Josip Ilicic insists “I’ve always liked” Atalanta after joining them this summer and that he did not play Sampdoria. “Until there’s a signature…”
Ilicic was on the verge of signing for Samp but ended up at Atalanta, prompting Blucerchiati owner Massimo Ferrero to accuse the former Palermo and Fiorentina attacker of not “being a man”.
Josip Ilicic insists “I’ve always liked” Atalanta after joining them this summer and that he did not play Sampdoria. “Until there’s a signature…”
Ilicic was on the verge of signing for Samp but ended up at Atalanta, prompting Blucerchiati owner Massimo Ferrero to accuse the former Palermo and Fiorentina attacker of not “being a man”.
“Sampdoria? I don’t want to go too much into it,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport.
“It’s football. I’ll just say that until there’s a signature, nothing can be concluded. When the call came from Atalanta, I didn’t even think [about saying ‘yes] for a second.
“I knew the club because Kurtic talked to me about them. I already knew Gasperini, I was also in town and so I decided to go there.
“I went there because, in addition to playing in the Europa League, Atalanta are a club I’ve always liked due to their fans, their stadium.
“Europa League? If you’re not physically or mentally prepared, you’ll have a tough season because there’s no time to recover between one game and another.
“The squad must also be big and everyone must always be ready because no-one can play 45-50 games.
“It’s better that there’s someone who’s ready to play in your place when you’re tired, as opposed to the thought of having to return to the pitch three days after a game that exhausted you.”