Yesterday Gian Piero Gasperini and Luca Percassi, coach and CEO of Atalanta, spoke. They said two similar but totally different things which probably still need to be assimilated. Maybe not from the club, but from the players who are playing for the Nerazzurri, even now. “The victory in the Europa League brought about a leap in quality: it gave self-esteem, security, conviction. We are working on this and trying to include the new arrivals too. To play and win we need a further boost and also very effective in trying to have hope.” These are the words of the coach, trying to crown Atalanta as a new big team.
Then there are those of Percassi. “Big? We don’t get used to this status, we know our size. Especially in sport you have to conquer all things, you conquer results year after year. Every season tells different stories, new difficulties, to be competitive there is we always need a lot of work to achieve the best results. We always start with the aim of achieving salvation as soon as possible, then once we have achieved salvation we have never been satisfied thanks to the enormous work we have done has been carried out, we have gained positions in Europe.”
If it is true that Atalanta cannot, structurally, match the revenues of Napoli, Milan, Inter or Juventus, on the other hand the philosophy is to renew itself year after year. The different status has perhaps emerged, but the players arrive in Bergamo with the possibility of growing and then going to Manchester United, Juventus, Inter, Milan. It is difficult for anyone to consider this as a point of arrival. How do you change? Only with victories… And with salaries. But philosophy will always (and rightly) be different.