{"id":396094,"date":"2024-05-22T03:00:16","date_gmt":"2024-05-22T03:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=396094"},"modified":"2024-05-22T06:07:01","modified_gmt":"2024-05-22T06:07:01","slug":"coach-who-turned-down-mega-clubs-to-write-a-fairytale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=396094","title":{"rendered":"Coach who turned down mega clubs to write a fairytale"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two admired managers at opposite ends of their careers, with shared values of loyalty to their overachieving small city clubs, will contest the Europa League<\/a> final on Thursday (AEST).<\/p>\n

Xabi Alonso has led unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen<\/a> to an instant classic football story in his first full season in the job at age 42.<\/p>\n

Gian Piero Gasperini at 66 is having perhaps the finest of his 21st seasons as coach, his eighth at Atalanta which continues to defy football gravity as a low budget provincial club in the hotbed of northern Italy.<\/p>\n

Watch Bayer Leverkusen vs Atalanta in the 2024 UEFA Europa League final on May 23 AEST,<\/strong><\/em> streaming ad free, live and exclusive on Stan Sport<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/StanSportFC\/status\/1792812576058863630?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw<\/a><\/p>\n

Gasperini on Wednesday joined the wide praise for Alonso, even as a former Liverpool and Bayern Munich midfielder, turning down recent offers from both to stay with Leverkusen next season.<\/p>\n

"What Xabi Alonso has done is wonderful with the performances this season," Gasperini said.<\/p>\n

"He had the opportunity to go to a number of big clubs."<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> 'He hasn't yet learnt': Mundine's plea to Latrell<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Teen AFL superstar's heartbreaking homesick admission<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Bennett keen to bring Burgess back to Bunnies<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"Xabi<\/p>\n

The Atalanta coach had his own experience earning a chance to coach a former European champion, when he was hired by Inter Milan in 2011.<\/p>\n

It lasted three months and five games until he was fired.<\/p>\n

Gasperini also had gone back for second spells at three other clubs that previously fired him before landing in his ideal place with Atalanta in 2016.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/StanSportFC\/status\/1793099461381468368?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw<\/a><\/p>\n

"The club believed in me when I wasn't highly rated and that's a great example for soccer," he said.<\/p>\n

Gasperini quickly realised what he had with Atalanta, which had not played in a European competition for the 25 previous seasons before he was appointed.<\/p>\n

He said in 2017 "people love me in Bergamo, the club and fans appreciate me as a person and there is no point leaving a situation like that."<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/StanSportFC\/status\/1792454400423973159?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw<\/a><\/p>\n

Perhaps, though, the time has come with Gasperini himself fuelling speculation this month that he needs a new challenge, perhaps elsewhere.<\/p>\n

Asked about picking a good time to go, Gasperini said: "We don't have crystal balls, you never know what the right time is."<\/p>\n

"The right time is when you win, when the performance levels never drop off and people still rate you. We live more in the present than in the future."<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/StanSportFC\/status\/1792419986704884202?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw<\/a><\/p>\n

Atalanta already has a big win, securing a Champions League entry for next season by guaranteeing a top five finish in Serie A.<\/p>\n

It no longer needs to win the second tier Europa League to qualify for the elite European competition for a fourth time under Gasperini.<\/p>\n

"Absolutely, it allows us to be fully focused on this cup final," the Atalanta coach said of that pressure being lifted from his players.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/StanSportFC\/status\/1792374718068105580?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw<\/a><\/p>\n

"We need to be very precise and switched on. (Leverkusen) really are a team, first and foremost."<\/p>\n

Alonso, also speaking in the Aviva Stadium news conference room in Dublin, said he would be meeting his counterpart for the first time in the final.<\/p>\n

"It's going to be my honour. He's a big personality in Italy," said Alonso, whose three major tournament titles with Spain included beating Italy 4-0 in the final of the 2012 European Championship.<\/p>\n

\"Xabi<\/p>\n

"We know for five years that Atalanta have had a very clear identity," Alonso said.<\/p>\n

"It's a team that continues to press but they are not always gung ho.<\/p>\n

"Tactics matter but above all mentality. Either way, we have a game plan."<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two admired managers at opposite ends of their careers, with shared values of loyalty to their overachieving small city clubs, will contest the Europa League […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":396096,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396094"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=396094"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396094\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":396098,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396094\/revisions\/396098"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/396096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=396094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=396094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=396094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}