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“The penalty should not have been fired by Lookman. He is one of the worst shooters I have ever seen. Even in training, its success rate is very low. He gets them really badly ”. In these very critical words towards Ademola Lookman, Gian Piero Gasperini exploded at a press conference Tuesday evening after elimination in the Champions League in the Champions League, thus placing Atalanta in a thick fog. Indeed, the Bergamasques won only two series in Serie A on the calendar year 2025: Côme (2-1) and Hellas Verone (5-0). Despite everything, the DEA encamps a beautiful 3rd position in the standings and can believe in the dream of a historic scudetto. Nevertheless, it is obvious that the European disillusionment against the Belgian club is already leaving sacred traces internally. At a press conference this Saturday, Gian Piero Gasperini approached several subjects and notably took everyone in short by announcing his departure from Atalanta next summer or the next one. In any case, the end of a wonderful adventure of 9 years is very close.
Inevitably, Italian journalists were quick to mention the clash with Ademola Lookman. The media outing of GASP was considered a public humiliation by part of the observers. Besides, the former Fulham player came out of silence: “Being pointed out as I was, hurts me and gives me the impression of not being respected when I give my maximum to bring success to this club every day and its incredible supporters. To be honest, I had to manage a lot of difficult moments in this club, most of the time I did not talk about it, because it was necessary to protect the team first. Whoever was appointed to draw the penalties asked me to draw this penalty and I took my responsibilities to help my team“The African Ballon d'Or 2024 was lameted. But other subjects took a preponderant place in the press point this Saturday, on the eve of the displacement of the Atalanta to Empoli. A compulsory victory to regain confidence and above all turn off the burning fire.
An upcoming departure!
Again as questioned at a press conference on this case, Gian Piero Gasperini wanted to apologize publicly and gave more details about his words: “Lookman had an extraordinary impact, compared to everything that then happened around the penalty, my comment was not intended to be offensive. Yesterday with Lucca de l'Udinese, we had an idea of what we almost did in front of the whole world, fortunately the guys avoided him. I would have liked a player like Lookman to see Ketelaere and tell him '. It is not something negative. If he works on the preparation of the penalties, the one who draws with power and precision can become a penalty shooter, perhaps even the first. Without four missed penalties, do the calculation where we would be in the Champions League and in the Championship. I have almost the feeling that there is a desire to describe Atalanta as something that goes in the air. The reality for me is a little different. I always speak in front of the whole team, the subject never touched the club. If he felt offended, I didn't want to. I really liked what the Udinese did on the marked penalty». In the middle of the race for the Scudetto, a journalist wanted to relax the atmosphere of the press conference by mentioning the predictions of an artificial intelligence which announces an Atalanta champion in 2033. Except that no one in the room expected his answer .
Gian Piero Gasperini simply seized the pole set by the press to announce his departure from the club. After having extended his two -season contract last summer, the 67 -year -old Italian coach should not last long in Bergamo since he already wishes to meet with his management at the end of the season: “Artificial intelligence says we will win the championship in 2033? Great, but this will not be my case. There is a start and an end to all things, there will be no extension or continuity. At the end of the season, we will see if it will be the case to leave now or wait for the end of my contract (in June 2026, editor's note). I'm waiting for the best as always. I'm waiting to believe the impossible. Of everyone, in thirteen games, as we have always done for many years. It is only if you really believe that you can do what is not possible, that you do it. The goal is to try to amaze. I have little time to achieve the impossible, it may be the last thing I do ”he said. Last summer, after the triumph in the Europa League final won in Dublin against Bayer Leverkusen (3-0), the coach was tempted by new experiences. In particular, the Napoli of Aurelio de Laurentiis had manifested himself to feel the ground. Then, after a reflection break, the Gasp had finally extended.
In the Champions League, after a good championship phase, Atalanta was eliminated by Bruges in a dam where it left Archi-Favorite. And despite the heavy legacy of the Lookman-Gasperini affair, the tactician promises that the group remains very positive: “The day before yesterday, the president came to congratulate the team, putting the price as if we had spent a course in the Champions League. For the commitment and quality of the game against Bruges, it was a great performance. Clearly, we expected to pass, but in the episodes, we failed to put them on our side. A battle for the qualification that was hard. Maybe there is a media chaos, but for us, we feel much less. There is not this tension that people talk about, it would take more to believe in the impossible». The Atalanta season is mixed: beaten by Real Madrid in the final of the European Super Cup, the Orobician team achieves an excellent championship. The DEA occupied the head of the ranking for a while and now plays third place there just a few points from Naples and Inter. On the other hand, things went badly in the national cuts, where the Bergamasques were clearly beaten by the Inter in the semi-finals of the Super Cup, in a match where Gian Piero Gasperini had made a big turnover. They were also eliminated by Bologna in the quarterfinals of the COPPA Italia.
