Torino vs Sampdoria preview - Bovo: Forget about Juve loss

Posted Saturday, March 01, 2014 by PA

Torino defender Cesare Bovo has urged his team-mates to shrug off the "anger and sorrow" caused by their derby defeat to Juventus and get back to winning ways at the expense of Sampdoria.

A solitary goal from Carlos Tevez at the Juventus Stadium booked the Bianconeri their sixth straight derby win last weekend - a result that wounded more than just pride among the Torino faithful.

Failure to snatch an equaliser late in the game meant Giampiero Ventura's men missed the chance to climb the Serie A table and they risk slipping out of eighth place should they lose to Samp on Sunday afternoon.

But former Genoa centre-back Bovo is happy with the overall progress Torino have made this year, with the club set to improve significantly on last season's 16th-placed finish only two years after winning promotion from Serie B.

Ahead of the game at the Stadio Olimpico he told Tuttosport: "We have a great desire to take all three points.

"I won't deny that we are feeling anger and sorrow, but at the same time there is an awareness that this team have improved by doing exactly what the coach asks us to do on the pitch.

"Torino have become a healthy and well-organised club with a clear project - you can see the fruit of many years of hard work.

"We have reached Serie A, stayed up, and now we are having a great season.

"But we cannot settle and must improve further. There is still a lot to do."

Paulo Barreto, Salvatore Masiello and Emiliano Moretti are ruled out through injury while Omar El Kaddouri serves a one-match ban.

Samp boss Sinisa Mihajlovic is missing three players - Andrea Costa, Angelo Palombo and Maxi Lopez - through suspension and has serious doubts over defender Daniele Gastaldello, who has twisted his ankle.

The Blucerchiati are stuck in 13th place after losing their last two games without scoring and Mihajlovic was especially vexed after his team were left empty-handed following AC Milan's recent 2-0 victory at the Marassi.

He told La Repubblica: "As far as performance, concentration and team spirit go, I cannot criticise my players.

"We did what we could but they were superior to us. We deserved to lose and there is nothing else to say.

"But there are still a lot of games and we're in a good position in the table."