Atalanta CEO Luca Percassi jokes that the club hopes ‘the wife proves a greater draw than any girlfriend’ for Gian Piero Gasperini, who was tempted by a Napoli affair.
The match with Torino kicks off at 17.00 UK time (16.00 GMT), along with Napoli-Lecce.
The atmosphere in Bergamo is remarkable after La Dea won their first ever UEFA trophy, crushing the previously invincible Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 in Dublin for the Europa League Final on Wednesday.
Nonetheless, they are fielding practically a full-strength squad this evening, knowing that a win here would remove the option of Roma qualifying for the Champions League.
“We are still rather stunned, partly because we didn’t get much sleep, but it was such a strong feeling that we want to enjoy it all the way,” Percassi told Sky Sport Italia.
“We want to do well, knowing this is our 55th match of the season, that in the last two and a half months every game has been tight and significant, so the lads have been extraordinary. We’ll see how it goes, knowing every position we climb up the table is a show of pride and ambition for the club.”
Atalanta cling to Gasperini
Gasperini said straight after the Europa League triumph that he was tempted by the proposal from Napoli, comparing it to being married with children and meeting a beautiful woman.
So when Percassi was asked if the coach had yet decided to stay in Bergamo or end his eight-year tenure, the CEO referred back to that comment.
“There is a lot of talk about it in the media, even individual meetings. We hope the wife proves a greater draw than any girlfriend…”
Percassi also wished to point out just what has allowed Atalanta to run at a profit for a decade with extraordinary results in Italy and Europe.
“Atalanta make big investments in our youth academy and there will be lads coming through. I won’t deny that at this moment Italian football is very bitter that the Minister for Sport Andrea Abodi has not yet resolved the issue of contracts for youth players, because this is very damaging to clubs and their prospects.”