Atalanta B.C.

Atalanta

Full name	Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio S.p.A.
Nickname(s)	La Dea (The Goddess)
Founded	8 October 1907 (1907-10-08)
Ground	Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia
Ground Capacity	21,300[1]
Chairman	Antonio Percassi
Head Coach	Gian Piero Gasperini
League	Serie A
2016–17	Serie A, 4th
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio, commonly known as just Atalanta, Atalanta Bergamo or the abbreviation Atalanta BC, is an Italian football club based in Bergamo, Lombardy. The club currently plays in Serie A, having gained promotion from Serie B in 2010–11.

They are nicknamed the Nerazzurri and the Orobici. Atalanta play in blue-and-black vertically striped shirts, black shorts and black socks. The club stadium is the 21,300 seat Atleti Azzurri d'Italia.

In Italy, Atalanta is sometimes called Regina delle provinciali (queen of the provincial clubs) to mark the fact that the club is the most consistent among clubs not based in a metropolitan area, having played 56 times in Serie A (11th overall for number of participations in the top division), 28 times in Serie B and only once in Serie C1.

The club won the Coppa Italia in 1963 and reached the Cup Winners' Cup semi-final in 1988, when it was still competing in Serie B. This is still the best ever performance by a non-first division club in a major UEFA competition (together with Cardiff City). Atalanta also participated twice in the UEFA Cup, reaching the quarter-finals in 1990–91.

History

The club was founded in 1907. A football club had existed in Bergamo since 1904. Founded by Swiss immigrants, it was known as Foot Ball Club Bergamo. The rival Atalanta club grew out of a division between different sporting societies in the town. The name is taken from the female athlete of Greek mythology. The FIGC was unimpressed with the new club and did not officially recognize them until 1914. The current club is the result of a merger between Atalanta and a third team called Bergamasca. The first, black and white coloured and the second wearing a blue and white shirt, merged in 1924 as Atalanta Bergamasca di Ginnastica e Scherma 1907. The team moved to the site of the current ground, on the Viale Giulio Cesare, in 1928.

Atalanta joined the Italian league in 1929. The club first reached Serie A in 1937, but was relegated immediately. The club returned in 1940 and remained in Serie A until 1959; after a single season in Serie B, the club was promoted and lasted a further decade in Serie A before relegation in 1973 led to an uncertain period of promotion and relegation between the two levels.

The club achieved its highest position in 1948, finishing in fifth place. In 1981, the club fell into Serie C1, a blow which revitalised the club. The team returned to Serie B the next season and made it back to Serie A in 1984. The club's form in Serie A remains uncertain, as it was relegated in 1987, 1994, 1998, 2003, 2005 and 2010. After a change of ownership,^[2] in 2011, Atalanta immediately came back to Serie A, where it has been ever since.

In terms of titles the club has won little, their sole silverware is the 1963 Coppa Italia. The club has had a few good runs in Europe, on several occasions being eliminated by the eventual winners.

Welsh club Merthyr Tydfil caused an upset in the 1987–88 European Cup Winners' Cup, beating Atalanta 2–1 in the first leg of their first round match at Penydarren Park. After winning the second leg 2–0 in Bergamo, Atalanta went on to reach the semi-finals, losing to eventual winners Mechelen of Belgium, but in the process becoming one of only two teams in the competition's history to reach the penultimate round while playing their football outside of the national top flight league. Oddly enough, the only other team to do so being Merthyr Tydfil's countrymen at Cardiff City.

Atalanta reached the UEFA Cup quarter-finals in the 1990–91 season, losing to local rivals Internazionale, who went on to beat another Italian side, Roma, in the final to win the tournament. The club never played European club competitions after 1991, although turned down the opportunity to play in the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 2001 after finishing in seventh place in Serie A, regional rivals of Brescia played the tournament instead, losing only in the final against French side Paris Saint-Germain.

In recent years, the club was relegated after the 2002–03, 2004–05 and 2009–10 seasons, but gained the promotion to Serie A after only one season every time.

In 2011–12, Atalanta was docked six points in the league table due to the outcomes of an Italian football scandal. Nevertheless, the club managed to secure another year in Serie A by gaining 52 points in 38 games (which is the club record, to date). The following year, for the same reasons, the club was docked two points in the league but avoided relegation reaching the 15th spot in the final table. In the 2013–14, Atalanta enjoyed another strong campaign, finishing in 11th place.

Atalanta struggled during the 2014–15 season despite some impressive results. At the beginning of the season, manager Stefano Colantuono committed his future to the club. On 4 March 2015, however, he was sacked after a poor run of form which left Atalanta only three points above the relegation zone. He was replaced by Edoardo Reja, who secured the club's status in Serie A for 2015–16, where Atalanta finished 13th.

In 2016–17, Atalanta stuttered at the beginning of the season and new coach Gian Piero Gasperini was on the verge of dismissal, but with an amazing run of positive results the team secured an impressive 4th-placed finish with 72 points, thus celebrating its return to Europe after 26 years, qualifying for the UEFA Europa League.

Players

Current squad

As of 17 July 2017^[3]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Etrit Berisha 2 DF José Luis Palomino 3 DF Rafael Tolói 4 DF Andrea Masiello 5 MF Bryan Cristante 6 DF Alessandro Bastoni 7 FW Riccardo Orsolini (on loan from Juventus) 8 MF Robin Gosens 9 FW Andreas Cornelius 10 MF Alejandro Gómez (captain) 11 MF Remo Freuler 13 DF Mattia Caldara (on loan from Juventus) 15 MF Marten de Roon 16 FW Gaetano Monachello 17 FW Leonardo Gatto 18 MF Nadir Minotti 20 FW Luca Vido 21 DF Timothy Castagne

No. Position Player 23 MF Filippo Melegoni 27 MF Jasmin Kurtić 28 DF Gianluca Mancini 29 FW Andrea Petagna 31 GK Francesco Rossi 32 MF Nicolas Haas 33 DF Hans Hateboer 37 MF Leonardo Spinazzola (on loan from Juventus) 40 MF Matteo Pessina 72 MF Josip Iličič 83 MF Cristiano Del Grosso 88 MF João Schmidt 89 FW Guido Marilungo 91 DF Constantin Nica 92 FW Salvatore Molina 93 DF Boukary Dramé 95 GK Pierluigi Gollini (on loan from Aston Villa)

Out on loan

^[4] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player — MF Davide Agazzi (at Foggia until 30 June 2018) — DF Alberto Almici (at Cremonese until 30 June 2018) — MF Isnik Alimi (at Vicenza until 30 June 2018) — DF Andrea Boffelli (at Mestre until 30 June 2018) — MF Bryan Cabezas (at Panathinaikos until 30 June 2018) — DF Michele Canini (at Cremonese until 30 June 2018) — FW Christian Capone (at Pescara until 30 June 2018) — DF Stefano Cason (at Carrarese until 30 June 2018) — MF Janis Cavagna (at Pro Piacenza until 30 June 2018) — MF Marco D'Alessandro (at Benevento until 30 June 2018) — FW Giuseppe De Luca (at Virtus Entella until 30 June 2018) — DF Berat Djimsiti (at Benevento until 30 June 2018) — DF Alessandro Eleuteri (at Pistoiese until 30 June 2018) — FW Simone Emmanuello (at Perugia until 30 June 2018) — DF Fabio Eguelfi (at Cesena until 30 June 2018) — MF Nicolò Fazzi (at A.C. Cesena until 30 June 2018) — DF Riccardo Gatti (at Reggina until 30 June 2018) — DF Ákos Kecskés (at Termalica until 30 June 2018) — MF Franck Kessié (at Milan until 30 June 2019)

No. Position Player — FW Emmanuel Latte Lath (at Pescara until 30 June 2018) — MF Nicolas La Vigna (at Pro Piacenza until 30 June 2018) — FW Gabriel Lunetta (at Renate until 30 June 2018) — GK Stefano Mazzini (at Gavorrano until 30 June 2018) — DF Luca Milesi (at Vicenza until 30 June 2018) — GK Mirco Miori (at Fano until 30 June 2018) — MF Christian Mora (at Pro Piacenza until 30 June 2018) — DF Valerio Nava (at Juve Stabia until 30 June 2018) — MF Antonio Palma (at Renate until 30 June 2018) — FW Alberto Paloschi (at SPAL until 30 June 2018) — MF Mario Pugliese (at Pro Vercelli until 30 June 2018) — MF Roberto Ranieri (at Alessandria until 30 June 2018)[5] — DF Alex Redolfi (at Juve Stabia until 30 June 2018) — GK Marco Sportiello (at Fiorentina until 30 June 2018) — DF Emanuele Suagher (at Avellino until 30 June 2018) — MF Tommaso Tentoni (at Carrarese until 30 June 2018) — MF Luca Valzania (at Pescara until 30 June 2018) — GK Luca Zanotti (at Juve Stabia until 30 June 2018)

Youth team

Retired numbers

12 – Dedication to fans, in particularly for Pisani Curve ones
14 – Federico Pisani, Forward (1991–97) – posthumous honour.
80 – Elio Corbani, radio journalist.^[6]

Noted players

• See also: Category:Atalanta B.C. players

Youth System

The Atalanta youth system consists of four men's teams that participate in separate national leagues (Primavera, Allievi Nazionali A and B, and Giovanissimi Nazionali) and two that participate at a regional level (Giovanissimi Regionali A and B).^[7]

The first person who was committed to set up the Atalanta youth teams was Giuseppe Ciatto. Every organisational aspect was dealt with and resolved by him, and he also took care to train the various teams. In 1949 Atalanta won the Campionato Ragazzi.

In the late 1950s former Atalanta player Luigi Tentorio (then Special Commissioner of the club) felt the need to start investing more systematically in youth: he decided to create a real youth sector, with its own independent structure from the first team. The youth sector was entrusted to Giuseppe Brolis, who created a partnership with various clubs in the Veneto and Friuli regions, building a network of scouts and young coaches.

A crucial step in the history of the Bergamo youth sector took place in the early 1990s when the president Antonio Percassi implemented a new investment policy, especially at the youth level. He managed to convince Fermo Favini to leave Como and entrusted him with the responsibility of the youth sector.

The Atalanta youth system not only continued to increase the production of players for the first team, but began to win several honours in the most important national leagues. From 1991 to 2014, the various youth teams have won 17 national titles.

Apart from successes at youth level, the Atalanta youth system is also one of the most highly regarded in Europe: according to a ranking by the study centre in Coverciano, Atalanta have the top youth system in Italy and the sixth in Europe, behind Real Madrid, Barcelona and three French teams. The parameters used were the amount of first division players produced by the club.^[8] In the 2007–08 season, 22 players from Atalanta's youth played in Serie A, 32 in Serie B and 3 abroad.^[8]

In 2014, a global study of the "CIES Football Observatory", placed the Atalanta youth system eighth place in the world, with 25 former youth players who play in the top 5 European leagues.^[9]

Chairmen history

Atalanta have had several chairmen over the course of their history. Some of them have been the main shareholder of the club. The past chairman is Ivan Ruggeri, who was relieved of his duties after he suffered a stroke in January 2008, being replaced by his son Alessandro^[10] that was named chairman of Atalanta in September 2008. Alessandro's father is unable to manage the team due to the consequences of the stroke.^[11] In June 2010, after another relegation in Serie B, Alessandro Ruggeri sold his share of Atalanta to Antonio Percassi, who became the new chairman of Atalanta.^[2]

Name Years Enrico Luchsinger 1920–21 Antonio Gambirasi 1926–28 Pietro Capoferri 1928–30 Antonio Pesenti 1930–32 Emilio Santi 1932–35 Lamberto Sala 1935–38 Nardo Bertoncini 1938–44 Guerino Oprandi 1944–45 Daniele Turani 1945–64 Attilio Vicentini 1964–69

Name Years Giacomo "Mino" Baracchi 1969–70 Achille Bortolotti 1970–74 Enzo Sensi 1974–75 Achille Bortolotti 1975–80 Cesare Bortolotti 1980–90 Achille Bortolotti 1990 Antonio Percassi 1990–94 Ivan Ruggeri 1994–08 Alessandro Ruggeri 2008–10 Antonio Percassi 2010–

Managerial history

Atalanta have had many managers and head coaches throughout their history, below is a chronological list of them from when Serie A was changed into a league format, from 1929–30 onwards.

Name Nationality Years Cesare Lovati 1923–27 Imre Payer 1927–29 Enrico Tirabassi 1928–29 Luigi Cevenini 1929–30 József Viola 1930–33 Imre Payer 1933 Angelo Mattea 1933–35 Imre Payer 1935–36 Ottavio Barbieri 1936–38 Géza Kertész 1938–39 Ivo Fiorentini 1939–41 János Nehadoma 1941–46 Giuseppe Meazza 1946 Luis Monti 1946 Ivo Fiorentini 1946–49 Alberto Citterio Carlo Carcano 1949 Giovanni Varglien 1949–51 Denis Charles Neville[12] 1951–52 Carlo Ceresoli 1952 Luigi Ferrero 1952–54 Francesco Simonetti Luigi Tentorio 1954 Luigi Bonizzoni 1954–57

Name Nationality Years Carlo Rigotti 1957–58 Giuseppe Bonomi 1958 Karl Adamek 1958–59 Ferruccio Valcareggi 1959–62 Paolo Tabanelli 1962–63 Carlo Alberto Quario 1963–64 Carlo Ceresoli 1964 Héctor Puricelli 1965–66 Stefano Angeleri 1966–67 Paolo Tabanelli 1967–68 Stefano Angeleri 1968–69 Silvano Moro 1969 Carlo Ceresoli 1969 Corrado Viciani 1969–70 Renato Gei 1970 Giovan Battista Rota 1970 Giulio Corsini 1970–74 Heriberto Herrera Udrizar 1974–75 Angelo Piccioli 1975 Giancarlo Cadè 1975–76 Gianfranco Leoncini 1976 Giovan Battista Rota 1976–80 Bruno Bolchi 1980–81 Giulio Corsini 1981

Name Nationality Years Ottavio Bianchi 1981 – 30 June 1983 Nedo Sonetti 1 July 1983 – 30 June 1987 Emiliano Mondonico 1 July 1987 – 30 June 1990 Pierluigi Frosio 1990–91 Bruno Giorgi 1991–92 Marcello Lippi 1 July 1992 – 30 June 1993 Francesco Guidolin 1 July 1993 – 30 September 1993 Andrea Valdinoci Cesare Prandelli 1 November 1993 – 30 June 1994 Emiliano Mondonico 1 July 1994 – 30 June 1998 Bortolo Mutti 1 July 1998 – 30 June 1999 Giovanni Vavassori 1 July 1999 – 30 November 2002 Giancarlo Finardi 1 December 2002 – 30 June 2003 Andrea Mandorlini 1 July 2003–05 Delio Rossi 6 December 2004 – 30 June 2005 Stefano Colantuono 1 July 2005 – 30 June 2007 Luigi Delneri 1 July 2007 – 30 June 2009 Angelo Gregucci 1 July 2009 – 21 September 2009 Antonio Conte 21 September 2009 – 7 January 2010 Valter Bonacina (interim) 7 January 2010 – 10 January 2010 Bortolo Mutti 11 January 2010 – 10 June 2010 Stefano Colantuono 14 June 2010 – 4 March 2015 Edoardo Reja 4 March 2015 – 14 June 2016 Gian Piero Gasperini 14 June 2016 –

Supporters

Atalanta's supporters are considered very loyal. When Atalanta plays at the Atleti Azzurri d'Italia, the supporters in the Curva Nord (North Curve) encourage the team with their chants during the entire match.

The biggest rivalry is with the neighbouring supporters of Brescia,^[13] and there are strong rivalries also with supporters of Verona, Genoa, Fiorentina, Roma,^[14] Lazio, Napoli, Milan, Internazionale, Torino; while there has been a long-standing friendship with Ternana, fans of the German Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt, fans of the Austrian club Wacker Innsbruck and the Silver Tassie boys.

On special occasions, Atalanta supporters display a very large black and blue flag called Bandierù which covers the whole Curva Nord stand.

Honours

Domestic

• Coppa Italia

Winners (1): 1962–63

Runners-up (2): 1986-87, 1995-96

• Serie B

Winners (6):^[15] 1927–28, 1939–40, 1958–59, 1983–84, 2005–06, 2010–11

Runners-up (4): 1936-37, 1970-71, 1976-77, 1999-00

• Serie C1

Winners (1): 1981–82

• Campionato Nazionale Primavera (Youth competition)

Winners (2): 1992–93, 1997–98

Runners-up (3): 2001-02, 2004-05, 2012-13

• Coppa Italia Primavera (Youth competition)

Winners (3): 1999–00, 2000–01, 2002-03

• Torneo di Viareggio (Youth competition)

Winners (2): 1969, 1993

• Campionato Nazionale Dante Berretti (Youth competition)

Winners (3): 2005-06, 2009-10, 2012-13

European

• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: semi-finals in 1987–88 season
• UEFA Cup: quarter-finals in 1990–91 season
• Mitropa Cup: runner-up in 1985

Matches in UEFA competitions

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
1963–64	European Cup Winners' Cup	1R	Sporting CP	2–0	1–3	3–3[16]
1987–88	European Cup Winners' Cup	1R	Merthyr Tydfil	2–0	1–2	3–2
		2R	OFI Crete	2–0	0–1	2–1
		QF	Sporting CP	2–0	1–1	3–1
		SF	KV Mechelen	1–2	1–2	2–4
1989–90	UEFA Cup	1R	Spartak Moscow	0–0	0–2	0–2
1990–91	UEFA Cup	1R	Dinamo Zagreb	0–0	1–1	1–1(a)
		2R	Fenerbahçe	4–1	1–0	5–1
		3R	Köln	1–0	1–1	2–1
		QF	Internazionale	0–0	0–2	0–2
2017–18	UEFA Europa League	Grp

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Atalanta B.C..

• Official website (in Italian)
• Official fans site (in Italian)
• Tutto Atalanta: Atalanta News & Gossip (in Italian)
• Russian fans site (in Russian)