It’s the last away match of the 2019-2020 Serie A TIM campaign for Atalanta who will be hosted by Parma at the Ennio Tardini stadium for matchday 37. As per usual, the Head Coach Gian Piero Gasperini was interviewed on the eve of the match.

Here is the interview with the Nerazzurri coach.

It’s the last week, it’s the last two matches, which are very important, as they will establish the position on the table.

“Yes. The last two have arrived. We are masters of our final result. We have the advantage that if we win them both we can finish second. This is not the most important objective overall, as the most important one was to qualify for the Champions League. It’s obvious that we’ll do our best to achieve it”.

These are the objectives that motivate and keep the tension high.

“Yes, absolutely. As it’s true that we’re thinking about the Champions League and the fixture against Paris Saint-Germain. And the best way to get there is playing in a focused and attentive way in these two last games”.

Among the last matches played, you stated that these are important tests for the Champions League and Paris Saint-Germain. How much you missed not being on the pitch against Milan?

“Well… A lot. But I would have many things to say also on how I got sent off, but it’s fine. Now we’re focusing on the next matches, but it was definitely not a fair episode. Now we have Parma, then Inter”.

We saw you like a caged lion. Sky framed you several times. 

“It’s okay. I think it was a good match against Milan. That result gives us the chance to be in the running for second place”.

The first of these two remaining matches is against Parma. Parma had a complicated time and now seem to have bounced back, with the last two wins against Napoli and Brescia.

“Parma are a great team. They performed well in the league. They have quality. At some point they were also in the running for a spot in the European competitions. At the moment many teams have had moments of ups and downs, perhaps due to some absences. Then you get the players back and recover a better mental and physical shape and manage to do well. On the contrary, you can feel tired at some point and struggle. It’s difficult to make predictions in this respect. The important thing is how we interpret the matches and how we’re keeping up playing with good results and a good shape, which I think will improve in the coming weeks”.

What was more important during this time: the athletic and physical fitness or also the mental one? As you played many matches in 40 days or so.

“It was really difficult for any team, I think. As playing in this climate, with this frequency for many consecutive games it was a heavy effort in all respects, physical, mental for all teams. I must say that we’ve always showed a good shape, a good fitness in all respects. And also a bit of luck, at least so far that only two games are missing, which allowed us not to lose players, except for Iličić. This was certainly auspicious for us, as this was what I feared the most”.

It’s an odd campaign. What will you remember the most of this season, which it’s not over yet?

“It’s a fragmentary season. An exciting season until February, with the attendance of the audience. With stadiums full of people, in general, not only here, but also everywhere else, with much more attendance. Then this virus completely broke everyone’s life. It put us in a position to try to restart, maybe restart and save football, which is not the same thing without fans. We all agree on that. Even though the matches have been authentic. They have been many, one third of the campaign. There are no alibis. These have been authentic games, played in different conditions. But it’s like when you play football in the rain, in the sun or in different conditions. This had never occurred. We all managed to adapt. No one likes this type of football. We want and hope that the people can go back to the stadium as soon as possible. It was a stopgap, a way to carry on this season. All the clubs and the players had to undergo checks and not easy situations. They all did it with great willingness. We managed to get to the last week. Hopefully, there will be more normal conditions when we restart in September, as [football] loses too much like this”.