Football
Ben Gladwell, Italy correspondent 8y

Sampdoria chief: No grudge against AC Milan boss Sinisa Mihajlovic

Sampdoria president Massimo Ferrero wants to beat his former coach Sinisa Mihajlovic this weekend, but not out of any animosity towards the current AC Milan boss.

Mihajlovic walked out on Ferrero and Sampdoria in the summer, shortly before being appointed as the Rossoneri's new coach.

While Ferrero would have liked to have kept hold of the Serbian, he did not stand in his way once his mind had been made up -- and he does not bear a grudge either.

Sampdoria travel to face Milan at the San Siro on Saturday and Ferrero insists the aim is to get three points, not to get one over on Mihajlovic.

"I don't challenge any individual," Ferrero told Radio Radio. "I just win, and that is that. You [journalists] are great because if something ever goes wrong with a coach, you're quick to say it was unlikely to work out. But if it goes well, then he's sensational. There's no middle ground."

Mihajlovic led Sampdoria to a seventh-placed finish in Serie A last season, after they had diced with relegation under Delio Rossi prior to his appointment in November 2013.

The former Inter Milan and Lazio midfielder wrote an emotional letter to supporters once his departure was announced in June.

Just two weeks later, his appointment as Milan coach was confirmed and he was replaced by Walter Zenga -- although his short spell in charge came to an end just over a week ago when he was replaced by Vincenzo Montella on the Sampdoria bench.

"I never chased him away," Ferrero said of Zenga's dismissal. "It was he who left, singing 'get away from me.'"

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