus Riccardo Saponara's coming of age. The whole of Serie A stood by and admired Empoli, especially in the first half of the season. The defensive line was moving as Giampaolo wanted, while there was space for the technical players to flourish in attack.
He has applied the same logic since he moved to new club Sampdoria and it's all down to consistency, an unbridled love for football and his old man's lessons on Herrera's Grande Inter.
Carlo Pizzigoni
