Juventus and Roma set for battle royale in Serie A
Luciano Spalletti has hailed his Gian Piero Gasperini as his role model ahead of Juventus' Serie A clash with top-four rival Roma on Sunday (AEDT).
Roma beat Como 1-0 last week to regain a four-point advantage on Juventus, which won by the same scoreline at Bologna, in the Serie A table.
Spalletti has a good relationship with Gasperini and says he is one of many to have learned from the veteran tactician.
"I get along with everyone," Spalletti said. "He's one of those who has always piqued my curiosity.
"You can always learn from someone like Gasperini, who is a role model. Everyone does his thing.
"How many times do you hear someone say 'they're doing it like Atalanta or Roma'? He's transformed players, from a mental point of view.
"Like [Arrigo] Sacchi, Gasperini also created new situations. For that, he deserves praise."
Juventus appointed former Roma head coach Spalletti at the end of October and has won five of its past six games in all competitions.
Spalletti's side has also lost just one of its past 11 and have a chance to close the gap on Roma this weekend.
It could easily have been Gasperini in the Juve dugout, though, as he was approached to manage the Bianconeri earlier this year.
Explaining his decision to join Roma instead, Gasperini said: "Because it was more difficult. I'm happy with how it went.
"Now we face this important match. Juve remain a great team and winning is always in their DNA. We want to test ourselves against this team."
