Gian Piero Gasperini admits he is ready to reconsider his future at Atalanta after securing European qualification. ‘I respect their opinions, I have my own, I don’t know if we’ll be able to find a point of understanding.’
La Dea were stunned by an incredible Inter start at San Siro, as Romelu Lukaku and Nicolò Barella gave Inter a 2-0 lead within the third minute.
Mario Pasalic tried to get them back into it, only to be undone by a Lautaro Martinez goal on inspired Lukaku pass.
By the time Luis Muriel hit a rocket in stoppages, it was too late to turn this around and they lost 3-2.
“To be honest, I expected Inter to be fired up after winning the Coppa Italia, as they have so much enthusiasm and adrenaline, and they would wane as the match wore on,” Gasperini told Sky Sport Italia.
“They started incredibly strong and once we got over that, we slowly got a grip on their strikers and played well. Nobody can doubt Lukaku’s value, but we were also marking him badly. After a while, we got a better handle on him and were able to contain him much better.
Nonetheless, Atalanta are qualified for the Conference League and are still in the running for a Europa League spot, especially if Juventus are excluded from all UEFA competitions for Financial Fair Play violations.
“We have in our hands the opportunity to qualify for the Europa League and that would be a great achievement in my view. We’re already in Europe for the sixth time in seven years, so that is remarkable. In terms of points, it was an excellent tally, but we all know that we have only rarely been able to play the kind of football that we wanted to this season.”
Gasperini was asked what the future holds, as he has been linked with Juventus and Napoli amongst others.
“The future is next Sunday, as a target like the Europa League really would be wonderful. People thought this squad was past it, but we showed we are still competitive and have always been up there with the big clubs throughout the season, with a big gap from the mid-table sides.
“As for the rest, we will see. Undoubtedly, there has been a disparity in evaluation, because some treated Atalanta like a top tier team who needed to go into the Champions League. If that is the expectation, then it becomes very difficult for a coach to always deal with that sort of messaging.
“The club knows all my concerns. I have a splendid rapport of mutual confidence and gratitude, but then there is football and in football you can have differing opinions. I respect those opinions, I clearly have my own, and I don’t know if we will be able to find a point of understanding.
“To be honest, Atalanta cannot be a top level team right now and we saw that tonight. The squad has been streamlined by a series of injuries and we lost quite a few players in the same area of the field. We also lowered the average age of the team, the lads achieved a great target and being there ought to be considered something to celebrate.”
Gasperini followed a similar line of reasoning in the press conference afterwards.
“Perhaps the moment has come to say goodbye. We will evaluate it all calmly, with affection. When you find yourself out of place, you ask yourself some questions.”