Maurizio Sarri says Atalanta’s training retreat is designed to strengthen relationships within the squad after their 3-0 home defeat by Parma, while insisting the team’s problems against the struggling visitors were not tactical.
Sarri ordered the players into a training retreat on Monday night, following a result that left him concerned by the team’s reaction after conceding the opening goal. He was speaking on Wednesday, on the eve of Atalanta’s Conference League fixture against Kairat Almaty.
“The training retreat is meant to bring us closer together and help us build stronger-than-usual relationships, even when we’re not talking about football,” Sarri said at his press conference, according to ANSA.
“That way, we can strengthen our personal bonds and overcome the problems we’re facing.”
The Atalanta manager said he had experienced similar difficult periods during his career and had learned to deal with them through experience.
“This isn’t a new situation for me,” he added.
“I’ve come through it by staying true to my principles; sometimes I haven’t come through it at all. With experience, you learn to accept and handle certain things better.”
Sarri said he remained satisfied with aspects of Atalanta’s performance, particularly before half-time, although he admitted the side lacked composure and responded poorly to setbacks.
“I’m happy with the team. In the first half against Parma, I saw what I wanted to see, apart from some defensive carelessness,” he said.
“I’m not happy with our composure or our reactions. We stopped believing after conceding the first goal, and the second followed logically.
“You can’t work on that out on the pitch. We need to reflect on why a single negative event on Monday evening knocked us off course.”
Despite the scoreline, Sarri highlighted the contrast between the two teams’ attacking opportunities, saying Atalanta had created 12 chances compared with Parma’s three.
“Twelve chances to three: those are the numbers, the facts,” he said. “At times, we seem to lack enough aggression in both penalty areas. Tactics weren’t the problem.”
He described the meeting with Kairat as a difficult match because of the issues currently affecting his squad. However, Sarri pointed to the quality of the opposition Atalanta have faced over the past year, and particularly during the last six months.
“Over the past year, and especially the past six months, our opponents have lost 2–1 to Inter in Milan and 3–2 to Arsenal in London,” he said.
Sarri also confirmed that Italy international Gianluca Scamacca could be available for Thursday’s match. The striker, he said, is “trying to return”.
