Why Atalanta needed progress from Gasperini rather than his past

When Atalanta lost Gian Piero Gasperini, it was only natural they’d replace him with one of his many proteges, but the mistake was looking to the past rather than the future, writes Susy Campanale.

There is no tactician who has cast a longer shadow over Italian football in recent years than Gasperini.

His revolutionary style of aggressive high press, using three at the back when it was horribly unfashionable (and which cost him the job at Inter after only a couple of months), and attack as the best form of defence is the most European approach. When we see Serie A sides struggle against opponents who play at a markedly higher tempo, Gasp’s Atalanta first and Roma now are the only ones who seem able to keep up the pace.

Atalanta didn’t want to lose their iconic coach after nine long years which saw them hit heights never seen before, regularly qualifying for the Champions League and winning the Europa League. When he walked away, it was inevitable and only wise that they turn to one of the many bosses that Gasperini inspired to get into the business.

There was absolutely no shortage of options that La Dea could’ve gone after, because Gasp can count as his proteges the likes of Thiago Motta, Raffaele Palladino, Alberto Gilardino, Salvatore Bocchetti and more. They are all coaches who credit him with shaping their vision of football, then taking it further with their own ideas.

Instead, Atalanta decided to look to the very first who sat at the master’s side, because Juric was the core of his Genoa team, then became Gasperini’s assistant manager straight after hanging up his boots from 2010 to 2013 at Genoa, Inter and Palermo. It was hoped that by bringing in a former assistant, Juric could ease the transition of a squad that had worked under one man for nine years.

The problem was that Juric hadn’t been on Gasperini’s bench for over a decade. A good coach will always develop and see his ideas progress over time, especially as opponents study and get to know his style better. By going backwards, Atalanta lost the momentum left over from that successful era. Juric was also coming off a season where he managed to get fired by two different clubs, so was hardly going to inspire confidence in a team already shaken by that exit, and further damaged by the Ademola Lookman rebellion.

While Juric was more focused on the intensity and work ethic of early Gasperini, Palladino is more focused on creativity and finding new ways to attack. Those quick passes bringing the midfielders and wing-backs into the forward moves that so impressed at Monza could work wonders with the current Atalanta squad. Meanwhile, Ederson’s injury robbed Juric’s team of so much of that midfield solidity, and laid bare the issues elsewhere.

Much like Gasperini himself, Juric can be ill-tempered, brusque, pig-headed, and not the most diplomatic of figures. Even Gasp never got into a fist fight with a director of sport the way Juric did with Torino’s Davide Vagnati, mind you. A gentler presence was required in the dugout, and Palladino fits the bill. He was more recently a player, understands the tension of his squad a little more, and can move the Atalanta project forward rather than try to recapture the past.