Playing
Gasperini entered the Juventus youth system at the age of 9; during his stay at the youth system, he won an Allievi Nazionali championship and was in the Primavera squad, which included Paolo Rossi and Sergio Brio, that placed runner-up in 1976 behind Lazio.[1] After having played a handful of Coppa Italia matches with the first team, he was loaned to Reggiana and then sold to Serie B club Palermo in 1978. He stayed five seasons at Palermo, all in Serie B, but reached a Coppa Italia final in 1979, then lost to Juventus.

After two seasons with Cavese (Serie B) and Pistoiese (Serie C1), Gasperini moved to Pescara, where he finally gained his first opportunity to play in Serie A after the promotion in 1987.

Coaching
Crotone
In 2003 he left Juventus to become head coach of Serie C1 club Crotone, where he readily guided his team to promotion in Serie B after playoffs. He stayed at Crotone for two more season in Serie B; he was sacked during the 2004–2005 season but appointed back soon later.

Internazionale
On June 24, 2011, Massimo Moratti confirmed that Gasperini would replace Leonardo as head coach of Internazionale.