Joakim Maehle blames Gian Piero Gasperini, saying there was ‘no freedom’ at Atalanta and revealing the Nerazzurri coach did not want him and Rasmus Hojlund to drive to training together.
Maehle joined Bundesliga side Wolfsburg in August and spoke about his time at Atalanta during a press conference with the Denmark national team on Monday.
Safe to say, he didn’t enjoy working under Gasperini, who he blamed for several reasons.
“The coach decided everything. And there wasn’t really any freedom,” the full-back said, as quoted by tipsbladet.dk.
“Even though I lived in a nice place and the weather was good, I didn’t have time to enjoy it because we spent so many days and hours at the training ground.
“It was super tough mentally,” continued Maehle.
“Even if you had played a great game at the weekend, and the following one you didn’t play too well for 20 minutes, you would go to the back of the queue again. There was not the continuity you see in other places. Mentally, I could feel that I really needed a change.”
The Denmark international smiled when a journalist asked if he felt like being in a prison at Atalanta and whether Gasp had a dictatorial approach.
“You are saying it,” he replied.
“He really decided everything. Sometimes, when we had a double training session, he said we should stay and sleep at the training facility, so we were not allowed to go back home.”
Maehle added that Gasperini didn’t even want him and his compatriot Hojlund to drive to training together.
“You don’t feel like a person. You feel like a number. You have no relationship with the coach. He would stand there and blame someone for something strange. For example, he was furious when Rasmus [Højlund] came to training by car together,” he revealed.
“He didn’t want us to drive together. Because then we could sit and talk together on the way to training, and enjoy ourselves. He didn’t want that, and I got scolded even if it had been agreed with the club because he [Hojlund] had no driver.
“I don’t know if it’s typical Italians, but some things make you angry and tired in the long run.”
The 26-year-old has joined Wolfsburg on a permanent transfer after two and a half years in Bergamo, where he scored six goals in 96 appearances.
Hojlund also left Atalanta this summer, joining Manchester United in a deal worth €75m plus add-ons.
The 20-year-old striker was the biggest sale in Italian football during the 2023 summer transfer window.
No wonder Gasperini was never the coach of a big club.
So Inter are not a big club then? 😉
Gasperini is a strange man. I will never forget the time he insulted Christian Panucci while Panucci was being interviewed. It was out of nowhere and the 2 didn’t even cross paths that weekend.