Gian Piero Gasperini on Atalanta's Europa League triumph and Carlo Ancelotti reunion

Gian Piero Gasperini is proof that persistence, dedication and relentless ambition will reap their rewards eventually. The 66-year-old Italian, twice voted Coach of the Year in Serie A, finally got his hands on a team trophy when his Atalanta side beat Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 in the 2024 UEFA Europa League final in Dublin, also securing La Dea's first-ever European trophy.

Gasperini started his coaching career in the youth set-up at Juventus 30 years ago and now goes head to head with a man who occupied the senior helm during part of his time in Turin, Carlo Ancelotti, when Atalanta face UEFA Champions League winners Real Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup in Warsaw on 14 August.

On Atalanta's run to Europa League glory and being underdogs

It was a long journey in the Europa League. From the first game in Lisbon onwards, we showed our qualities and played to the best of our ability. It was a really high-level competition and winning it that way was a huge achievement for us. We were the underdogs against Liverpool, maybe against Sporting CP too at the start. Everyone thought they would win – and in the end we faced them four times [group stage then round of 16]. I should say that being the underdogs worked in our favour to a certain extent, it brought out the best in us.

I don't know if we were one of the best teams but we were very good. We were definitely the best in the competition, partly because of the results we got: 3-0 against Marseille, 3-0 against Liverpool, 3-0 against Bayer Leverkusen. There were other games too, like our ties against Sporting where we beat them twice and drew twice. We did ourselves justice throughout the Europa League and the most satisfying thing is that competitions like this are really uncertain – they can pivot on a single incident – but it is widely recognised that we deserved to win the trophy.

On what it meant to him and Atalanta to win the trophy

It means everything in the history of Atalanta. And for me, as well, it's the first European trophy I've won. Winning, especially in Europe, is something Atalanta had never done before in their history, nor had many of us at the club. And the way we did it will never be forgotten at this club. We were on the up towards the end of the season, winning many games in a row, including in Serie A. We put in some great performances in both league and cups which allowed us to reach [two] finals and finish in the Champions League places in Serie A.

Then there was the defeat a week before [Leverkusen] in the Coppa Italia final against Juventus, against a backdrop of lots of good games, both results wise and performances wise. Maybe because we didn't play our best in that match against Juventus, it gave us the strength, the concentration and focus to play against Leverkusen, which was the closely-fought game many predicted. That Coppa Italia final proved vital in terms of us putting in the performance we did.

On when he realised Atalanta were going to win the Europa League

We really wanted [Ademola] Lookman's third goal, because even when we were 2-0 up, we were well aware of Bayer's ability to turn round a game, like they had done so many times throughout the season. When we got to 3-0, we allowed ourselves to believe we had done enough to win the cup. Obviously, there was a huge sense of achievement. We enjoyed it this summer even more, because Atalanta stood out as one of the only Italian teams that did well in Europe this year; in a way, we were representing Italy. But it was also an achievement because it proved that a small-to-medium sized club like Atalanta could go all the way.

On his coaching journey at Atalanta, who he joined in 2016

In the last six years we have got into the Champions League four times. This season will be our fourth time. We've become a major player in the landscape of European football and that's very different to how it was eight years ago. We made it on this journey together and certainly a lot of players have changed in that time. The squad is almost unrecognisable now from before. We've shed our skin at least three times but we've always maintained our high level of determination and competitiveness. That's thanks to the whole system here: from coaching staff to players, the club, the atmosphere and the city itself. All these factors contribute to the team being able to function.

On facing Real Madrid in the Super Cup

That will be an extraordinary occasion for Atalanta, for Bergamo, for the history of the place. We are playing against the most decorated club in the world, against the team that has won the most in the world. To play a final like this, for this trophy against such an important club, would have been unthinkable until fairly recently. There's a huge sense of pride. Also, a feeling of wanting to be there, of wanting to go there and put in a great performance and hold our own against a club who are historically the stronger team. It's a really inspiring moment for the whole of Bergamo, all the fans. There's no doubt it's a high point, perhaps the pinnacle in the history of Atalanta.

On Carlo Ancelotti, who he worked with at Juventus

Carlo is clearly an institution the world over. He is without question the coach who has won the most. He's done that with many different clubs, and he is doing amazing things at Real Madrid. He did it before with them and he's doing it again. Clearly for us, at least for me anyway, it will be very special to be playing against him in this final, considering 30 years ago I was coaching the youth team at Juventus and he was coaching the first team. That was many years ago, but it will be wonderful to meet again in this final.