The Europa League won by Atalanta this Wednesday against Bayer Leverkusen in the final played at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin (3-0) is fair recognition of the work and perseverance in offensive football of Gian Piero Gasperini a coach who at 66 years old reached the peak of his long but moderate career on the bench by winning his first title.
Atalanta trusted him in June 2016 and since then Gasperini has not stopped believing in his playing philosophy. Even when he lost four of his first five games in Serie A he did not doubt his non-negotiable bet in a country that not only abandoned the postulates of ‘catenaccio’, where he won unanimous praise and admiration
His philosophy is summed up in one sentence
“If I had to summarize my philosophy in one sentence it would be that I do not and will never believe in the concept of waiting for your opponent to make a mistake. The formation is not important, but how many players you attack or defend,” Gasperini once said, that turned Atalanta into a special team and recognized with the unmistakable seal, daring, intense and spectacular.
And in this way, the team is reinvented every year due to the removal of numbers such as Josip Ilicic, Dejan Kulusevski, Duván Zapata, Luis Muriel, Cuti Romero or Rasmus Hojlund, Atalanta are climbing the ranks to reach – and win – the first European final in its 107-year history.
He never hesitated despite his bad start
In its first season, 2016-17, Dea finished fourth in Serie A and managed to qualify for the Europa League after a 26-year absence from continental competitions. In 2017-18, seventh place in the final allowed them to repeat their participation in Europe.
Atalanta take another big step with Gasperini in the 2018-19 academic year reaching the Coppa final, which they lost to Lazio, after eliminating Juventus and entering the Champions League for the first time in their history after finishing third in Serie A, ahead of teams such as Inter and Milan.
The historic pandemic campaign
Atalanta’s debut in the Champions League started badly, with three defeats, but they reacted and made it to the second round, finally falling in the quarterfinals against PSG. Meanwhile, he finished Serie A in the 2019-20 season, amid the pandemic, repeating the third place and with his record of goals (98) and points (78).
Real Madrid eliminated them in the round of 16 in the 2020-21 Champions League, but Atalanta again finished third in their league and lost in the Coppa final against Juventus (2-1). In the 2021-22 season, they failed to pass the group to the European elite and fell in the quarterfinals in the Europa League, while eighth place in Serie A has left them in the continental competitions since Gasperini’s arrival.
But the absence lasted just one year as Atalanta returned to the Europa League thanks to its fifth-place finish in Serie A 2022-23. This season was once again historic by reaching Dea two finals, lost the Coppa again against Juventus (0-1) and the first European in its history. finally ended in victory against Bayer Leverkusen. In addition, on Sunday they secured their return to the Champions League by securing fifth place a day before the end of Serie A.
His beginnings at Juventus
Gasperini trained in the Juventus youth academy and made his debut in the first team, but his time in football as a player was rather cautious. He also started his career in Juve’s youth ranks. until, after a spell at Crotone, in 2006 he got the chance to coach Genoa, which he promoted to Serie A in his first season.
In 2009, he managed to take Genoa to fifth place in Serie A and qualified for the Europa League in a spectacular game in which Thiago Motta and Diego MIlito stood out. But a poor start to the season cost him his position in November 2010.
Short time at Inter and back to Genoa
Inter knocked on his door in 2011 but his time was running out as in September he was dismissed after a disappointing start. In Palermo, where his team played, he also did not succeed in the 2012-2013 season.
Gasperini returned to Genoa and there he regained all his credit as a coach. This saved them from relegation in the first season and in the second, 2014–15, they finished in sixth place, but UEFA denied the club a license to participate in the Europa League.
The Atalanta bet
He could not maintain the level of Genoa in 2015-16, saving them from relegation and he left, but in June 2026 Atalanta took him and since then he has not stopped receiving praise for his commitment to football, which is now lead him to finally win with his great. -deserved first title of his career.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
