Gian Piero Gasperini, Head Coach of Atalanta, looks on prior to the Serie A match between Atalanta and Napoli at Gewiss Stadium on January 18, 2025 in Bergamo, Italy.

‘The ultimate expression of Spanish football’… Gasperini full of praise for Barcelona ahead of his side’s UCL tie

Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images

Following their drubbing of Valencia in La Liga, FC Barcelona are now set to face another interesting opponent in the UEFA Champions League, i.e., Atalanta. The Italians are currently standing 7th in the UCL League Phase table and 3rd in the Serie A table, and thus are having quite a good season.

Their head coach, Gian Piero Gasperini, addressed a press conference ahead of this match, and as Mundo Deportivo has reported, the Italian was full of praise for the Blaugranes in this presser.

Gasperini was clear that this upcoming game against Barcelona, one of the best teams at the moment, would be a significant test for his team:

“Among the great teams in Europe, they were the ones we were missing, and I have always considered them the best team… Going up against such a big team will allow us to see how competitive we are and whether our style of play can cause them trouble… [Barcelona] are the ultimate expression of Spanish football.”

The Italian tactician also commented on the goalkeeping situation in the Blaugrana team:

“The goalkeeper is always a special role. He [Wojciech Szczęsny] is a great goalkeeper. He was at Juventus… he ran over a player [referring to his incident with Balde in the match against Benfica]. The mistake he may have made does not take away his value; he is a great athlete with an extraordinary career and works very well.”

Similarly, the Atalanta coach believed this Barcelona team was not only about its individual stars:

“It wasn’t just Messi in the past; it was the whole team. It was an incredible squad. But today, under Flick, it’s a very good team as well. He is building it in a different way. Even if the names change, Barça always plays well and identifies very young talents. [Barcelona is] the ultimate expression of Spanish teams; incredible and very young talents always emerge.”

It is definitely nice to hear an opposition coach speaking so highly of Barcelona. Hopefully, this upcoming match will be a highly entertaining one, but the Italians will certainly be more committed to getting a win as the Blaugranes have already confirmed their direct qualification to the Round of 16.

Tags Gian Piero Gasperini