Atalanta: a Christmas break in the fog for Gian Piero Gasperini

The summer transfer window, however, promised great things for Atalanta. A sort of transition by perfecting the basis of the work was being put in place on the Bergamo side. Some executives had packed up like Duván Zapata (Torino), Rasmus Højlund (Manchester United), Jérémie Boga (Nice), Merih Demiral (Al-Ahli) and Joakim Maehle (Wolfsburg). This beautiful recovered envelope served well to accommodate numerous offensive reinforcements with the attackers El Bilal Touré, Charles De Ketelaere and Gianluca Scamacca but also the left pistons Mitchel Bakker and Sead Kolasinac. This new campaign, the eighth under the orders of Gian Piero Gasperini, promised to be interesting to follow for the Dea, with the development of Giorgio Scalvini in defense and the expected confirmations of Ademola Lookman, Éderson, Matteo Ruggeri and by Teun Koopmeiners. The latter had however received some serious calls from Napoli, Inter, Juventus and the Premier League during the last transfer window.

However, everything does not seem to be going smoothly. At the Christmas break, Atalanta Bergamo is in an anecdotal 7th position in Serie A, two units from 10th place. “It’s football, it happens. Sorry, we played our game and had several chances without realizing it. We should win these matches, but in the end we lost a lot of points. We all have guys who are used to scoring, and then there are days like this. We had a great match, let’s look at the positive side of having put in a high level performance. We are even more disappointed by this”, declared Gian Piero Gasperini, after a setback against Thiago Motta’s Bologna (1-0). A new defeat, the fourth in the last seven championship matches, which places the Orobici in a spiral of infernal irregularity. Since November 4, Atalanta has fallen against Inter (1-2), Napoli (1-2), Torino (3-0) and Bologna (1-0). Facing Udinese (16th), the Gasp players had to settle for a draw (1-1).

A method that is running out of steam?

This is a question that can easily be asked. Despite the indelible mark he left in the history of Atalanta, as well as the offensive tactical revolution he launched in Italian football, is Gian Piero Gasperini still the man for the job for the Dea ? At the end of 2023, Atalanta has conceded nearly 20 goals in 17 days played, more than certain teams positioned further down the ranking, such as Lazio, Torino or even Monza. The aborted summer signing of Alessandro Buongiorno from Torino did not help Atalanta strengthen the defense, nor did two serious injuries to experienced managers Rafael Toloi and José Luis Palomino. The defensive project should be the main axis of the winter transfer window for the Dea. Moreover, as we revealed to you exclusively, the Bergamo management has checked the name of Lilian Brassier from Stade Brestois. Furthermore, according to our indiscretions, the priority for this position remains the Croatian defender of Ajax Amsterdam, Josip Šutalo. The Lombard club is ready to offer 20 million euros with bonuses this January. The French defender, Oumar Solet, is also an alternative: “There will be time to find explanations. We have several absences mainly in defense, but at the moment the whole team is not pulling the cart and we have to think about it. We don’t throw everything away, some players lead by example. Others don’t, they have difficulty understanding the right mind.had tried to put the Gasp into perspective after the big defeat against the Granata (3-0).

The other point of contention in Gian Piero Gasperini’s ambivalent situation at Atalanta is the offensive paradox. If Gianluca Scamacca (5 goals) and Charles De Ketelaere (2 goals, 4 assists) seem to be satisfactory, the Italian coach has still decided to fully reintegrate his veterans Luis Muriel and Aleksey Miranchuk, two players who were nevertheless considered to be persona non grata during the last summer transfer window. The Colombian almost left for Monza, while the Russian was close to returning to Torino. Note the tile for the recruit purchased for 30 million euros, El Bilal Touré, who had to undergo surgery for a serious right knee injury in August. If the term “crisis” is perhaps a bit exaggerated at the moment, it would not be hyperbolic to recognize that one thing seems less impactful in the 3-4-1-2 system, less effective, less regular. But the winter transfer window could be a chance to change everything: “We’ve struggled to get results lately, but that’s only because of injuries. We have several players missing, any team in our position would suffer. We
we are ready to intervene in the January market”explained Antonio Percassi.

The shadow of the Gasp’ students

While his contract runs until June 30, the future of Gian Piero Gasperini still remains unclear. Indeed, according to our information, the Bergamo management, made up of president Antonio Percassi, general manager Luca Percassi and sporting director Tony D’Amico, should meet the Italian coach after the end-of-year holidays. For the moment, the idea is not about staff changes but the leaders of the Dea wish to take stock with Gasperini, on the objectives of the winter transfer window but also on his future at the head of the club since To date, negotiations for a contract renewal have stalled, following the bickering last summer. As a reminder, the 65-year-old Italian manager had refused to extend his lease last June and had even thought about resigning, as we revealed to you exclusively. Finally, all parties decided to continue the adventure together, at least until 2024 since the summer transfer window had, on paper, satisfied the Bergamo staff, as did the objectives set and the promises announced by Stephen Pagliuca, the Italian-American owner.

In the event of the departure of Gian Piero Gasperini, at the end of his contract, the Bergamo management already has several names and profiles in mind who would, according to them, be capable of taking over from the Italian coach. Present at the head of the club since 2016, the native of Grugliasco is the main architect of Atalanta’s rise to the quarter-finals of the Champions League in 2020. Choosing the right successor will not be an easy task for the Bergamo direction in the event of departure from Gasp. Several young tacticians claim to follow the offensive precepts of Gian Piero Gasperini. A new wave of prodigious coaches with great potential has invaded the world of Calcio in recent years and it is in this sense that Thiago Motta, Alessio Dionisi, Paolo Zanetti, Ivan Juric, Raffaele Palladino and Vincenzo Italiano are the coaches who mark the more points in the minds of the leaders of the Lombardy club. In any case, Gian Piero Gasperini will take advantage of the Christmas break to relax with his family, before returning to work since the Dea is still competing in the Coppa Italia and the Europa League, competing in the round of 16 of these two competitions which will have probably a weight in the future of Gasp in Bergamo.