Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini said he was ‘not surprised’ by Juventus’ exit from the Champions League. ‘There are strong teams in Europe’.
Gasperini spoke at a press conference ahead of their match against Spezia on Friday and was asked about the upset caused by FC Porto in the last 16 this week.
“I’m not surprised,” Gasperini said. “There are strong teams in Europe.
“In their country they are in the lead, they know football and they know which players to get.”
Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini said he was ‘not surprised’ by Juventus’ exit from the Champions League. ‘There are strong teams in Europe’.
Gasperini spoke at a press conference ahead of their match against Spezia on Friday and was asked about the upset caused by FC Porto in the last 16 this week.
“I’m not surprised,” Gasperini said. “There are strong teams in Europe.
“In their country they are in the lead, they know football and they know which players to get.”
Atalanta could cause a similar upset when they face Real Madrid next week.
“Sometimes there’s a lot of presumption in approaching only the name,” he said. “Real Madrid are a team of high level, they are risky games where you can get hurt.
“But we are not afraid of distorting ourselves. I personally try to follow the path close to my ideas.”
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are out of the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time since 2005.
“It’s a very tough and fantastic competition [between the two players],” Gasperini continued. “It’s fantastic.
“Let’s hope they continue for as long as possible, but eventually they will stop. Then there are [Kylian] Mbappé, [Erling Braut] Haaland…
“But the Champions League is the expression of a team."