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The Working Hands of a Goddess: The Tactics, Culture and Community Behind Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta BC
The Working Hands of a Goddess is the story of how Atalanta BC rose from the lower reaches of Serie A to become Champions League quarter-finalists in just four years. The appointment of Gian Piero Gasperini as manager in 2016 changed the club's fortunes forever. Quickly making his mark, he developed a squad that play one of Europe's most scintillating brands of football, and upset the status quo by going toe-to-toe with the giants of the Italian game. The Working Hands of a Goddess analyses and details the tactics and systems that underpin this thrilling team, the stories and backgrounds of the unique players that define it, and the culture and history that not only produced a beautiful football team but a special club and city-wide community. When the pandemic rocked the community, Atalanta became far more than just a football team by uniting a city in strife.
- GenresFootball
304 pages, Paperback
Published October 15, 2022
7 people are currently reading
79 people want to read
About the author
Tom Underhill
14 booksLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 1, 2022
A wonderful book that encapsulates every layer of Atalanta.
Every chapter gives you an insight not only the genius that of Gasperini but the culture and the environment that surrounds Atalanta.
Tom Underhill writes with a skilled nuance that makes this an invigorating read and one I thoroughly recommend to everyone who is interested in football and especially Italian football!
Every chapter gives you an insight not only the genius that of Gasperini but the culture and the environment that surrounds Atalanta.
Tom Underhill writes with a skilled nuance that makes this an invigorating read and one I thoroughly recommend to everyone who is interested in football and especially Italian football!
October 30, 2022
An excellent book describing and detailing the rise of Atalanta in Serie A and Europe. The chapters vary from the foundation of the club, their early years, the philosophy and revolving door of managers, seasons and games in detail, players, tactics and other little nuances which explains their story so well. With each page I found myself become more and more enamored with the club, their fanbase and their playing style. Definitely a side I will be paying more attention to in the future. I had always wondered what was behind their seemingly meteoric rise and this book certainly sated my curiosity. Fantastic reading!
September 29, 2025
It’s done. I read the book. I’m on my knees sobbing.
November 5, 2024
I really wanted to like this book more. Gasperini’s Atalanta have been one of the most exciting teams to watch in Europe since his arrival, and he’s become one of my favorite managers. When I saw a book about his time in Bergamo thus far, I bought it instantly.
However, a good portion of this book is made up of match recaps from seasons gone by, and the history of the club pre-Gasperini reads like an overlong Wikipedia article, and really dragged on to the point where I wasn’t excited to read the rest.
The final third or so of the book where the author describes how the team works position by position and the chapter about the club’s Ultras is a lot more interesting by comparison and is ultimately why I continued reading. Even then though, a lot of it is very dry.
There aren’t any interviews done with the man Gasperini himself and at the end, we still don’t really know all that much about him. We know that he loves attacking football and demands a lot out of his players, but not much is said about how he got that way in his management philosophy. We know nothing really about the coaching staff, the director of football, the people behind the scenes that have helped identify Atalanta’s undervalued talents that end up getting sold for huge profits. Not much is said about their famous youth academy.
Like I said, I really wanted to like this more and I don’t like leaving bad reviews, I think this is a real missed opportunity. So much time was spent recapping matches that happened years ago that I think could have been spent elsewhere to learn more about what made Atalanta into what they are today.
However, a good portion of this book is made up of match recaps from seasons gone by, and the history of the club pre-Gasperini reads like an overlong Wikipedia article, and really dragged on to the point where I wasn’t excited to read the rest.
The final third or so of the book where the author describes how the team works position by position and the chapter about the club’s Ultras is a lot more interesting by comparison and is ultimately why I continued reading. Even then though, a lot of it is very dry.
There aren’t any interviews done with the man Gasperini himself and at the end, we still don’t really know all that much about him. We know that he loves attacking football and demands a lot out of his players, but not much is said about how he got that way in his management philosophy. We know nothing really about the coaching staff, the director of football, the people behind the scenes that have helped identify Atalanta’s undervalued talents that end up getting sold for huge profits. Not much is said about their famous youth academy.
Like I said, I really wanted to like this more and I don’t like leaving bad reviews, I think this is a real missed opportunity. So much time was spent recapping matches that happened years ago that I think could have been spent elsewhere to learn more about what made Atalanta into what they are today.
June 22, 2023
Gian Piero Gasperini is a genius.
This book is a fascinating insight into Gasperini’s first 5 years in charge of Atalanta, where he has brought his own hard-working, high energy philosophy and turned average players into world class talents who perform above expectations consistently.
I don’t think I am alone in wondering what was behind Atalanta’s euphoric rise to break into Italys “big six” in the Serie A in recent years, as well as their adventures in Europe, which is due to an exciting and radical attacking style of football that has seen them score an insane amount of goals from all over the pitch.
The author also goes into great detail about every one of the 5 seasons, and also the importance of the Ultras and how the city pulled together during the pandemic as Bergamo was one of the worst hit places in Europe back in early 2020.
I would highly recommend this book to any football fan, especially if you enjoy Italian football and stories of a relative “underdog” climbing up to compete with the very best consistently over a prolonged period of time. I look forward to seeing more of Tom’s work in the future!
This book is a fascinating insight into Gasperini’s first 5 years in charge of Atalanta, where he has brought his own hard-working, high energy philosophy and turned average players into world class talents who perform above expectations consistently.
I don’t think I am alone in wondering what was behind Atalanta’s euphoric rise to break into Italys “big six” in the Serie A in recent years, as well as their adventures in Europe, which is due to an exciting and radical attacking style of football that has seen them score an insane amount of goals from all over the pitch.
The author also goes into great detail about every one of the 5 seasons, and also the importance of the Ultras and how the city pulled together during the pandemic as Bergamo was one of the worst hit places in Europe back in early 2020.
I would highly recommend this book to any football fan, especially if you enjoy Italian football and stories of a relative “underdog” climbing up to compete with the very best consistently over a prolonged period of time. I look forward to seeing more of Tom’s work in the future!
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June 2, 2025Must’ve taken a two year hiatus reading this with it sitting on my desk at work. Coincidentally finally finished it on the day Gian Piero Gasperini officially leaves Atalanta after nearly a decade-long stint in which he transformed Italian football. The Bergamaschi have been an utter joy to watch during his reign, while becoming a model-run club. As for the book, it is an enjoyable enough overview of Gasperini’s first five years in charge.
July 10, 2024
A really well researched and written book. The book charts the incredible rise of Atalanta under Gian Piero Gasperini along with some fascinating insight into the clubs history and origins in Bergamo. A must read for football fans. Highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews