 Gasperini withAtalanta in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gian Piero Gasperini[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1958-01-26)26 January 1958 (age 67) | ||
| Place of birth | Grugliasco, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Roma (head coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1967–1976 | Juventus | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1976–1978 | Juventus | 0 | (0) |
| 1977–1978 | →Reggiana (loan) | 16 | (0) |
| 1978–1983 | Palermo | 128 | (0) |
| 1983–1984 | Cavese | 34 | (0) |
| 1984–1985 | Pistoiese | 34 | (0) |
| 1985–1990 | Pescara | 160 | (0) |
| 1990–1991 | Salernitana | 35 | (1) |
| 1991–1993 | Vis Pesaro | 61 | (0) |
| Total | 468 | (1) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2003–2004 | Crotone | ||
| 2005–2006 | Crotone | ||
| 2006–2010 | Genoa | ||
| 2011 | Inter Milan | ||
| 2012–2013 | Palermo | ||
| 2013 | Palermo | ||
| 2013–2016 | Genoa | ||
| 2016–2025 | Atalanta | ||
| 2025– | Roma | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Gian Piero Gasperini (born 26 January 1958) is an Italian professionalfootball manager and former professionalfootballer who is currently the head coach ofSerie A clubRoma.
After starting his managerial career atCrotone, he had spells in charge ofGenoa andInter Milan where he was sacked after just three months. He subsequently managedPalermo and had a second spell at Genoa. Gasperini was then manager of Atalanta for nine years, in which he led the club to fiveChampions League qualifications and won theEuropa League in2024. He left Atalanta in June 2025 and was appointed as manager of Roma.
Gasperini entered theJuventus youth system at the age of 9; during his stay at the youth system, he won anAllievi Nazionali championship and was in thePrimavera squad, which includedPaolo Rossi andSergio Brio, that placedrunner-up in 1976 behindLazio.[3] After having played a handful ofCoppa Italia matches with the first team, he was loaned toReggiana and then sold toSerie B clubPalermo in 1978. He stayed five seasons at Palermo, all in Serie B, but reached a Coppa Italia final in 1979, then lost to Juventus.
After two seasons withCavese (Serie B) andPistoiese (Serie C1), Gasperini moved toPescara, where he finally gained his first opportunity to play inSerie A after the promotion in 1987. He made his Serie A debut in a home match againstPisa, ended in a 2–1 victory which featured a goal of his. In 1990, he left Pescara to joinSalernitana, and retired in 1993 at the age of 35 after two seasons with Vis Pesaro.
In 1994, Gasperini returned toJuventus'syouth system, this time as a coach.[4] He was initially coach of theGiovanissimi (U-14) for two years, followed by two other years with theAllievi (U-17). In 1998, he became the manager of thePrimavera (U-20) squad.
In 2003, Gasperini left Juventus to become head coach ofSerie C1 clubCrotone, where he readily guided his team to promotion toSerie B via the play-offs. He stayed at Crotone for two more seasons in Serie B; he was sacked during the 2004–2005 season but appointed back soon later.
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From 2006 he was head coach of ambitious clubGenoa, and led his side to a promotion toSerie A in his first season with therossoblu. In the2008–09 season, Gasperini led Genoa to fifth place ofSerie A, the highest placement for the team in 19 years, thus securing aUEFA Europa League spot, relaunching players likeDiego Milito andThiago Motta in a 3–4–3 formation and a particularly spectacular football style that was praised throughout Italy,[5] so much so thatJosé Mourinho, manager ofSerie A championsInter Milan, stated Gasperini was the coach who put him in greatest difficulty.[6] However, a poor start in the2010–11 season, with 11 points in 10 games despite popular signings such asLuca Toni,Rafinha,Miguel Veloso andKakha Kaladze, caused Gasperini's dismissal from his coaching post on 8 November.[7]
On 24 June 2011,Massimo Moratti confirmed that Gasperini would replaceLeonardo as the manager ofInter Milan.[8][9] However, on 21 September 2011, Gasperini was sacked after a dismal run of five winless games, including four defeats.[10]
Gasperini began his spell at Inter with a 2–1 loss againstcrosstown rivalsMilan in the2011 Supercoppa Italiana.[11] In the first Serie A league game, Inter were then surprised by a caretaker-headedPalermo in a 4–3 defeat in Sicily, then followed by a scoreless home draw withRoma.
A 1–0 home defeat toTrabzonspor in theChampions League made matters worse, and Moratti sacked Gasperini after a shock 3–1 defeat to Serie A newcomersNovara.[12]
On 16 September 2012, Gasperini was announced as the new manager ofPalermo, a former team of his as a player, taking over fromGiuseppe Sannino.[13]
On 4 February 2013, he was dismissed from his post following a 2–1 loss at home toAtalanta.[14]
On 24 February 2013, Gasperini was rehired as the Palermo manager, replacingAlberto Malesani after three games in charge.[15]On 11 March 2013, Gasperini was again removed from the post, this time byGiuseppe Sannino.[16]
On 29 September 2013, Genoa announced to have rehired Gasperini after almost three years since his previous spell ended.[17]
On 14 June 2016, Gasperini was appointed manager ofAtalanta.[18] During his term at the team, Gasperini turned Atalanta from a club with the goal of avoiding Serie B relegation into a team fighting for Serie A dominance and constantly participating in European competitions.[19] Hisfirst season in charge turned out to have a difficult start, Gasperini being on the verge of sacking after five rounds which saw Atalanta in the penultimate place after a 0–1 home defeat toPalermo. However, from there on the team's results steadily improved, leading them to beat Inter,Roma andNapoli, with a streak of six consecutive victories in Serie A leaving them in sixth place during the winter break. Atalanta continued to be the season's surprise package and finished fourth inSerie A, thus qualifying for theUEFA Europa League.
Thefollowing season, returning to Europe after 26 years of absence, Atalanta managed to win their Europa League group that also includedLyon,Everton andApollon Limassol, remaining undefeated to progress to the round of 16, where they were eliminated byBorussia Dortmund after a 1–1 home draw and a 2–3 away loss in Germany. In Serie A, they managed a seventh place finish, thus earning anotherUEFA Europa League qualification, this time in the second qualifying round, while in theCoppa Italia they progressed to the semi-finals, where they were eliminated byJuventus.
On 26 May 2019, Atalanta finished third in Serie A during the2018–19 season, and qualified for theUEFA Champions League for the first time in their history. Atalanta also reached thefinal of the2018–19 Coppa Italia; however they lost 2–0 againstLazio.[20][21]
On 9 September 2019, Gasperini was made an honorary citizen ofBergamo. Atalanta qualified for theround of 16 of the Champions League for the first time after finishing in second place in thegroup that also includedManchester City,Shakhtar Donetsk andDinamo Zagreb. Gasperini's first match in the Champions League knockout rounds ended in a 4–1 home win againstValencia.[22] Atalanta progressed to the quarter-finals following a 4–3 away win over Valencia in the second leg on 10 March 2020, giving them an 8–4 aggregate victory.[23] However, they were eliminated byParis Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals following a 1–2 defeat.[24] Despite the impact of theCOVID-19 pandemic in Italy, which struck Bergamo severely, Atalanta finished in third place in Serie A once again in2020, qualifying for the Champions League for the second consecutive season.[25] The team's attacking trio ofJosip Iličić,Luis Muriel, andDuván Zapata each scored over 15 league goals that season, leading to Atalanta becoming the first Italian club to have three players score at least 15 league goals since Juventus in1951–52.[26] Atalanta finished the season by scoring a record–breaking 98 goals in Serie A, the most goals by any Italian club in a single league season in over 60 years.[27][28]
Despite the departure of the club's starplaymaker andcaptainPapu Gómez to Spanish sideSevilla part-way through the 2020–21 season, Gasperini led Atalanta to a third–place finish in Serie A for the third consecutive season in2020–21, qualifying once again for the Champions League.[29] On 19 May 2021, Atalanta lost 2–1 to Juventus in the2021 Coppa Italia final, held at theMapei Stadium – Città del Tricolore,Reggio Emilia.[30][31] Atalanta suffered a round-of-16 elimination in the2020–21 UEFA Champions League, losing out toReal Madrid 4–1 on aggregate.[32]
Thefollowing season, Atalanta suffered a group stage elimination in theUEFA Champions League, finishing third behindManchester United andVillarreal, and were demoted to theEuropa League;[33] they were eliminated in the latter competition in the quarter-finals, following a 3–1 aggregate defeat toRB Leipzig.[34] The club finished theSerie A season in eighth place, failing to qualify for European club competitions for the first time since Gasperini was appointed the team's manager.[35] Atalanta managed to qualify for the Europa League after finishing in fifth place inSerie A during the2022–23 season.[36]
On 18 April 2024, Gasperini's Atalanta advanced to the semi-finals of the2023–24 UEFA Europa League following a 3–1 aggregate win overLiverpool, despite losing 1–0 at home in the second leg. Regarding the result, he commented: "If you don't win without danger, there's no glory to your triumph."[37] He ultimately led the club to victory in thefinal on 22 May againstBayer Leverkusen; this was Gasperini's first career title and Atalanta's first European trophy.[38]
On 31 May 2025, Gasperini announced his departure from the club after nine years, following a third-place finish in the2024–25 season and securing qualification for the Champions League.[39][40]
On 6 June 2025, Gasperini was announced as the new head coach ofRoma. He signed a contract valid until the end of the 2027–28 season.[41] At Roma, he reunited withBryan Cristante andGianluca Mancini, as well asPierluigi Gollini, all of whom had played for Gasperini during his time with Atalanta. His first competitive game as head coach resulted in a 1–0 win athome againstBologna.[42]
Tactically, Gasperini is known for using a fluid3–4–3 formation and a spectacular high-risk hyper-offensive-minded possession-based system, which relies on the versatility of his midfielders and front line. His team's playing style places more focus on scoring goals, off-the-ball movement and quick, short passes on the ground, and less focus on long balls and the defensive aspect of the game. As such, at times his trademark 3–4–3 system resembles a3–4–1–2,3–2–4–1,3–5–2, or3–4–2–1 formation, with energetic overlapping attackingwing-backs in lieu ofwide midfielders, that provide width along the flanks and push up the pitch when going forward. He has also been known to use a4–3–3 or4–2–3–1 on occasion.[43] His teams are known for playing a high defensive line and for being very compact defensively, with little distance between the attack and the defence. During the 1990s, Gasperini's tactical philosophy and teams' playing styles was inspired by Dutch football, namelyLouis van Gaal'sAjax side, rather thanArrigo Sacchi's 4–4–2 system, which first led him to switch from a four to a three–man back-line. When defending off the ball, his teams are also known for the use of heavy pressing, but also apply elements of fluidman-marking across the entire pitch and often switch to a5–4–1 formation defensively.[44][45][46] This strategy has been described as "man-to-man pressing" in the media.[47] Gasperini favours using hard-working and highly physical two-way players in midfield rather than adeep-lyingplaymaker, and quick, elusive, even smaller but creative players in attack, in order to implement his system effectively; but also on occasion a larger and more physicalcentre-forward who is good in the air. Despite the acclaim he has garnered due to his offensive playing style, which has led him to obtain successful results with smaller teams, he has also drawn criticism for his unbalanced approach, and for his team's tendency to concede goals as well as scoring them. As such, certain pundits have questioned whether his system would be equally effective with larger teams.[22][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59]
| Team | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||
| Crotone | 1 July 2003 | 8 December 2004 | 69 | 32 | 17 | 20 | 112 | 76 | +36 | 046.38 |
| Crotone | 17 April 2005 | 10 July 2006 | 53 | 24 | 13 | 16 | 73 | 55 | +18 | 045.28 |
| Genoa | 10 July 2006 | 8 November 2010 | 186 | 82 | 42 | 62 | 265 | 236 | +29 | 044.09 |
| Inter Milan | 24 June 2011 | 21 September 2011 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 10 | −5 | 000.00 |
| Palermo | 16 September 2012 | 4 February 2013 | 21 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 20 | 32 | −12 | 014.29 |
| Palermo | 24 February 2013 | 11 March 2013 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 000.00 |
| Genoa | 29 September 2013 | 14 June 2016 | 111 | 40 | 28 | 43 | 145 | 139 | +6 | 036.04 |
| Atalanta | 14 June 2016 | 1 June 2025 | 438 | 228 | 101 | 109 | 852 | 512 | +340 | 052.05 |
| Roma | 6 June 2025 | Present | 16 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 20 | 10 | +10 | 068.75 |
| Total | 902 | 420 | 211 | 271 | 1,493 | 1,072 | +421 | 046.56 | ||
Atalanta
Individual
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
