Atalanta head coach Gian Piero Gasperini is confident that his team won’t be in the Champions League to make the numbers next season. The Serie A side secured a final day victory against Sassuolo and that ensured that they qualified for the Champions League for the first time in their history.
Speaking to Sky Sport Italia, Gasperini acknowledged that the team had experienced a difficult season in the top-flight and praised the players for their form during the backend of the campaign, he said: “It was a very difficult season and it ended with a game that certainly wasn’t easy. The boys have been wonderful, extraordinary. The Champions League was a goal that this club had never accomplished before. We managed to achieve it in an honourable way and we deserved it. In my opinion, we will do well in the Champions League.”
Meanwhile, captain Gomez likewise spoke to the media after the final day triumph over Sassuolo and when asked whether Gasperini could be pursued by a bigger European outfit, he quipped: “I can’t talk for him because every person is different. But the coach will want to play in the Champions League with us.”
Both Atalanta and Inter Milan secured Champions League football with final day triumphs and that meant that AC Milan missed out of the prospect of making the elite competition. The Rossoneri were in the better position to make the top four compared to Atalanta during the second half of the season but a mixed run of form meant that they finished one point behind the Champions League spots.
Elsewhere, Atalanta’s progress to the Champions League should enhance their prospects of keeping hold of their best performing players while shedding the disappointment of losing to Lazio in the Coppa Italia final earlier in the month.