Atalanta are in fourth place now, but Gian Piero Gasperini felt like “a dead man walking” when he risked the axe a few weeks ago.
The Orobici had a dismal start to the campaign, losing four of the opening five rounds, including a shock 1-0 at home to Palermo.
“At one stage I felt like a dead man walking,” the Coach told L’Eco di Bergamo newspaper.
“Against Crotone all the directors were at the stadium, looking like they were at a funeral. I think the flowers were ready too.
Atalanta are in fourth place now, but Gian Piero Gasperini felt like “a dead man walking” when he risked the axe a few weeks ago.
The Orobici had a dismal start to the campaign, losing four of the opening five rounds, including a shock 1-0 at home to Palermo.
“At one stage I felt like a dead man walking,” the Coach told L’Eco di Bergamo newspaper.
“Against Crotone all the directors were at the stadium, looking like they were at a funeral. I think the flowers were ready too.
“At the end of the match, the President told me: ‘Either you have real guts or you are crazy.’ I knew that if we failed against Napoli, the patron would have to take some inevitable decisions. Instead we won and I earned credit.
“At the start we were affected by incidents, but this streak now is one of a big club. It was after the defeat to Palermo that I saw signs of what we could become. The President visited the squad, spoke to the players and legitimised my position. That was the turning point.”
Atalanta have won six of the last seven rounds, drawing only with Fiorentina, including victories over Napoli, Inter, Genoa and Sassuolo.
“I’d be happy with being in the top eight at the Christmas break, but it is not logical right now to talk about European qualification. At my age I don’t look at money, but at personal satisfaction, so it’s very difficult to find a better place to work than Atalanta.
“I say that even if tomorrow a mad offer could arrive from a Chinese club…” he laughed.
The remarkable thing about Atalanta is that Gasperini built a squad around so many young players from their academy.
“Andrea Conti surprised me more than anyone and I did not expect his evolution to be so rapid. Roberto Gagliardini is proof today’s football is supercharged, as it’s crazy he gets into the Nazionale after just a few Serie A games.
“I’ve told Gagliardini that I won’t hold back on him. I know he can become the Italian Paul Pogba.”
Gasperini was famously sacked just a few weeks into his Inter tenure and he’s therefore not surprised at Frank de Boer lasting 84 days.
“Time is everything for a Coach. At Inter nobody had time and by the looks of it that situation hasn’t changed many years later.”