Ahead of the Coppa semifinal in Riyadh, Gasperini spoke to the press today.
It's the first time you've played Inter in normal conditions:
"That's how it is, for us after this streak of results in the league and being at the top it's an important match, even if it's different from the league ones. It will be different, it's a 90-minute match, where you're playing for a one-off elimination and it has to be seen with a different perspective."
How do you explain the difficulties you have historically had with Inter?
"First of all, we need to think about what Inter have done in the last three years, they are the strongest team. The last two games were the most difficult, the others were more balanced and we will have to be careful not to suffer initially as happened in the last two games, stay in the game a little longer, Inter becomes difficult to recover if they take the lead."
Atalanta among the big teams, the only one of the four to have won in Europe. How much pride is there?
"A lot, the Italian teams in Europe had been absent as victories for a long time. Having done it, especially for the path taken in the Europa League, with a competitive path, was a source of great pride and also an important point for our path."
How are you?
"We arrived yesterday evening, it's all a bit of a novelty. We saw this hyper-modern city that we didn't expect, it's a competition that we'll be entering in the next few hours: played like this, far from home and all the fans, it's a bit strange. We'll get into the frame of mind as we get closer, it's a very important competition but tomorrow is a semi-final: for us it will also be important to get back into the league when we play Juventus, Udinese and Napoli in a week. Tomorrow we need to reach the trophy, but also test how competitive this team is, also in terms of the league. Then the result will become even more important."
What impression do you have of Saudi football?
"First of all, thank you for the way you welcomed us, for me it was truly a surprise even if we have seen little yet. It was not easy for us to imagine. Returning to the match, we all play at our best, even if this one has arrived as a date at a particular moment, but we will be at the best of our ability to have the maximum chance of winning this cup. The first obstacle will be with Inter: we plan to play with the whole team, with the starting eleven and the five substitutions, to be able to get through the round."
Could this be Zaniolo's first start?
"I haven't decided yet, he's not the only one: there are Brescianini, Samardzic, Scalvini. Depending on the championship, we need to have more competitive players, because we will meet other high-quality teams."
The relationship with Lee Congerton?
"He left a year and a half ago, he worked with us for a year because he contributed profitably to the growth of the team. Among all of them, he deserves credit for having brought Lookman from Leipzig, he had met him at Leicester and believed in him a lot. That alone was enough."
How important is it for Atalanta to be in Saudi Arabia and grow their fan base?
"We played three finals in 2024: Coppa Italia, Europa League, European Super Cup. This is the fourth final in a few months, playing this type of match gives prestige to the club, value to the players, satisfaction to all of us. These are matches that are watched a lot around the world, in which you want to make a good impression and be competitive at your best. It is important for us to be here, it will be even more important to win."