LEGENDARY Italian boss Gian Piero Gasperini made Massimo Donati want to become a manager.
The ex-Celtic star’s dream is bringing the Atalanta manager’s all-action brand of football to Scotland.
Massimo Donati on a recent visit to Celtic Park with Bella Vita owner Mimmo Rossi[/caption]
The Italian signed for Celts in 2007 from Serie A giants AC Milan[/caption]
He spent two years at Parkhead but one goal stands out above all others[/caption]
Donati is now making his way as a coach[/caption]
Donati played under Gasperini at Palermo and immediately wanted to follow in his footsteps.
And the out-of-work 43-year-old admits he’d jump at the chance of a return to this country.
He said: “I learned a lot from Gasperini. He’s doing so well with Atalanta but I was with him in Palermo.
“Back then, we had no chance of winning games but we played very good football.
“We dominated, but in games we had to win, we drew. And in the games we had to draw, we lost.
“It was a horrible season in terms of results.
“But the football we showed was incredible.
“I played centre-back and really enjoyed it.
“It is not surprising to me what he’s doing in Atalanta.
“Because from that season, I said, ‘Wow, this coach is incredible.’
“Since then he has won the Uefa Cup with Atalanta, which nobody expected.
“But Gasperini, along with another coach, Gian Piero Ventura, changed my mind in terms of coaching. I started thinking how I wanted this.
”Look, you have to put your own person inside the squad.
“Usually the team is like a photo of the coach.
“My team has to be very hungry, they have to fight for second balls.
“I also love tackles, I love these things.
“And after this, you have to put some technique, tactical things into the team with the way you want to attack and to defend.”
Donati has gained a lot of experience since hanging up his boots, coaching at Kilmarnock, Hamilton and St Mirren.
But he then stepped into management with Sambenedettese in Italy’s Serie D.
He then took over at Legnago Salus and earned rave reviews as they won promotion to Serie C.
That saw him lured to Greece last year with Athens Kallithea.
But he lost his job in December after a luckless run of results and is now itching to get another job. Donati added: “I’ve got a big connection with football and life in Scotland.
“Two of my three kids were born there, my son still supports Scotland.
“One day I want to go back, it would make me very happy.
“Listen, it’s not that I have unfinished business or something like that.
“As a person, I don’t want to look too much back and have regrets.
“Sure, I made mistakes in some situations.
“But I always want to see what I have to do in the future, what I have to do from tomorrow.
“Because yesterday is yesterday and there’s nothing you can do.
“Obviously, when I left Celtic, I said to myself, ‘Why have I left Celtic?’.
“But there’s no point thinking about it now — time is not coming back.
“The time you have is in front of you, but sure, I will be very happy if one day I come back to Scotland. I love the life.
“I still have friends there, I like the football.”
Donati would love to bring some of Atalanta’s style to Scotland.
He said: “They play very straight. They want to go forward in two or three touches to try to score. They want to press with big intensity. That is the football I like.”
Donati added his short stint in Greece was a great learning experience.
He said: “In many ways it was — in other ways it was not very good in the Super League.
“You have to learn something from every situation, good or bad.
“Sadly some things didn’t go in the right way but even in the weeks before I left, the people were still saying how good our football was.
“But the most important thing is results.
“If you don’t have good results it’s normal they have doubts about you.
“But I felt the players improved and believed in what we were doing.”
Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
