Sampdoria, Lazio in Italian Cup driving seats

Underdogs Sampdoria and Lazio will be looking to continue their good first leg work when they play Inter Milan and Juventus respectively in the Coppa Italia semi-final, second legs on Wednesday and Thursday.

Sampdoria humiliated Inter in the first leg in Genoa a month ago with a comprehensive 3-0 victory that has all but settled that tie.

For Lazio the task is a little trickier as they only have a 2-1 lead to defend when they travel to Juventus on Wednesday.

However, if they can display the spirit they showed in the first leg in Rome, when they came back from a goal down, then they will have an excellent chance of continuing in the compeition.

The advantage for both Sampdoria and Lazio is that the Cup represents their best, if not only, hope of qualifying for Europe next season.

Inter are almost certain to win the title and Juve are concentrating on trying to beat AC Milan to second place.

Inter coach Jose Mourinho has already admitted that his side have little chance of progressing on Thursday.

“Three-nil is 3-0, it’s very, very difficult. We’ll try but it will be very difficult,” he said.

Lazio have an outside chance of qualifying for the UEFA Cup through their league position but for Sampdoria, who sit in mid-table with nothing to play for in the league, their whole season is riding on a Cup final appearance.

“We’re expecting a very emotional night,” said Sampdoria general manager Beppe Marotta.

Sampdoria are expected to bring around 15,000 fans with them and special arrangements were made with Inter to accomodate the extra away supporters as the regular away section wasn’t big enough.

“I just want them to behave in the right way for the trip to the San Siro but I’m sure that once again the Sampdoria fans will show to the whole of Italian football what it means to support the team of your heart,” added Marotta.

“We mustn’t make the mistake of getting too fired up for this match. It’s a great opportunity to fulfil the dreams of all our fans but there are still 90 minutes to play against one of the best teams in the world. It won’t be a walk in the park.”

Wednesday’s match is no less important for Claudio Lotito, the president of cash-strapped Lazio.

“I don’t make a habit of dreaming but Wednesday’s match is crucial. It’s in our heads and in our hearts,” he said.

Of the four teams taking part Inter were the most recent winners, claiming back to back cup wins in 2005 and 2006, the year after Lazio last lifted the trophy.

Juventus have not won the cup since 1995, a year after Sampdoria’s last triumph.

Juve have won the cup the most times alongside AS Roma with nine success compared to five for Inter and four each for Sampdoria and Lazio.