Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini on his playing philosophy and the UEFA Europa League final against Leverkusen – interview

At 66, Gian Piero Gasperini has made it to his first ever UEFA club competition final as his Atalanta side prepare to take on Leverkusen in the UEFA Europa League showpiece in Dublin. However, as the coach told UEFA.com, trophies are not necessarily the only metric of success in the world of football.

Over the course of his long coaching career, Gasperini has built up a reputation for nurturing young talent, playing exciting attacking football and getting results against sides with better resources. Once regarded as overly risky, his hallmark 3-4-3 system has become reasonably familiar at the highest levels in European football, but a trophy or two to add to his reputation would be most welcome.

On his first-ever European final

It feels good. It's a great achievement and source of satisfaction, achieved with a really good season from this whole team. Is it the highest point of my career? Yes, in terms of accomplishment and prestige, absolutely. In terms of gratification, fortunately I've had quite a few, although perhaps not on the same level.

I don't think winning a cup is necessarily always part of the parameters by which success is judged. Everyone has their own goals. When you manage to exceed them by far, as has happened at Atalanta, you still have to be very satisfied. If we also manage to add a cup, of course, we'll be even more satisfied.

On his time at Atalanta

It started eight years ago, very suddenly, as good things usually do. At that time there were lots of players in the youth ranks, close to the first team, but they were hardly involved. That was the turning point – from then on, Atalanta's world changed a bit. First [we reached] the Europa League, then after that the Champions [League].

Three Champions League qualifications in a row [for] a team who also played very good football, who scored a lot of goals. And the run in the [2019/20] Champions League also gave us a big boost. We came very close to a semi-final by coming up against Paris. That has always remained a bit like the milestone that got away, and I must say that this year we may have passed that milestone, and gone beyond it.

Gasperini during Atalanta's 2019/20 Champions League quarter-final against ParisGetty Images

On Atalanta's quest for European success this season

This team always wanted it. Sometimes, you get teams who are good technically but lacking in determination and hunger. From the start, from the group stage, since we played in Lisbon, in a group where we were not the favourites – Sporting [CP] were the favourites – we played great matches against strong opponents. Of course, winning at Anfield boosted our confidence even more.

On final opponents Leverkusen

The team and their achievements speak for themselves. They haven't lost this year. We're going to be up against a very tough team who have pulled off something extraordinary in their home country. They're a very robust team. They play in a very compact way, which makes it hard to get through. It's hard to create space against them. They have a lot of pace and technique in attack. They're an excellent team, otherwise they wouldn't have got these results. But I believe we have some important attributes and I hope that we can create problems to scupper their chances.

Both teams have a similar shape. I'm very pleased about this because when I started playing with this formation a few years ago, we were pretty much the only ones doing it. We were very much the odd ones out. Now, in the Champions League and Europa League, there are lots of teams doing the same thing, albeit with their own approach and style. Three defenders and three strikers has become very fashionable, you could say. Very common, at least.