Gasperini scornful of ‘idiotic’ Atalanta tag | OneFootball

Gian Piero Gasperini slams the ‘idiotic’ idea that a career without silverware makes him a ‘loser’ after Atalanta beat Monza to keep top five Serie A hopes alive.

It seems that La Dea rarely manage a comfortable victory in Serie A, as they fumbled a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 with Verona last week and very nearly repeated the trick at the U-Power Stadium.

They had been leading 2-0 through a Charles De Ketelaere diving header and El Bilal Toure counter-attack when Daniel Maldini scored at the 89th minute.

Maldini almost got the equaliser with the last kick of the game, which bounced off the inside of the far post, rolled across the goal-line, clipped the other upright and went out.

“Undoubtedly, the finale was not the best, especially after playing the rest of the match well and getting a good response from the whole team, above all the forwards,” Gasperini told DAZN.

“It was under control, but as often happens to us, we risk throwing it all away in about five minutes. That’s a recurring issue with us.

“Monza brought on fresh legs, created problems for us with a lot of energy, and unfortunately we were forced to make two substitutions early that prevented us making more later on. Those who came on did not have the same intensity as the Monza substitutes.”

Regardless of the late scare, Atalanta still take home all three points despite rotating the squad just days after the Europa League quarter-final with Liverpool.

“The players all have different characteristics, as Toure is not like Scamacca, but it was his first start and he did much better than I usually see in training. Sometimes players express themselves totally differently in a match situation, they come alive there.

“He had some very serious injuries, so it was tough for him, but he was consistent today and showed quality too. De Ketelaere is able to be dangerous in the air as well as with the ball to feet, this season he has improved a lot and I think he can still do much better.”

Exhausted Atalanta

There were fresh fitness problems, as Emil Holm and Rafael Toloi both limped off with muscular issues ahead of Wednesday’s Coppa Italia semi-final, where they must overturn the 1-0 first leg defeat to Fiorentina.

This victory keeps Atalanta in the race for a top five finish and Champions League qualification, as they are five points behind fourth-placed Bologna.

There are still a lot of question marks and asterisks, because Atalanta have a game in hand, Bologna play tomorrow with Roma, while the Giallorossi in fifth have two matches still to complete.

“Atalanta must always aim to improve, even when losing a player or two every year. This is the way they then renew and reinforce.

“Even when improving the squad, that doesn’t necessarily mean the results will be better. Sometimes there are seasons where the results are better than the team deserve, others where we don’t get what we deserve.

“So far this season, we’re getting the maximum results we could’ve hoped for. This is a boost to be in Europe for next season, we’ll see on Wednesday what the Coppa Italia holds, then the Europa League semi-final.

“These are all fantastic tournaments, we don’t want to choose between them. We have just two days to recover, but undeniably we care about the Coppa Italia and so does all of Bergamo.”

Gasperini rejects ‘loser’ tag

Gasperini has said before that he considers the Coppa Italia to be the trophy Atalanta are most likely to actually win, having lost two finals during his tenure. If he does end the campaign empty-handed, will the season still be a success?

“We cannot ask ourselves this question. The season is fantastic already, regardless of what happens. I think it’s idiotic to say you are a loser if you don’t win trophies. If you are a journalist and not a director of a newspaper, are you a loser? If you think like that, half the world should kill themselves, because they’re all losers.

“It’s idiotic, everyone tries to do their best, to make their loved ones happy, to do their work well. The Atalanta fans gratify me and I consider that a success. It might not be a Champions League trophy or a Scudetto, but it’s what makes me happy.”