After leading the team to win the Europa League this season, Atalanta coach Gasperini attended the press conference.
The European final led by the Italian team has not appeared for many years: the hunger and humility of this team have not changed, how far can we go next year?
At the same time, let's enjoy the victory this year. Now I don't even know what will happen next year. The results of this club have been improving all the time, and it has always kept a balance of payments. I think this is great. Usually in Italy, the winning clubs are trying to reduce costs, as we have seen recently. Atlanta has successfully combined these two things, and I think it's amazing.
What do you think of Lukman when you want him to join Atlanta?
He was in Leicester City at that time, and he was on loan from Leipzig. When Kangerton (then the director of scouting) came to Atlanta, he had already known Lukman and knew there was a chance to get him, but no one expected that he would make such great progress: in England, he didn't score many goals, and I changed his position slightly. Last year, he had scored many goals. He had a great season, although interrupted by the African Cup: tonight his performance will be recorded in football history.
After the competition, did you also recall the pain of Begamo being attacked by the epidemic in 2020?
Some scars are difficult to remove. Although it has been so many years, it is still a very painful time. Begamo people have been used to patience. As a team, we are no exception. I think we succeeded in making everyone smile.
Because you won the competition in your own way, does this trophy look more beautiful?
We played a lot of games, and our journey itself is more meaningful than a trophy: we have participated in many games over the years, and I think they are very important.
Are you proud to break the curse of Italy's failure in the Europa League final after 25 years?
I am very proud of it. It is true for the whole Italy, because it is a trophy cursed in the Italian Cup: only Inter and Rome have reached the finals in the past 25 years. This also shows how fierce the competition is in this cup: winning the championship with Atlanta is a fairy tale that happens sometimes. It is a matter that will not only bring confidence to the Premier League, big clubs and historical figures, but everyone can achieve certain results.
You even gave a zero seal to Leverkusen. How does that make you feel?
We did well... we were excellent in all aspects, we scored three beautiful goals, and there were other aspects. I think we did very well.
Is this revenge for the fate of losing the Champions League to Paris Saint Germain in 2020?
No, it was another great game, but we were reversed in the last few minutes. Even so, that result cannot erase our performance. This left us with a strong bitterness, because we were only a few minutes away from the semi-final of the Champions League. The semi-final of the Champions League is perhaps the most glorious moment for us in these years. Winning the Champions League will be even more glorious. We have achieved amazing results. We played against Porto four times, we beat the Premier League leader Liverpool, we also beat Marseille, and finally we beat the German championship, which gave us more honor and satisfaction.
