When describing Atalanta Bergamos, Thomas Tuchel had to smile. “They are a spectacular, attacking, not very Italian team,” said the German coach of Paris Saint-Germain in July of the Lombardy team. Atalanta had just been drawn to the French champions as a quarter-final opponent in the Champions League. Even if the Italians have not played a major role in the European Cup for a long time – this season is certainly not without a wish.
In the group stage, the Bergamaschi almost failed, after three match days and zero points Atalanta was on the verge of extinction in October. Seven points from the second leg and two wins in the round of 16 against Valencia extended the debut in the premier class into August. The form held, from the last 20 competitive games Atalanta is a defeat against 15 wins. PSG is now waiting on Wednesday evening in Lisbon (9 p.m., stream: DAZN, live ticker: SPIEGEL).
Among the last eight is the club that its Tifosi call “Dea”, the goddess, the only team from Italy. And that with a style of play that has nothing in common with Catenaccio, who was born in Milan, 50 kilometers away: 98 goals in Serie A make Atalanta the most dangerous team in the league, as in the previous season. Nationally, Inter Milan followed with 17 goals safety margin, in Europe only FC Bayern Munich (100) and Manchester City (102) scored more goals.
Gasperini is the father of the team
The game philosophy of Gian Piero Gasperini is behind the goal machine. The 62-year-old likes to explain his football with a saying from Sun Tzu’s “Art of War”: “Invincibility lies in defense, the possibility of victory in attack.” In 2016 Gasperini took over the coaching position in Bergamo. Since then, Atalanta has finished fourth, seventh, and most recently third twice. Since the promotion in 2011, it had never been enough for the top half of the table.
Organized, running-intensive pressing and counter-pressing are among Atalanta’s trademarks. 19 goals by own standards are unmatched in Serie A. The special thing about Bergamo, however, are the details in the possession of the ball. The basic order – chain of three, in front of it a flat four, in front of three offensive – always remains the same on paper, but always in motion on the field. If a player releases himself from his original position, a teammate immediately fills the defensive gap. Others create a majority near the ball or tie down opponents with sprints in order to open up spaces.
A defense with a goal threat
That poses problems even for top teams. An example from July: Atalanta’s right central defender Rafael Tolói dribbles through the first pressing line of SSC Napoli. Sixth Marten de Roon protects, ten Mario Pasalic and wing defender Timothy Castagne orientate themselves in the direction of the right wing in order to be available to Tolói as a pass partner. Three double passes later, the Brazilian is in the Naples penalty area – and finds the advanced full-back Robin Gosens on the left, who scores the 2-0.
For Gosens it was the ninth goal of the season, for Tolói the sixth template. The unpredictability due to the attacking defenders is planned. Added to this is the talent for improvisation of the attackers around Captain Papu Gómez. The 1.65 meter tall Argentinean used to dribble on the wing, today Gómez steers Atalanta’s game from the center. The 32-year-old scored 16 goals in Serie A. Nobody was better.
Papu Gómez directs the game and is therefore often the target of fouls
Photo:
Giuseppe Zanardelli / AP
Gómez is not the only unrecognized gifted person in the squad. Regular players previously played in Switzerland, Bulgaria and Dutch midfield clubs. None of the 98 league goals in the past season were scored by an Italian, but 18 each by the Colombians Duván Zapata and Luis Muriel. Both are 29 years old and came to Europe young with great praise. It was only in Bergamo that they realized their potential.
“I don’t think the coach is adding anything to the players,” Gasperini said. “But I think he can get the most out of your abilities.” Atalanta’s scouts are looking for such players – in small leagues, among professionals without a great vita, but with talent. They are assigned a role in the Atalanta system that perfectly matches their strengths. Zapata excels as a combination wall player with many ball contacts in the penalty area, Muriel as a dynamic joker: He scored eleven of his 18 goals after substitutions.
In addition to scouting in the professional area, Atalanta’s success is based on the development of young talent – especially the economic one. The football school in Zingonia was named the best in the country by the Italian association, and talents from Bergamo are worth a lot of money to the competition. Last year alone, Atalanta earned more than 100 million euros from the sales of Dejan Kulusevski and the previously awarded Franck Kessié, Bryan Cristante and Andrea Petagna – without a regular player having to leave the club. Spectacle and sustainability intertwine in Bergamo.
Atalanta is no longer an outsider at the final tournament in Lisbon, PSG also seem beatable for the team. Especially since Tuchel’s Parisians have to do without key player Marco Verratti. Kylian Mbappé’s commitment is still questionable. But the Bergamaschi will also be decimated: Josip Ilicic is missing from his team. The Slovenes were very affected by the suffering in Bergamo during the corona pandemic, it is said in Italy, he is pausing.
At the beginning of the year, the attacker scored five of eight goals in Atalanta’s round of 16 games against Valencia. Since the 2-2 draw against Juventus Turin in mid-July, Ilicic is no longer on the pitch and is taking a break. At the end of the season, Ilicic’s teammates held up his jersey with the number 72.
