Atalanta Bergamo – the club for the European Championship round of 16 – Sport

The fact that the German national team continues to play in this European Championship has to do with a gray-haired, idiosyncratic and football-wise man from Piedmont. Robin Gosens, the best in Germany’s only good performance so far, said it after the 4-2 win against Portugal when asked about the reason for his outstanding urge to score: “You have to thank Mister Gasperini.”

Gian Piero Gasperini, 63, is Gosen’s coach at Atalanta Bergamo, the former Italian mid-range club that qualified for the Champions League for the third time in the club’s history and for the third time in a row last season. What Gosens showed against Portugal, the sprints in depth, the constant look ahead, Gasperini “tickled” out of him, said the German left-back. And he’s not alone in that at the EM.

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Nine players from Bergamo were used a total of 22 times in the group stage of the European Championship. This is not a top figure yet, but there are now eight professionals from the club from seven different countries in the round of 16. This means that Atalanta is represented in as many national teams as the Champions League finalists Chelsea and Manchester City.

Former German junior international Lennart Czyborra, 22, played in Bergamo last year with some of those footballers who are now introducing themselves to the summer audience on the big stage. In addition to Gosens, there is, for example, Marten de Roon, the defensive midfielder of the Netherlands: “An absolute fighter who you can always pass the ball to,” says Czyborra. “But he also has a decent saber” – he can straddle too. Or Ruslan Malinowski, the Ukrainian with the outstanding shot, “his runs in depth are world class”. The Danes also employ a player from Bergamo in the starting line-up, full-back Joakim Maehle. Remo Freuler plays for Switzerland, Bergamo’s captain Rafael Toloi and Matteo Pessina for Italy. Only Mario Pasalic has hardly played for Croatia so far, only for five minutes.

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When you ask Czyborra what is special about Bergamo, he first and foremost talks about the trainer and his ideas. Gasperini’s system is an idiosyncratic 3-4-3, offensive and risky. Even the center-backs on the wing sometimes overrun the outside players in order to create a superior number. One-on-one defenses towards the rear and the opponent is often invited to counter. Bergamo scored 90 goals in Serie A, the third time in a row after 98 in the previous season, the most of all teams. Gasperini’s football is now an inspiration in Italy, also for the national team. He himself was convinced of his path back in 2011 when he was fired at Inter Milan after five games.

The trainer is considered to be not exactly easy in interpersonal dealings. In the winter of Papu Gomez, the outstanding offensive player left the club in a dispute. Gasperini had suspended Gomez because he had resisted a tactical change. The system is more important to Gasperini than individual players, as Czyborra confirms: “He’s a strict coach with his image of football. It has to be implemented that way. He’s a bit conservative in his methods. But he has proven it to everyone with his tactics. “

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Czyborra, once in the youth of Schalke 04, with his vita also stands for two further, decisive aspects of Atalanta’s success: a scouting department that knows its niche – and a management that hires the talent it spies and uses it Doubt gives back numerous. Czyborra came from the Dutch first division club Heracles Almelo – just like Gosens, who was not noticed by any professional club in Germany four years ago. Unlike Gosens, he did not prevail in Bergamo and is now playing at CFC Genoa, on loan for two years with a mandatory purchase option afterwards. The controversial loan strategy, which is particularly widespread in Italy, is now regulated by the world association Fifa by limiting it to eight international loan transactions for players aged 22 and over. Nevertheless, according to a listing of the industry portal transfermarkt.de 49 players that Bergamo has recently loaned out.

There is also an award-winning youth department that has long been famous in Italy. One of the most prominent professionals trained in Bergamo is Dejan Kulusevski, 21, with Sweden he is also in the European Championship round of 16. For Atalanta, however, he only played three professional games, was loaned out – and then sold at a high price, at Juventus Turin. And possibly this is something that some of Bergamo’s current internationals will also face. What do they all have in common? They got better in Bergamo, some of them became national players. And now, says Czyborra, “they could move to an even bigger club”.