Beyond the Veil: Gasperini's Atalanta and the Search for Home

By Callum Turner

The Piazza Vecchia is the timeless architectural heart of Bergamo, a delightful little quadrant with cobblestones that whisper echoes of its mediaeval history. By day, it's a tranquil square, one that the Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner and writer Le Corbusier once described as so harmonic that “you can’t move a single stone, it would be a crime.” Flanked by landmarks, like the Palazzo della Ragione and the Contarini Fountain you can see why he fell in love with the place. Yet, as night falls, a different tale unfolds, with Bergamo's fortified past, marked by strife and betrayal, casting an eerie shadow over the square.

Speak to some of the more ghastly, far-eyed locals, and they might recount the local legend of a gallant knight who dedicated his life to defending Bergamo, with unwavering courage, ingenuity, and attacking prowess. Revered for his valour, he was later betrayed, falsely accused of treason, and condemned to death. In death, his spirit, consumed by an unquenchable thirst for justice, is said to wander the Piazza Vecchia, clad in spectral armour.

We’re all haunted by something, and this tale, etched into the city's lore, passed down through generations in the archaic tradition of storytelling—verbally, fluid, ever-changing, and exaggerated—mirrors the resilience of its people, haunted by reverberations of the past. In this ancient city, Gian Piero Gasperini, much like the spectral knight, has sown his own story into Bergamo’s cultural fabric.

Gasperini's journey has humble beginnings. He was born in Grugliasco, a town nestled amidst the picturesque countryside that once surrounded Turin. Raised in a working-class family, his early years were shaped by the blue-collar ethos of his parents—his mother, Antonietta, ran a fishmonger's, and his father, Gino, spent his days toiling away in the local Fiat factory.

It was Papa Gino's passion for Juventus that sparked Gasperini's love for football. At just nine years old, his dad took him down to the bustling city so he could take part in a trial that would change the course of his life. Gasperini's raw talent and determination caught the eye of renowned talent scout Mario Predale and despite being too young to enrol, he was granted a coveted place in the Juventus academy. The path to training was a journey in itself, requiring a 40-minute bus ride followed by a tram journey to Campo Combi, where the team practised. Escorted by his sister on his initial trips, Gasperini soon found himself navigating the route alone, at just ten years old.

Unfortunately, despite his dedication, Gasperini's playing career at Juventus never quite took off. Although he showcased promise, including scoring on his debut in the Coppa Italia, he fell short of making a league appearance for the club. However, Gasperini's time on the pitch provided invaluable lessons that would later shape his coaching philosophy. Throughout his playing career, Gasperini had the opportunity to learn from several of Italian football’s most underrated influences.

While Enrico Catuzzi remains a name less whispered in the spectral corridors of Italian football history, some consider him a tactical visionary, perennially overshadowed by the country's more prominent figures. Gasperini, who he managed during his time at Pescara, is one such disciple; in his eyes, Catuzzi was a silent architect of change. Catuzzi's embrace of a "total zonal" approach challenged the traditional man-marking orthodoxy and emphasised the strategic occupation of space, laying the groundwork for future innovations. Ask Gasperini, and he will tell you that the pioneering concepts that later flourished under the likes of Arrigo Sacchi at AC Milan were a byproduct of Catuzzi’s forward thinking.

Then came a manager who left a much more visible mark on Italian football and the one who really set the foundations of Gasperini’s managerial style. Amidst the turbulence that was Pescara's yo-yoing through the leagues, Gasperini found himself under the tutelage of the enigmatic Giovani Galeone. It was a transformative period, marked by Galeone's unyielding belief in attacking football and Gasprini’s emergence as a leader on the pitch. Relegated under Catuzzi's tenure, Pescara's resurgence under Galeone defied expectations, propelled by a swashbuckling brand of football, as vibrant as the frothing waves that collide across the Adriatic coastline that envelops the stadium.

Galeone recognised Gasperini's technical prowess and tactical acumen, making him the captain and hailing him as the finest he ever coached. “Technically decent, more right-footed than left. Our penalty taker,” Galeone recalled. “I kept telling him he didn’t know how to take them but he kept taking them and kept putting them in. He was somewhat irritable for an Aquarius. Zero diplomacy. Giampiero always knew what he wanted; he was direct. Tactically, he’s the best I ever coached.”

Pescara's electrifying style, characterised by tenacity and flair, captured the hearts of fans, transforming every away trip into a carnival of support. The courage with which Pescara approached Serie A rubbed off on Gasperini, as it did with Giampaolo and Allegri, both of whom were later mentored by Galeone. Galeone’s simple philosophy of putting the best players on the ball as much as possible would go on to become Gasperini's hallmark. Dynamic, joyous, and entertaining football, became his creed.

It was somewhat unsustainable for Pascera though. Although they made it into Serie A they couldn’t find a way to stick around for very long. There is a parallel between Garpirini’s playing career and his subsequent ventures into management that reflect a recurring theme in his life. Despite coming close to achieving his goals, circumstances can on occasion conspire against him leaving him in a purgatory of unfulfilled potential, almosts and lingering what-ifs.

In 1994, Gasperini returned to Juventus, this time not as a player but as a coach of the youth team, marking a full circle from his earlier days at the club. While Gasperini had once been on the cusp of breaking into Trapattoni’s starting XI as a player, his new role focused on nurturing the talents of the next generation. His dreams of coaching the senior team came tantalisingly close on a couple of occasions, including after the club's relegation to Serie B in 2006 and later as a potential replacement for Claudio Ranieri in 2009. However, both times, the club opted for other candidates, including the inexperienced Ciro Ferrara. A series of missed opportunities for both the club and the man, that could have gone very differently had someone dared take a leap of faith.

Before he found his spiritual home at Atalanta, Gasperini's managerial career path included several diversions, but it was at Genoa where he truly began to shine. Appointed in 2006, Gasperini led Genoa to promotion to Serie A in his first season and, in 2009, to a fifth-place finish, the club's highest in 19 years, securing a UEFA Europa League spot. While at Genoa, he was responsible for relaunching the careers of players like Diego Milito and Thiago Motta, infusing the team with the dynamic attacking approach he had learned from Galeone. This earned him widespread praise across Italy, including from José Mourinho, then-manager of Serie A champions Inter Milan, who stated that Gasperini was the coach who put him in the greatest difficulty, comparing coaching against him to a game of chess: “I made a change, he countered; I changed, he countered again.”

Shortly after, Milito and Motta were poached by Inter, where they won the treble, and Gasperini joined them a year later. In 2011, he was hired by Inter Milan amid a series of managerial changes that followed the club's Champions League triumph under Mourinho. Facing enormous expectations, Gasperini knew he wasn’t their first choice—Marcelo Bielsa was—and he understood the team was a shadow of its former self, ageing and in decline. Nevertheless, he seized the opportunity. His commitment to a three-man defence clashed with the established playing style and the preferences of Inter’s star-studded squad, drawing backlash from the press, who deemed it unbecoming of a European giant. After just five games in charge, which included one draw and four losses, Gasperini was unceremoniously dismissed.

Gasperini’s brief but tumultuous period at Inter Milan nearly shattered his career. Considered unjust by many, his tenure was marred by a lack of time to implement his ideas and make an impact. Half the team was at the Copa America and missed pre-season, and the first international break of the new campaign carried the rest of the players away. Inter’s recruitment strategy was haphazard, throwing nine new signings into the mix instead of attaining the two or three specific targets Gasperini needed. Despite these setbacks, Gasperini's wandering soul would soon find the perfect platform to showcase his tactical acumen.

Sometimes a person finds a place, a job, a community, that they just connect with—a place they have been searching for their whole life. It may not be their birthplace, but in every other sense, it becomes their home. For Gian Piero Gasperini, that place is Atalanta. Atalanta offered Gasperin everything he could wish for. Renowned for his ability to nurture talent and extract the best from players, Gasperini found the perfect canvas to work his magic at Atalanta. With one of Italy's premier academies at his disposal, Gasperini's system at Atalanta has worked wonders, consistently delivering outstanding performances despite a revolving door of players.

While many contributors to Atalanta's earlier triumphs, like Papu Gómez and Franck Kessié, have moved on, Gasperini has continued to mould fresh talent into stars. Players like Josip Ilicic, Duván Zapata, and Luis Muriel have flourished under his guidance, while newcomers such as Charles De Ketelaere and Gianluca Scamacca continue to make profound and immediate impacts.

Since his appointment in 2016, Gasperini has overseen Atalanta's remarkable rise. Despite a rocky start, where he managed to narrowly avoid the sack this time after a shaky five rounds, he turned the team's fortunes around with impressive victories over top Serie A clubs like Inter, Roma, and Napoli. His leadership propelled Atalanta to a fourth-place finish in Serie A, securing UEFA Europa League qualification and ending a 26-year European drought in his debut season.

The next season they reached the round of 16 in the Europa League and secured a seventh-place finish in Serie A. The following year, they made history by qualifying for the UEFA Champions League for the first time and reaching the final of the Coppa Italia.

Despite further departures, Gasperini's Atalanta continued to excel. They clinched third-place finishes in Serie A for three consecutive seasons, securing Champions League qualification each time. Gasperini's tactical acumen and ability to extract the best from his players were evident as Atalanta netted a record-breaking 98 goals in Serie A, a feat unmatched in over six decades.

His achievements at Atalanta have earned Gasperini the admiration of fans and pundits alike, solidifying his reputation as a top manager. With a blend of tactical ingenuity, player development, and sheer determination, Gasperini has transformed Atalanta into a force to be reckoned with in Italian and European football.

The club's fans have been treated to numerous spine-chilling nights under the floodlights in Europe. They thrashed Valencia 8-4 in the 2019/20 Champions League Round of 16. Two years later, they got past Olympiacos and Bayer Leverkusen before falling to RB Leipzig in the Europa League quarter-finals. This season, Atalanta have made their way past Sporting CP—twice—Liverpool, and now Olympique Marseille to reach the final of the Europa League. Their unbeaten Europa League campaign, armed with attacking talents like Lookman, Teun Koopmeiners, Scamacca, and Charles De Ketelaere, positions them well to challenge Xabi Alonso’s invincibles in the final.

But it’s never really been about the trophies for Gasperini at Atalanta, his ambitions transcend typical measurements of success; it’s about rewriting the narrative and inspiring a meritocratic approach to football. “I think the Final is going to be a historic occasion and for a club like ours it’s truly incredible, but this bodes well for everyone. Football is a meritocracy and that is what makes the game beautiful, not because you inherit some genetic rights through your lineage.”

Regardless of the outcome in Dublin, Atalanta's journey serves as a testament to their values. Success takes on diverse forms for each club, and for Atalanta, it's not solely about collecting trophies. It's about playing football that ignites passion in fans, creating moments that linger in memory long after the final whistle. While victories against formidable opponents are commendable, they don't define the entirety of their story. As the sun sets over Bergamo and the echoes of history fade into the night, one thing remains clear: the story of Gian Piero Gasperini and Atalanta is far from over. With every match played and every goal scored, they continue to etch their tale into the cultural fabric of the city.

Gasperini’s legacy at Atalanta is one of attacking football and resilience. La Dea, under his guidance, have never held back. It has always been said that a reign like that of Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United or Jürgen Klopp at Liverpool could never be possible in Italy. But in Gasperini, Atalanta has found a visionary whose ethos aligns seamlessly with the club's DNA. Their union represents a symbiotic relationship where the lines between individual and institution blur. While a Bayer Leverkusen victory might be the fairytale most football fans are yearning for, Atalanta's journey under Gasperini is a narrative that should resonate equally. Sometimes, a ghost isn't haunted by past grievances but has merely found a place to call home—a sanctuary where they belong.

Callum Turner (@Biggg_C_)