With Atalanta facing a major injury crisis and player shortage, Wayne Girard warns Gian Piero Gasperini must use all his experience and sheer will power if La Dea are to win the Super Cup over Real Madrid…
Gian Piero Gasperini has been riding a high after winning the Europa League title – his first trophy with Atalanta, after failing the three previous times in the Coppa Italia final. He’s led his club through several generations at this point, considering he’s been boss of La Dea since 2016. From riveting play with Josip Iličič’s ensemble, to a more hardcore form of football that ultimately won him gold, Gasperini has always demanded marathon-like performances from his players that have been joyous to watch for the casual fan. He’s undoubtedly turned many outside of Bergamo towards their ‘second’ favourite club.
But that high couldn’t have lasted too long when Real Madrid won the Champions League final and then signed Kylian Mbappe shortly after. Knowing Atalanta and Real Madrid would then be facing off in the Super Cup for a monumental matchup, there had to have been at least a touch of hesitation for the 66-year-old. Even without mentioning the big names, the Cup is another major title which Los Blancos hold a shared record for winning five times.
Now the fourth oldest manager to win a major European trophy, he could move up a ranks by bumping off Alex Ferguson. There’s a lot at stake for Gasperini, considering what it would mean for such a comparatively smaller club to get the better of the new Galacticos. Consider this is a senior era of his career, a gift to give back to the people of Bergamo, and how it would be revered as a legacy for Italian football. But if Atalanta are to pull this off, the most contextually significant detail is the squad’s incredibly short rope of players to call upon due to injuries, as well as personnel conflict.
Atalanta missing key stars, Real Madrid ready to unveil their new faces
At the top of the omitted pecking order is captain Rafael Tolói, who is the brains behind the Atalanta defensive line. Gianluca Scamacca will be lucky to play any minutes this season following a recent ACL tear, with Giorgio Scalvini sharing the diagnosis. Nicolò Zaniolo was one option Gasperini could have used at the top of the attack, but even he is suffering from a foot injury.
El Bilal Touré has been put on the transfer block after just scoring two goals following his record breaking transfer for the Nerazzurri – a major disappointment. But the saddest case of all has been Teun Koopmeiners, the club’s most important player, who has refused any further correspondence with the club as he demands a move to Juventus. Marc Pubill was supposed to step in at right wing-back after winning the Euro championship with Spain, but failed his medical after further tests were requested. The Greek goddess has been condemned by Ares and all the evil spirits of mythology to arrive at such poor tidings.
Therefore, Atalanta must turn to the reserve team in order to submit a full squad with the likes of 17-year-old Pietro Tornaghi and a majority of new arrivals from clubs who rarely qualify for European football. Carlo Ancelotti has lots to play for too, as he could equal Real Madrid’s managerial trophy record, and become the coach with the most Super Cup titles as he prepares to surpass Pep Guardiola’s four.
As far as the roster goes, he will have a full squad at his disposal, including Mbappe and Endrick. Strong options on the bench consist of Eduardo Camavinga, Arda Güler, and Brahim Diaz to name a few. Jude Bellingham though will have to warm the bench in the first half, after a rigorous Euro tournament saw him play heavy minutes, often into extra time.
How sad for Don Carlo.
If Gasperini’s side are going to win, it’s going to take a Herculean performance. If injury woes feed into this match and he’s required to field players down the pecking order, they’ll be several levels below what Real Madrid can muster. It could easily get out of hand for Atalanta.
This tie has the two greatest Italian tacticians of the last decade facing off for a prestigious European cup, but with vastly contracting circumstances. If Ancelotti wins, he will be engrained further into the history books. But if Gasperini eclipses his counterpart, the pages in the books have to annotate the fine details that will have made it a Bergamasco bombshell.