Gian Piero Gasperini

Gian Piero Gasperini (born 26 January 1958) is an Italian football manager and former player, who is currently the manager of Italian side Atalanta.

Gian Piero Gasperini
Gasperini as Genoa manager in 2008
Personal information
Full name Gian Piero Gasperini[1]
Date of birth (1958-01-26) 26 January 1958
Place of birth Grugliasco, Italy
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Atalanta (manager)
Youth career
1967–1976 Juventus
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1976–1978 Juventus 0 (0)
1977–1978 → Reggiana (loan) 16 (0)
1978–1983 Palermo 128 (0)
1983–1984 Cavese 34 (0)
1984–1985 Pistoiese 34 (0)
1985–1990 Pescara 160 (0)
1990–1991 Salernitana 35 (1)
1991–1993 Vis Pesaro 61 (0)
Total 468 (1)
Teams managed
2003–2004 Crotone
2005–2006 Crotone
2006–2010 Genoa
2011 Internazionale
2012–2013 Palermo
2013 Palermo
2013–2016 Genoa
2016– Atalanta
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

Gasperini entered the Juventus youth system at the age of 9; during his stay at the youth system, he won an Allievi Nazionali championship and was in the Primavera squad, which included Paolo Rossi and Sergio Brio, that placed runner-up in 1976 behind Lazio.[3] After having played a handful of Coppa Italia matches with the first team, he was loaned to Reggiana and then sold to Serie B club Palermo in 1978. He stayed five seasons at Palermo, all in Serie B, but reached a Coppa Italia final in 1979, then lost to Juventus.

After two seasons with Cavese (Serie B) and Pistoiese (Serie C1), Gasperini moved to Pescara, where he finally gained his first opportunity to play in Serie A after the promotion in 1987. He made his Serie A debut in a home match against Pisa, ended in a 2–1 victory which featured a goal of his. In 1990, he left Pescara to join Salernitana, and retired in 1993 at the age of 35 after two seasons with Vis Pesaro.

Managerial career

Juventus (youth team)

In 1994 Gasperini returned to Juventus's youth system, this time as a coach.[4] He was initially coach of the Giovanissimi (U-14) for two years, followed by two other years with the Allievi (U-17). In 1998, he became the manager of the Primavera (U-20) squad.

Crotone

In 2003, he left Juventus to become head coach of Serie C1 club Crotone, where he readily guided his team to promotion to Serie B via the play-offs. He stayed at Crotone for two more seasons in Serie B; he was sacked during the 2004–2005 season but appointed back soon later.

Genoa
Gasperini with Genoa in 2008

From 2006 he was head coach of ambitious club Genoa, and led his side to a promotion to Serie A in his first season with the rossoblu. In the 2008–09 season, Gasperini led Genoa to fifth place of Serie A, the highest placement for the team in 19 years, thus securing a UEFA Europa League spot, relaunching players like Diego Milito and Thiago Motta in a 3–4–3 formation and a particularly spectacular football style that was praised throughout Italy,[5] so much so that José Mourinho, manager of Serie A champions Internazionale, stated Gasperini was the coach who put him in greatest difficulty.[6] However, a poor start in the 2010–11 season, with 11 points in 10 games despite popular signings such as Luca Toni, Rafinha, Miguel Veloso and Kakha Kaladze, caused Gasperini's dismissal from his coaching post on 8 November.[7]

Internazionale

On 24 June 2011, Massimo Moratti confirmed that Gasperini would replace Leonardo as the manager of Internazionale.[8][9] However, on 21 September 2011, Gasperini was sacked after a dismal run of five winless games, including four defeats.[10]

Gasperini began his spell at Inter with a 2–1 loss against crosstown rivals Milan in the 2011 Supercoppa Italiana. In the first Serie A league game, Inter were then surprised by a caretaker-headed Palermo in a 4–3 defeat in Sicily, then followed by a scoreless home draw with Roma.

A 1–0 home defeat to Trabzonspor in the Champions League made matters worse, and Moratti sacked Gasperini after a shock 3–1 defeat to Serie A newcomers Novara.[11]

Palermo

On 16 September 2012, Gasperini was announced as the new manager of Palermo, a former team of his as a player, taking over from Giuseppe Sannino.[12]

On 4 February 2013, he was dismissed from his post following a 2–1 loss at home to Atalanta.[13]

On 24 February 2013, Gasperini was rehired as the Palermo manager, replacing Alberto Malesani after three games in charge.[14] On 11 March 2013, Gasperini was again removed from the post, this time by Giuseppe Sannino.[15]

Return to Genoa

On 29 September 2013, Genoa announced to have rehired Gasperini after almost three years since his previous spell ended.[16]

Atalanta

On 14 June 2016, Gasperini was appointed manager of Atalanta.[17] During his term at the team, Gasperini turned Atalanta from a club with the goal of avoiding Serie B relegation into a team fighting for Serie A dominance and constantly participating in European competitions.[18] His first season in charge turned out to have a difficult start, Gasperini being on the verge of sacking after 5 rounds which saw Atalanta in the penultimate place after a 0–1 home defeat to Palermo. However, from there on, the team's results steadily improved, leading them to beat Inter, Roma and Napoli, with a streak of 6 consecutive victories in Serie A leaving them on 6th place during the winter break. Atalanta continued to be the season's surprise package and finished fourth in Serie A, thus qualifying to the UEFA Europa League.

The following season, returning to Europe after 26 years of absence, Atalanta managed to win the Europa League group with Lyon, Everton and Apollon Limassol undefeated to progress to the round of 16, where they were eliminated by Borussia Dortmund after a 1–1 home draw and a 2–3 away loss in Germany. In Serie A, they managed a 7th place finish, thus earning another UEFA Europa League qualification, this time in the second qualifying round, while in the Coppa Italia they progressed to the semi-finals, where they were eliminated by Juventus.

On 26 May 2019, Atalanta finished third in Serie A during the 2018–19 season, and qualified to the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history. Atalanta also reached the final of the 2018–19 Coppa Italia; however they lost 2–0 against Lazio.[19][20]

On 9 September 2019, Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini was made an honorary citizen of Bergamo. Atalanta qualified to the round of 16 of the Champions League for the first time after finishing in second place in the group with Manchester City, Shakhtar Donetsk and Dinamo Zagreb. Gasperini's first match in the Champions League knockout rounds ended in a 4–1 home win against Valencia.[21] Atalanta progressed to the quarter-finals following a 4–3 away win over Valencia in the second leg on 10 March 2020, giving them an 8–4 aggregate victory.[22] They were eliminated by Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals; despite going into an early lead thanks Mario Pašalić's opener, they lost 1–2 after PSG turned the score with two late strikes by Marquinhos and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting.

Style of management

Tactically, Gasperini is known for using a fluid 3–4–3 formation and a spectacular high-risk hyper-offensive-minded possession-based system, which relies on the versatility of his midfielders and front line. His team's playing style places more focus on scoring goals, off–the–ball movement, and quick, short passes on the ground, and less focus on long balls and the defensive aspect of the game. As such, at times his trademark 3–4–3 system resembles a 3–4–1–2, 3–2–4–1, 3–5–2, or 3–4–2–1 formation, with energetic overlapping attacking wing-backs in lieu of wide midfielders, that provide width along the flanks and push up the pitch when going forward. He has also been known to use a 4–3–3 on occasion. His teams are known for playing a high defensive line, and for being very short tactically, with little distance between the attack and the defence. During the 90s, his tactical philosophy and teams' playing styles was inspired by Dutch football, namely Louis van Gaal's Ajax side, rather than Arrigo Sacchi's 4–4–2 system. When defending off the ball, his teams are also known for the use of heavy pressing, but also apply elements of fluid man–marking across the entire pitch, and often switch to a 5–4–1 formation defensively. Gasperini favours using hard-working and highly physical two-way players in midfield rather than a deep-lying playmaker, but also quick, talented, technical, diminutive, slender, elusive, and creative players upfront, in order to implement his system effectively; he has also been known to use a larger and more physical centre-forward upfront on occasion, who is good in the air. Despite the acclaim he has garnered due to his offensive playing style, which has led him to obtain successful results with smaller teams, he has also drawn criticism for his unbalanced approach, and for his team's tendency to concede goals as well as scoring them. As such, certain pundits have questioned whether his system would be equally effective with larger teams.[21][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34]

Managerial statistics
As of match played 6 February 2021[35]
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team Nat From To Record
G W D L GF GA GD Win %
Crotone 1 July 2003 8 December 2004 69 32 17 20 112 76 +36 046.38
Crotone 17 April 2005 10 July 2006 53 24 13 16 73 55 +18 045.28
Genoa 10 July 2006 8 November 2010 186 82 42 62 265 236 +29 044.09
Internazionale 24 June 2011 21 September 2011 5 0 1 4 5 10 −5 000.00
Palermo 16 September 2012 4 February 2013 21 3 7 11 20 32 −12 014.29
Palermo 24 February 2013 11 March 2013 2 0 1 1 1 2 −1 000.00
Genoa 29 September 2013 14 June 2016 111 40 28 43 145 139 +6 036.04
Atalanta 14 June 2016 Present 218 113 57 48 431 258 +173 051.83
Total 665 294 166 205 1,052 808 +244 044.21

Honours

Individual

References
  1. "Comunicato Ufficiale N. 270" [Official Press Release No. 270] (PDF). Lega Serie A. 22 July 2020. p. 3. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  2. http://www.atalanta.it/site/team-staff/staff/gasperini-gian-piero.html
  3. (in Italian) A history of Gasperini's playing career
  4. "Gasperini, ottimo settore giovanile Juve" (in Italian). Tuttosport. 5 December 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
  5. Smyth, Rob (14 April 2009). "Genoa put a new slant on second-season syndrome". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 28 May 2009.
  6. "Mourinho: "Gasperini è il meglio"" (in Italian). il Giornale.it. 2 January 2009. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  7. "Preziosi esonera Gasperini Al Genoa arriva Ballardini" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 8 November 2010. Retrieved 8 November 2010.
  8. "Moratti: "Gasperini, fully satisfied"". 24 June 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  9. "Inter Milan appoint Gian Piero Gasperini as new coach". BBC Sport. 24 June 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  10. "F.C. Internazionale announcement". F.C. Internazionale Milano. 21 September 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  11. "F.C. Internazionale announcement". FC Internazionale Milano. inter.it. 21 September 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  12. "ESONERATO SANNINO, SQUADRA A GASPERINI" [SANNINO SACKED, TEAM GOES TO GASPERINI] (in Italian). US Città di Palermo. 16 September 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
  13. http://www.football-italia.net/30360/palermo-confirm-gasperini-dismissal
  14. "ESONERATO MALESANI, RICHIAMATO GASPERINI" [MALESANI SACKED, GASPERINI RECALLED] (in Italian). US Città di Palermo. 24 February 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  15. http://www.football-italia.net/31775/palermo-announce-sannino-return
  16. "Official: Genoa recall Gasperini". Football Italia. 29 September 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  17. "Official: Atalanta appoint Gasperini". Football Italia. 14 June 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  18. "From Bergamo to Lisbon: The rise and rise of Gian Piero Gasperini's Atalanta". The Indian Express. 13 August 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  19. "Atalanta 0 Lazio 2". BBC Sport. 15 May 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  20. "Lazio bring Atalanta down to earth with Coppa Italia triumph". Guardian. 16 May 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  21. Pandey, Kaustubh (11 March 2020). "Ilicic the icon of Atalanta". Football Italia. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  22. Fernandez, Gabriel (10 March 2020). "Valencia vs. Atalanta score: Josip Ilicic makes Champions League history with four goals as Atalanta advances". CBS Sports. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  23. Crosetti, Maurizio (25 June 2011). "Gasp il tattico, piccole manie per un attacco esasperato". La Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  24. Cappelli, Alessandro (30 November 2017). "La duttilità dell'Atalanta" (in Italian). Rivista Undici. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  25. Di Marzio, Gianluca (12 November 2014). "Genoa, parla Gasperini: "Vi insegno il mio modo di giocare il calcio. Con la Juve..."" (in Italian). Gianluca di Marzio. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  26. Porfidia, Alberto (13 February 2020). "Tiri, gol, possesso palla, assist: l'Atalanta ha numeri da grandissima squadra". Bergamo News (in Italian). Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  27. "Gasperini: 'Atalanta win or bust'". Football Italia. 25 November 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  28. "Gasperini dà lezione" (in Italian). Ultimo Uomo. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  29. Barcellona, Fabio (27 May 2019). "Quindi, Gasperini è pronto per una grande squadra?" (in Italian). Ultimo Uomo. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  30. Pandey, Kaustubh (11 January 2020). "Conte and Gasperini tactical duel". Football Italia. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  31. Loi, Fabio (31 January 2019). "La lavagna tattica: Cagliari-Atalanta" (in Italian). www.blogcagliaricalcio1920.net. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  32. MCLEAN, JIM (4 September 2018). "GIAN PIERO GASPERINI: THE MASTERMIND WHO'S TURNED ATALANTA INTO A BASTION OF YOUNG TALENT AND ATTACKING PROWESS". These Football Times. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  33. "Blog: Gasp, respiro e profumo di bel calcio" (in Italian). vivoperlei.calciomercato.com. 16 May 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  34. "Gasperini: 'Atalanta got the hang of it'". Football Italia. 10 March 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  35. "Gian Piero Gasperini career sheet". footballdatabase. footballdatabase. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  36. "Gran Gala del Calcio 2019 winners". Football Italia. 2 December 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  37. "Gian Piero Gasperini Allenatore dell'anno". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian).
  38. "Gasperini vince la Panchina d'oro 2019, battuti Mihajlovic e Allegri". la Repubblica (in Italian). 3 February 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
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