Atalanta President Antonio Percassi admitted he “cried alone” after the famous 3-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday.
The Dea qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League after their victory in Ukraine, and the patron confessed he had to watch the match on his own.
“I had decided to stay at home, where I could be alone,” he told the Gazzetta dello Sport.
“I preferred it this way: I wanted to enjoy it more, I wanted to be able to despair or cry for happiness. And I cried alone.
Atalanta President Antonio Percassi admitted he “cried alone” after the famous 3-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday.
The Dea qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League after their victory in Ukraine, and the patron confessed he had to watch the match on his own.
“I had decided to stay at home, where I could be alone,” he told the Gazzetta dello Sport.
“I preferred it this way: I wanted to enjoy it more, I wanted to be able to despair or cry for happiness. And I cried alone.
“Every now and then, my seven-year-old son Michael would enter. After 1-0, I really believed. I saw how focused they lads were.”
He had praise for how Gian Piero Gasperini’s men bounced back and said they felt written off after only three rounds during their first season in the prestigious tournament.
“In May we had written a piece of our history and we said to ourselves: now we go to university, to learn.
“After the first matches, they already wrote us off, talking about a lack of experience, emotions from our debut, but then in the next three we played great football and wrote another chapter.
“To the team, I more or less said: ‘You have done something extraordinary, unique, historical. You gave us a dream.’”