Roma vs Sampdoria preview - Ferrera turns on Zeman

Ciro Ferrara accused Wednesday's opposite number Zdenek Zeman of having "damaged his image" before Sampdoria travel to face Roma in Serie A.

The Czech tactician has harboured a career-long mistrust of Ferrara's former club Juventus, recently reigniting the feud by making disparaging comments about the Turin club's suspended head coach Antonio Conte.

Former defender Ferrara, now in charge of Sampdoria, made over 250 appearances for the Bianconeri and was on the playing staff when Zeman made doping allegations against the club in 1998 - the accusations ultimately leading to a prison sentence for Juve doctor Riccardo Agricola.

Zeman's coaching reputation steadily lost stock in Italy during the 2000s until he helped Pescara to promotion this summer, while Ferrara is emerging as a bright new talent at the helm of surprise package Samp.

He told the Gazzetta dello Sport: "From a professional point of view I have nothing to say, I have already expressed my thoughts about how his teams play.

"But some of his declarations have damaged my image and that of a big club so I find it hard to accept a lot of what he says, especially knowing the real truth about Juventus.

"I cannot take away from the sacrifice and hard work the team put in.

"So from that point of view I can't see eye to eye with him."

Samp have enjoyed a fine return to the top flight and are one of only three clubs, along with Juventus and Napoli, to remain undefeated in the fledgling league table.

Roma sit one place beneath their opponents having been handed a 3-0 walkover victory as a result of the Italian Football Federation's punishment of Sunday's opponents Cagliari, whose game was cancelled at the last minute as club president Massimo Cellino invited supporters to attend against the wishes of local authorities.

Zeman responded promptly to Ferrara's comments at a pre-match press conference.

He said: "Will I shake his hand? I shake everybody's hand.

"He says that I damaged his image but in response I say that it's up to courts to do that kind of thing.

"It's nothing to do with me."

Sunday's unexpected day of rest has permitted two of the Giallorossi's most influential players valuable time to recover from niggling injuries.

Zeman added: "(Francesco) Totti and (Daniele) De Rossi are training well, we'll have a look and then we'll decide if they'll be available for part of the game or for the full 90 minutes."