The China Mail - Gasperini announces Atalanta departure before Roma move

Gasperini, 67, departs after turning the Bergamo club from provincial also-rans in the shadow of the Milan giants down the road to one of Italy's best teams and even Europa League winners last year.

"In the last few hours I have decided to put an end to a wonderful nine-year-long story... I'm ending my experience in Bergamo as head coach of Atalanta," Gasperini said in an open letter written to newspaper L'Eco di Bergamo.

"I decided to end my relationship with the club, and no responsibility should be put upon the club or its directors. I've simply come to understand that the time has come to take this step."

Atalanta finished third in Serie A this past season and secured Champions League football with two matches left to play after falling short with an ambitious bid for the club's first league title.

Gasperini is set to join Roma on a three-year contract with a net salary of five million euros a season as the capital club try to re-establish themselves in the Serie A top four.

Roma last qualified for the Champions League in 2017 and missed out in a spot in Europe's top club competition on the final day of the campaign last weekend, after a surge up the table under local hero Claudio Ranieri.

Ranieri came out of retirement in November to save Roma from sliding into the relegation positions and guided them to fifth and a place in the Europa League.

Roma, one of Italy's biggest clubs with a large and passionate support, have only won Serie A three times, the last coming way back in 2001.

They have been overtaken by fierce rivals Napoli whose recent Scudetto triumph took their tally to four, and two in the past three seasons.

Gasperini is a spiky character prone to angry outbursts at journalists and he will have to deal with both an expectant, highly-strung fanbase and an intense media environment in the Italian capital.

There are a slew of radio stations, websites and even a daily newspaper entirely dedicated to Roma, which have caused bust-ups with previous coaches and can create enormous pressure if results are not good.

Gasperini has chosen Roma over Juventus who tried to convince him to move to Turin after failing to snatch club icon Antonio Conte from Napoli.

Juve are now in a bind as current coach Igor Tudor was ony supposed to be a stopgap until the end of the season after replacing sacked Thiago Motta in March.

A.Kwok--ThChM