Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini says he will do the ‘Papu dance’ with Monza chairman Adriano Galliani when the two sides meet each other. The tactician spoke at length with La Gazzetta dello Sport about his time with La Dea, his approach to football management, the clubs ownership and why he would coach Jude Bellingham over Erling Haaland:
Was there a match that convinced you to bet on De Ketelaere?
‘No, there were characteristics I was convinced I could work on. Charles was already highly regarded. An easy bet.
Did you immediately see him as a forward?
“Yes, because he is rewarded above all by the things he does in attack. It’s his character that dictates the role. Although Charles works a lot. In fact, that was the surprise. I didn’t think he could run like that and do so much volume.
He has the face of a sphinx.
“I think it’s a characteristic of this generation. They seem to have no emotions. They are always serene, for better or worse. Charles is a bright, intelligent boy with values. We have to help him to get excited, to feel the team with him.”
Will Scamacca be Italy’s number 9 at the next European Championship?
“He has everything to become one: physicality, a good shot, aerial game. But he must put agonism, ambition, fire inside. Heart and head, the rest comes later’.
Did Lookman upset you?
“He walks too much on the field. He only runs with the ball. He is only content to score goals, so he scores less. In Lisbon he showed that he can play with great continuity if he wants to.”
Ruggeri was perhaps the most pleasant surprise.
“Rugge has heart and head. He doesn’t have huge talent, but he is building himself up. He reminds me of Gosens. He was Cinderella, now he makes the best assists…’.
Are Holm and Bakker on their way?
‘We are quite behind, because in Italy the defensive phase, in their role, is fundamental’.
Scalvini is now playing permanently in defence.
‘He is a universal, as they say in volleyball. Against Lazio, in the end, he played in attack. Every now and then I think I give him few compliments and always ask a lot of him. Then I say to myself: but he is only 20 years old… He has everything to become a real leader. Everywhere’.
What have these first eight days told La Dea?
“On the level of play we have grown. The mistakes against Frosinone, Fiorentina and Lazio penalised an excellent run that could have been extraordinary. I have one concern.
Which one?
“There have been 7-8 extraordinary players in terms of performance and we haven’t had any particular injuries. After the break a tour de force begins. Apart from Kolasinac, we have adjusted to the players of the old guard. The new ones need time. Now I’m rethinking Palomino, Hateboer, Muriel.
De Roon has not missed a minute of the season.
“Good thing I have highlanders… But Koopmeiners got injured. I tried to preserve him with Lazio, but every time I preserve one and insert him afterwards, he splits… After Juve, Sporting and Lazio, the players were exhausted.”
La Dea were wonderful in Lisbon
“One of the most beautiful satisfactions. In a warm and enthusiastic environment for Sporting first and unbeaten, we led and came out to applause. It doesn’t happen often to Italians.
Is the derby or the current standings right?
“Inter, even though they have lost Dzeko and Lukaku, have two more gears than before, because of the strength left by the Champions League final. But Milan after the derby was exceptional. Milan are very strong.
Juve?
“Strong, but they have a few less certainties. Napoli has problems and will lose Osimhen for the African Cup of Nations, but they are still the team that won the championship. I see the Milanese and Napoli in front. Roma, if Dybala and Lukaku are well, will play with the teams in the lead. Lazio, after an extraordinary year, has a more normal performance.
Will Fiorentina hold up?
“Yes, because they have a proven game and squad. Fiorentina and Bologna have added value in the coach. I like Frosinone and Lecce’.
Palladino and Gilardino, two pupils?
“Palladino’s value is established. I was surprised by Gila, who accomplished a feat in B and is confirming himself in Serie A. A Genoa of great spirit and effectiveness. I wouldn’t know how to play him like that…’.
If you turn around and see Papu Gomez at one point…..?
“It will be great to meet him. We will play each other in April, but I count on seeing him first in Bergamo. He was the player I employed the most. He represents a golden period. I will dance the Papu Dance with Galliani”.
Beukema and Tomori are the two who have touched the most balls. Modernity?
“I don’t like passes from midfield to the goalkeeper. The matches become slow and boring. Perhaps something should be done about it, like when the back pass to the goalkeeper was banned, or like in basketball, when you go past the halfway line, you can no longer pass the ball back’.
What are you studying in the Zingonia workshop?
“More and more universal players. Scalvini and Koop are those. Ederson now scores with a header which he didn’t do before. Kolasinac is a defender, a former full-back, who knows how to play. I will never ask one of my players to do one thing.
Coaching Haaland or Bellingham: choose.
“Bellingham, universal player.
How tempted were you by Saudi Arabia?
‘There was a chance, I was not mentally ready and I had a commitment. From what I have seen, it is not a flash in the pan. There are young people who are prepared, who have studied in London or New York and know what they want, with enormous availability’.
Does the hypothesis remain alive?
“Only if I had the conviction that I could bring something new. Then it would make sense, beyond money. It would be the crowning achievement of a career.
For now, will you try to renew La Dea?
“The closing of the cycle is always postponed. Even this summer, in the end, only Zapata left. The strong nucleus remains the historic one. I don’t know if I will be in time to found a new cycle. Not least because Atalanta is now a triad of forty-year-olds, led by managing director Luca Percassi, with general managers Congerton and D’Amico. Right. They work hard, they are good and they know how to walk on their own’.
In Bergamo they are now trembling…
‘It could also be right that everything ends with this cycle. We will see later on. American ownership guarantees a future for the club, even if I am linked to the Percassi family. Now analysts and algorithms count a lot, they are useful, but in football they don’t always work’.
They called you a tyrant. What did his wife think of that?
“She told me: ‘Do you see that they say that too?!’ Joking aside, it was an insult to hundreds of players, to the Atalanta environment which has always been young, fresh, polite, convinced… Dea’s strength has always been the strength of its locker room, which cannot be sullied by someone who has been sold by technical choice’.
How much does the label of being disliked weigh on you?
“I never had any problems with the fans. With Fiorentina and Lazio, everything stemmed from episodes on the pitch: for penalties given or not given. In recent years Atalanta has been very annoying and suffered inexplicable decisions. I simply put my face on to defend the club. A president who counted a lot in Italy and Europe, not the one of Borgorosso, publicly wondered whether Atalanta was entitled to the Champions League, deserved on the field. Thank God, things have been better for a year and a half’.
