Ready to risk everything because I believe in my ideas, proclaims Gian Piero Gasperini
Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini has admitted that he has always been ready to risk everything on his ideas and way of playing football because he believes in it. La Dea have become of the most entertaining outfits after Gasperini was appointed with him turning them into one of Italy's best.
Few clubs in the world have managed to do as well as Atalanta have done over the last few years despite La Dea operating on one of the smallest budgets in the Serie A. Things may be changing for the club but a large part of that change is thanks to the work that manager Gian Piero Gasperini has put in. The Italian coach has transformed the club and has turned them from a relegation-threatened side to top four contenders in the space of a few years.
That has earned Gasperini plaudits but things haven’t always been easy for the Italian coach with failed spells at Inter Milan and a few other sides. Yet no other side has managed to score more goals than Atalanta since the start of last season with them netting 70 in 25 games this term. But that all starts with Gasperini’s policy of attack first and defend second with him setting up La Dea to play that way and he admitted as such in an interview.
“I decided to go down this path. I’ll make it until the end with my ideas; I’m ready to risk everything because I believe in it. We started Mattia Caldara, Roberto Gagliardini, Andrea Petagna and Andrea Conti and other young players (against Napoli) with only a few Serie A games between them. We won with a fantastic performance that no one forgets about since that was the beginning of the growth. The beginning for the historical Atalanta way," Gasperini told the Guardian.
“To give you an idea I will use a Chinese proverb from 500 BC [from the Art of War]: ‘Defending makes you invincible, but if you want to win, you must attack.’ This sums up the spirit and mentality I want my team to have. But there’s something else that is important too: the identity you create in a team must always be reinforced. You must grow and improve, day by day, because if you do not improve, you are done. Those who stop, they have lost.”
The COVID-19 virus has affected Bergamo the most in Italy with La Dea’s 4-1 win over Valencia in Milan now being referred to as Game Zero or ‘Partita Zero’. Scientists and various others with the Italian health commission have confirmed that the game, alongside other incidents, was a catalyst for the virus as the atmosphere “favoured viral reciprocation”. That saw Gasperini admit that the situation in Bergamo has been “unexplainable” and that he will look to his players to help make the city “smile again”.
“This has been something extraordinary, unexplainable with words. Bergamo has been at the centre of this awful coronavirus. It hit our city deeply and caused so many deaths … I’ll never forget the sirens we heard in the centre of Bergamo for the rest of my life. I will put the emotional aspect right, front and centre. These players have a great bond with Bergamo: the city and the fans. I will talk emotionally and my sentiment will be this: Bergamo suffered a lot, this is our moment to make them smile again,” he added.