Long-serving Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini has thrown his future in Bergamo into doubt amid La Dea’s worst Serie A season in five years. Despite overseeing his side claim a 3-1 win at Spezia on Sunday afternoon, the experienced head coach refused to rule out the possibility of leaving the dugout in the summer.
Goals from Luis Muriel, Berat Djimsiti and Mario Pasalic catapulted Atalanta to a landslide triumph at the Stadio Alberto Picco. La Dea have leapfrogged Fiorentina to seventh in the Serie A standings, yet La Viola will have the chance to regain the Europa Conference League qualifying spot on Monday.
Fiorentina’s upcoming home clash against Roma will serve to round off Matchday 36. A potential victory at Artemio Franchi would fire Vincenzo Italiano’s men back to seventh, hindering Atalanta’s hopes of qualifying for a major European competition for the fifth season running.
Gasperini, who arrived at the helm in 2016, has turned an archetypal ‘yo-yo’ club into a permanent top-half fixture over the past six years. But after leading Atalanta to three consecutive third-place finishes, the Italian tactician has experienced his worst season in Bergamo.
Atalanta are not only out of the Europa League qualification picture, but they stare down the barrel of a first mid-table finish since 2017/18. La Dea are unbeaten in their last four Serie A matches, but they need other results to go their way in order to make it to the Europa Conference League.
All that has cast doubt on Gasperini’s future at Atalanta, and the 64-year-old is uncertain about what the future holds.
“I am very fond of this club and these fans, I signed a contract in November, but clearly things have changed and it depends on the club, what they decide,” he said in the post-Spezia conference, as relayed by Gianluca Di Marzio.
“We have never talked about it, I am open to any option. If we go forward like this, I will continue with enthusiasm.”