Gian Piero Gasperini is delighted with their recent results and for being invited to the Balloon d’Or ceremony along with Ademola Lookman. He gave an interview to La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“Antonio and Luca Percassi let me work like I desired for the past nine years. Everybody at the club did his part. I have to thank them and not the other way around. Atalanta have small numbers compared to the top clubs, but we reached an enormous result.”
Gasperini disclosed his conversation with the Nigerian star.
“I told him that, if he didn’t have Marten De Roon, Ederson, and Berat Djimsiti supporting him, he wouldn’t be here. But he already knew that. Playing well doesn’t hinge on scoring or not. He’s extraordinary when he combines with the rest of the team. We didn’t talk about what happened late in the summer, also because it wasn’t a good moment. Those possibilities might resurface, hopefully not in January. In the meantime, it’s pivotal for him to fully integrated into the squad.”
Gasperini dished on a few of his players.
“The egoism of the strikers is understandable, but they take it up a notch when they understand that their personal results come through the team. We knew Mateo Retegui had the right skill-set to replace Gianluca Scamacca, but we didn’t imagine he’d score this much. The credit goes to him. I just motivate him to do better what he can already do. It won’t be a problem when his teammate returns. On the contrary, we don’t have enough pure strikers now. Lazar Samardzic and Nicolò Zaniolo? They know that I’m open to everybody. There are 16 starters in my mind, including the subs.”
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