Gasperini: Atalanta stars deserve the plaudits after reaching Coppa Italia Final

Date: 25th April 2019 at 11:45pm
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Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini insisted that the praise being lavished on him ought to be directed to his players, after they booked a place in the Coppa Italia Final with a 2-1 win over Fiorentina on Thursday.

Trailing from an early Luis Muriel goal, La Dea turned the match around through a Josip Ilicic penalty and a Papu Gomez strike to seal a 5-4 aggregate victory, having secured a 3-3 first leg draw in Florence.

The victory sets up a clash with Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome to decide the destination of the trophy, but Gasperini was adamant that it would be no disadvantage to his side, who he was keen to praise.

“We are going to compete in Rome, on Lazio’s pitch, and I am sure they will have plenty of fans in attendance, but I think we could bring three-quarters of Bergamo with us,” the 61-year-old declared in his post match press conference at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia.

“We will not feel the pressure of being away from home, and our focus is on bringing the trophy back. The players deserve so much credit, they have earned this and far too much credit is given to me.

“Gomez was a driving force for us today, he is a real leader. I must praise him, but also Ilicic, [Duvan] Zapata and all the other guys out there. I’m so happy for them, this group is extraordinary in their determination to succeed.”

Atalanta will be looking to lift the Coppa Italia for only the second time in their history, with their only previous success coming in 1963.

 

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