Gian Piero Gasperini admits Atalanta are ‘in freefall’ after their home defeat to Hellas Verona and must focus on ‘ending the season with dignity’ before considering a total revamp of the squad.
It was a third consecutive Serie A defeat for La Dea, something Gasperini had never experienced before in Bergamo, just days after another home loss saw them crash out of the Europa League quarter-final against RB Leipzig.
They are now down in eighth place, albeit with a game in hand, with huge difficulties in scoring goals, something that in the past had always been their greatest strength.
“Our morale is in freefall at the moment,” confessed Gasperini to DAZN.
“We have to focus on ending the season positively, because we owe it to the fans who support us. The lads did put the effort in today and we’re not very lucky right now, but when we play open games against technically-gifted sides, we often end up losing.”
Considering the failure this term and the arrival of new co-chairman Stephen Pagliuca promising investment, is it time for Atalanta to transform the side and start a brand new era?
“That is something the club will evaluate when the moment comes. We had done very well in Europe this season, both in the Champions League and Europa League. In Serie A, we did very well until December and then were unable to meet expectations both in terms of results and performance.
“There are many components to this change of direction, not just one. When the season has ended, we will draw our conclusions.
“At this moment what we need to do is realise this isn’t the finale we want and we owe it to our fans to finish in the most dignified manner possible.”
#AtalantaVerona, le parole di #Gasperini dopo la sconfittahttps://t.co/3sqZQWIuhN
— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) April 18, 2022
Atalanta has regressing since they sold papu gomez
@PAPA FESTER the last game Papu played for them was v Juventus in Dec 2020. They finished the season 3rd Place and runner up in the Coppa Italia. Yeah Papu didn’t help this season’s situation but he’s not the main cause.
It was just a matter of time. They’ll go back to being a middle table team, or worse, like Deportive La Curuna back in the day. They did punch high above their weight for a while, though, so congrats.
It’s probably time for Gasperini to cash in and make a move to a big club.
I think for next season scalvini and lovato should lead the atalanta defence and dead wood in the squad like hans hateboer and alexey miranchuk should be sold. Also a clear role must be evaluated for Jeremie Boga. Lastly, gasperini is a legend. please give him backing and money. he and lee congerton are capable of creating a very capable young squad