The Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini spoke to UEFA.com ahead of the Europa League final against Bayer Leverkusen which will be played on Wednesday evening in Dublin:
The first European final
“It sounds good. It’s a great achievement and source of satisfaction, achieved in a truly positive season by the whole team. Is it the highest point of my career? Yes, in terms of achievement and prestige absolutely. In terms of rewards, fortunately I have had several, although perhaps not at the same level. I don’t think winning a cup is always part of the parameters by which success is judged. Everyone has their own goals if you can exceed them by a lot, as happened this time year, you must still be very satisfied. Obviously, if we manage to add a cup we will be even more satisfied.”
The adventure at Atalanta
“It all started eight years ago, suddenly, as usually happens with good things. In that period there were many youth players, close to the first team but not very involved. That was the turning point: from then on Atalanta’s world has changed a bit. First the Europa League, then the Champions League. There were three consecutive Champions League qualifiers for a team that also played excellent football and scored a lot. Even the Champions League run in 2019/20 it gave us a great boost. We came close to the semi-final and faced Paris. It has always remained the highest achievement, but I must say that this year perhaps we surpassed it and went further.”
The quest for European success this season
“The team has always wanted it. Sometimes there are teams that are technically strong but lack hunger and determination. Since the beginning of the group stage, when we played in Lisbon and were not favourites, we have played great games against strong opponents. Of course, winning at Anfield he increased our confidence even more.”
Leverkusen, last obstacle
“His results speak for themselves: he has never lost this year. We will face a very tough team, who have done something extraordinary in their country. They are very solid and compact, difficult to overcome. Creating spaces against them is difficult and plus they have speed and technique in attack. They are an excellent team, otherwise they wouldn’t have achieved these results, but we also have important attributes and I hope we can give them problems to make them make mistakes. The two teams have a similar formation: I’m very happy , because when I started using it a few years ago we were practically the only ones. Now, in the Champions League and Europa League, there are many teams that play the same way, even if with their own approach and style defenders and three forwards have become fashionable, you might say, or at least very common.”
