Gasperini-Atalanta, renewal until 2026 ready

Journalist

April 30 – 8.42am – MILAN

Antonio Percassi, already in 2019, expressed a notable objective: “I aim to ensure that Mr. Gasperini stays at Atalanta for life”. Lifetime. And we are certain that five years later those words have even deeper roots. The coach is now a Bergamo native: he jumps with the curve, takes selfies with the staff like last Wednesday to celebrate the qualification for the Italian Cup final, hugs himself with the Percassi family in the changing rooms after the most exciting successes. So he stays for life?

a decade

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Let’s say that the bond with Atalanta and the Bergamo area is stronger than any courtship that has arrived or is arriving from outside. This month until the end of the season will be intense: the race for fifth place to qualify for the next Champions League, the Italian Cup final, the attempt to reach the final act in the Europa League too. A lot has been done and nothing will erase it. The future says that Gasperini has a contract until 30 June 2025, extended last September by an extra season. The next step could be the most challenging. That is, add another season to that contract. Therefore take it until 2026 to make the relationship between Gasperini and Atalanta become ten years old. It would be Gasperini’s star, borrowing from the one that a team gets every ten championships. It would be the sublimation of a relationship that already exists in the history of the club and represents a virtuous and successful example in the history of Italian football. At the moment the impression is that with or without Champions League the project will continue. There will be a discussion at the end of the season, as happens every year in Bergamo between the club and the coach. But it won’t be a rough comparison. It will be a constructive comparison with a clear idea of ​​how much this season has yielded in sporting terms (Champions or not, trophies raised) and financial terms (the revenues expected from the next competitions, with one more Super Cup to play).

the suitors

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It’s logical that there are interests from other teams around Gasperini. In Italy that of Aurelio De Laurentiis who would see him perfectly on his bench to relaunch the Napoli project. Abroad he has been esteemed in the Premier League for years, where the football closest to his conception is played. And then there was a rumor in Portugal several weeks ago that André Villas-Boas, in the event of Porto’s victory in the presidential elections, would try to convince him. He won. We are waiting for news on this matter. Even if all these interests remain in the background for now. “It is our habit to trust those who work well” – the CEO recently reiterated. of Atalanta Luca Percassi. A phrase that fits Gasperini perfectly. The Percassi family and even Stephen Pagliuca do not intend to change. They have had one of the best Italian coaches at home for years and they want to continue with him. The Goddess of these years is the product of synergistic work between field and society. One indispensable from the other.

intense sprint

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The season finale is so full of objectives that it is logical now to hear words that divert the conversation. Also because Atalanta can reach the Champions League in two ways. That of the championship, where fifth place has forcefully returned to being a feasible objective, and that of the Europa League where the Dea is in the semi-final against Marseille. The first act is Thursday, at the Velodrome. The aim is to build a good part of the qualification in the first 90′. As happened at Anfield against Liverpool. Including that 3-0 against the Reds in the previous round, Atalanta have lost only one of the six away games played in the first leg in a knockout phase between the UEFA Cup and the Europa League (2 wins and 3 draws). Furthermore, the Nerazzurri have remained unbeaten in their last nine away matches in European competitions (5 wins and 4 draws). Thursday’s match for Gasperini has an importance that should not be underestimated. “All the matches are important, but the first leg is worth a little more” – said the coach on Sunday evening after the championship victory against Empoli. An Atalanta in the Champions League next season would amplify Gasperini’s stimuli. But an Atalanta without the Champions League would certainly not make them fade away. The marriage will be long-lasting because the key to each season is to create new goals within the cycles. And in Bergamo they relaunch with enviable frequency. And envied.