Sampdoria chief Beppe Marotta insists the club stands by bad-boy Antonio Cassano as the on-loan Real Madrid striker begins his five-match suspension.

"To become a champion one must combine great football talent with equally impressive professional and personal elements," explained director general Beppe Marotta on Radio 105.

"This is a failing he still needs to overcome. It is also the duty of the club to help a 25-year-old lad to grow, as for years he has been disproportionately criticised in his career.

"He is also a sensitive, generous lad. His forms of obvious protest are more for show than signs of an arrogant or nasty personality."