Percassi: ‘Gasperini hired nearly 10 years ago, but Atalanta evolved too’

Atalanta CEO Luca Percassi was ‘thinking about the time nearly 10 years ago’ when he hired Gian Piero Gasperini, but ‘the club has evolved’ too and is ready to face Roma.

It kicks off at the New Balance Arena at 19.45 GMT (20.45 CET).

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from today’s Serie A games on the Liveblog.

The atmosphere in Bergamo is very special this evening, as the fans face Gasperini for the first time as an opponent, having transformed the club during his nine-year reign.

Before his arrival, they were a yo-yo team trying to just survive in Serie A, but he took them to regular Champions League qualification, and triumph in the Europa League.

Gasperini returns to face Atalanta as a rival

“It’s natural that this is different. In my office this morning, I thought about the time nearly 10 years ago when I spoke with Enrico Preziosi to ask him to release Gasperini from his contract with Genoa,” Percassi told Sky Sport Italia.

“These have been 10 fantastic years where the coach brought his winning ideas and was able to express them in the best way during his career. At the same time, the club has grown and evolved, thanks also to the intuition of directors Sartori and D’Amico, all of it coming together to make this the best decade in the history of Atalanta.

“There is great affection, but at the same time this is a new chapter, and this is a very difficult game against a Roma side that in 2025 earned more Serie A points than any other team. Gasperini cares about Atalanta, it was a bit of an anomaly to last this long in Italian football, but all stories must come to an end.

“It is an emotional night, but we want to concentrate on the match.”

Ivan Juric struggled when replacing Gasperini, but the results and performances have certainly improved since Raffaele Palladino took over on November 11.

Ademola Lookman is still at the Africa Cup of Nations along with Odilon Kossounou, while Raoul Bellanova and Mitchel Bakker are injured.

Surprisingly, Nicola Zalewski is pushed into a more advanced role in support of Gianluca Scamacca, facing his former club.

Percassi was asked if he wanted Atalanta to put in their best performance of the season, considering they were up against their ‘ex’, but he remained diplomatic.

“There has always been quite a strong rivalry between these two clubs. It is disappointing we don’t have all our players available, but I am sure those chosen by the coach will do their best. I will say with elegance that every game is the same in our eyes,” smiled Percassi.