Gian Piero Gasperini and the Atalanta directors did not hold an exit presser after the end of the season to announce they would continue together. The coach talked during an event yesterday but did not fully quiet the doubts about his future. He issued a warning to the management, as SportMediaset transcribed.
“I will not step down today, even though somebody thought I would. Nobody spoked with me about that. Some reports suggest I asked to change 20 players, but that is not the case. I think there are three ways to move forward, but it is up to the front office to decide.”
Gasperini indicated the alternatives for Atalanta.
“We could pursue incremental improvements, signing aces that would bolster the squad in the short term, as we did with Duvan Zapata or Luis Muriel in the past. The second strategy could be to go young, valorizing for instance Giorgio Scalvini or Teun Koopmeiners. This could lead to major profits in the future, and we benefitted from that over the years. The third way would be to do nothing and carry on.”
The coach invited to be cautious about the objectives.
“I do not think we could be as ambitious as in recent seasons. We can not start off saying we are shooting for Champions League. What we managed to achieve was extraordinary. I think we have to be clear about that, and the rest would come naturally. It would not be fair to mention the Scudetto or a top-four finish considering that we are competing against richer teams that could widen the gap this summer. We are not sitting at the same tables in the transfer market.”
Igor Tudor would be the clear frontrunner if Atalanta and Gian Piero Gasperini mutually decided to part ways, Corriere della Sera reports.