Atalanta – Napoli, Mazzarri finds Gasperini again: the two “young” lions.

Brody was in government, Mike Bongiorno had recently quarreled with Loretta Goggi in the Miss Italy pageant, and Bush was president of the United States. And in September 2007, 16 years ago, the first challenge occurred between Mazzarri and Gasperini, my enemies in the first chapter. Genoa derby. Let’s face it: among this generation of technicians, only a few are still on the right track. There is also King Carlo Ranieri who was at the time on the bench at Juventus, and then Luciano Spalletti, then at Roma and now the coach of the rebirth of the Azzurri. Young people, of course. Those that burn stress, gas, and anxiety. Fast, quick-tongued, like Farioli, the prodigy of Nizza, or Palladino, the great coach of Monza. Then there are those people, over 60, who are ready to brave aging at their hips. But with a physique that is always extraordinary, there is no trace of fat. If it were not for the ID card, no one would know their age.

They touched, smelled, and avoided each other. Since the days of the Lantern Derby. Two years of rivalry ended with Mazzarri saying: “I no longer hold a joint conference with him.” It happens when you share the passion of a city divided in two. He was at Sampdoria, he was at Genoa. Then, albeit in different years, they shared the failure: they had to bury the remains of the Inter treble with dignity and set the course, against the backdrop of poor markets and historical turning points, above all. And they both failed. Ultimately, Inter was a stop for dreams of grandeur for both. A watershed for one’s dreams of greatness. Even if Gasp later became great for Atalanta, because of a fairy tale he wrote. Mazzarri had to wait a long time before this call sounded like a rebirth for Mazzarri, who mixes the dream of a return to yesterday’s victories with the vague reference to reheated soup.

May 2011. Mazzarri plays a man who can’t stand being with De Laurentiis anymore (a scene seen several other times with other coaches). And Aurelio De Laurentiis writes a screenplay worthy of a movie. For Mazzarri, in those days, Napoli seemed to have suddenly shrunk, like a poorly washed shirt. Then he thinks about going to Juventus and prepares to say goodbye. De Laurentiis senses the trap, targets it, and never lets go. He tells him that his lawyers are prepared for a legal battle and that Gasperini will be on the bench in Naples, who, meanwhile, having fallen into the trap, already has a suitcase to go to Naples after his interview in Turin. But it was a joke. Or a play. However, Gasperini remains with the postponed match, because Mazzarri is turning around and extending his stay in Naples. With Gaspe taking time to forgive De Laurentiis. He says: “They were playing and singing.” But then, during the chaos that followed Gattuso, he was one of the people the owner called. But this time it’s Gasp who says no thanks without hesitation. There are two technicians who are light years different: Gasperini is a self-confident Savoy, and Mazzarri is from San Vincenzo, so there must be something deeply Tuscan about it all. One has the attacking spear in his creed, in the more familiar and exhausting 3-4-3, and the other says he has learned every move of the 4-3-3 from Spalletti’s DVDs, so in two days in Bergamo it will be a good display. As a player, at Pescara Galleoni (Gasperini had the heart of a surveyor, except for moments of pure rage), he one day punched Maradona in the face and broke his upper lip. He apologized to him years later. Walterone’s heart beats at a thousand miles an hour on the eve of his first appearance. He’ll say it, sooner or later: Yes, my heart beats a thousand times an hour.

Gasperini, speaking to Italian League Radio, talks about the confrontations with Mazzarri: “If I talk to him, I think about the Genoa derby. They were good challenges, Sampdoria were traveling in Europe while Genoa arrived from Serie B, but they managed to achieve great results in two years. It was a derby with a lot of strong players, and I think Pazzini, Cassano, Milito, Thiago Motta… great matches. I was always hanging out between Atalanta and Genoa, and he was at Napoli, Inter and Torino: they were always big challenges. The match between Atalanta and Napoli will be important for both teams, for them because of the change they have made, and for us because we are starting a series of important matches.” They have grown up, there is no need to swing hatchets. Mazzarri will say goodbye to Gasperini, of course he will. After the seven slaps that Atalanta received at the Stadio Comunale D Turin, sent the team to retreat. Of course, he did not learn the football lesson well. The last time they met, it was in February 2022, the Cagliari team beat Atalanta. From where Mazzarri’s adventure begins. Who first wants to prove that he is not the coach of a team that made Italy tremble Five months ago. Read the full article
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