The Bergamo coach: “In 2024 we played three finals, this type of match gives prestige to the club. With Inter it will be a way to test the squad”
Atalanta had never played in an Italian Super Cup, never contested for a trophy outside Europe. If the Goddess is now a global phenomenon to be studied and replicated, if here in Arabia she arouses more curiosity than the old “greats” who arrived with her in Riyadh, she owes it to Gian Piero Gasperini. Tomorrow, in an electric semi-final, he faces his nemesis: Inter who have beaten him in seven of the last nine matches (and the others are draws). “The last two are the ones in which we suffered the most, the others, especially in Bergamo, were all much more balanced – said Gasp in the conference on the eve of Riyadh -. Inter have been the strongest team in the last three years, has grown a lot. This time we have to stay in the game and not concede at the start because, if they take the lead, they are a very difficult team to face. However, compared to the championship, it is a 90 minute match with a clear elimination it must be seen with a different perspective.” In reality, the architect of the Goddess looks beyond, observes the overall scenario, measures the Super Cup also according to the championship: “Tomorrow will be a way to test the squad, to see how competitive it is against a team like Inter. Then maybe as we get closer to the match the result will also count for us in the championship with Udinese, Juventus and Napoli in a week.”
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If their rivals are more used to playing for a trophy in “different” conditions, Atalanta are the least accustomed of the group, but Gasp seemed much more intrigued by the world he has landed in, a country in constant evolution: “We arrived yesterday evening, it’s all a bit new – he continued -. We saw this truly hyper-modern city that we didn’t expect: we received a wonderful welcome and we were surprised to see so many construction sites, the stadium, everything… Let’s say that we will enter the competition in the next few hours: played like this, away from home and from all the fans, it is still a bit strange to have brought Atalanta to this height: in 2024 we made three finals, the Italian Cup. , Europa League, European Super Cup. This is the fourth in a few months, playing these types of matches gives prestige to the club.” The rest is just training, with doubts about the eleven: “I haven’t yet decided whether to start with Zaniolo, but there are Brescianini, Samardzic, Scalvini. Depending on the championship we need to have more competitive players, because we will meet other high-quality teams “.
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Next to Gasp, on behalf of the team, spoke Marten De Roon who was not present in Dublin due to injury and now wants to smooch a trophy directly on the pitch: “We face the strongest team in the Italian championship – said the Dutch all-rounder in the conference -. It will be a high intensity challenge and not only in midfield, we have to try to play our game and not let their players who have so much quality play.” On the other side, two Dutch Inter players, Dumfries and De Vrij: “We talk to each other every now and then, we know each other well in the national team, but before this match we didn’t speak to each other… We’ll shake hands and then say goodbye at the end. Compared to last time with Inter, we have grown, we are more ready both as a team and individually. There we were also in difficulty in defense, now the new players have integrated well and we have taken measures in the last few months. I think it is important for us to see where are we after this cycle positive”. And, in closing, a joke about Arab football that entices many, but not him: “I follow him because important players have arrived recently. I never thought of coming here: they say ‘never say never’, but I renewed my contract : Italy and Atalanta are my home.”
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