Atalanta announced on its official website on Sunday that the club's Italian exprienced head coach Gian Piero Gasperi has stepped down early as his contract is about to expire.

According to Atalanta's official statement, the club respects Gasperini's wish to step down early, and is very grateful for Gasperini's contributions and achievements to the team over the years, and is honoured for his contribution to the club's title win success. He will always be one of the legendary figures of La Dea.

In addition, according to the news brought by Sky Sports Italy, Gasperini is likely to replace the retired Claudio Ranieri and become the Roma new head coach.

With Gasperini's resignation, it also means that his 9-year glorious career as Atalanta's head coach has officially come to an end.

About Gian Piero Gasperini

Gasperini, 67, was born on January 26, 1958 in Grugliasco, Italy. He is 1.77 meters tall and played for Juventus, Palermo, Pescara among many other clubs during his playing career.

After retiring in 1994, Gasperini returned to Juventus as its youth academy coach for 4 years. In 1998, he was promoted to the head coach of I Bianconeri's U20s team.

In the summer of 2003, Gasperini was appointed as the Crotone head coach.

During his two-year spell as the head coach of Crotone, Gasperini won the Serie C promotion play-offs once with the club. Although he was sacked in December of the following year due to poor results, he returned in April 2005.

In July of the following year, Gasperini became the Genoa head coach.

During his four-year spell as Il Grifone's head coach, Gasperini helped the club qualify for the Europa League once, and was subsequently praised by Portuguese head coach José Mourinho as one of the best opponents in his coaching career.

In the summer of 2011, Gasperini was appointed as the Inter Milan head coach, but was sacked in September of the same year due to poor results.

In September of the following year, Gasperini returned to Palermo as head coach, but was sacked in March 2013.

In September 2013, Gasperini returned to Genoa as head coach.

In the summer of 2016, Gasperini was appointed as the Atalanta head coach.

During his 9-year spell with La Dea's head coached, Gasperini coached Atalanta in 438 games in all competitions, achieving 228 wins, 101 draws, 109 losses, with a win percentage of 52.05%. He turned the club from a team that was always fighting relegation battles into a regular in European competitions. He won the Europa League once with the club and was selected Serie A Coach of the Year twice.