Add Category
About 40km away from Milan, it is very much in the shadows of the grand old city. Its population (122,000) is less than a tenth of Milan’s. The local team – Atalanta – even don the same blue and black colours as Italian heavyweights Inter Milan.
And yet, it is Atalanta – not Internazionale, with superstars like Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez, and not the city’s old giant AC Milan and Swedish great Zlatan Ibrahimovic – which has put its name in lights this Champions League season.
In the world’s greatest club competition, the penny-wise Italians are writing the ultimate underdog story. And it’s not over yet.
Watch LIVE coverage of La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, Ligue 1 and EFL Championship with beIN SPORTS on KAYO. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >
In many ways, Atalanta is still a local community club. When a baby is born in the region, the club gifts the parents a tiny replica jersey, as well as two bottles of a baby milk produced in the city. It’s a world away from Premier League giants or their Italian rivals.
Their budget, too, is shoestring. The team has been relegated from the Serie A three times this century, in 2003, 2005, and 2010. Each time they fought back – but they’ve never been considered a contender in the same breath as Juventus, Milan, Napoli.
Then, in 2016, Italian manager Gian Piero Gasperini took the reins. His era started in woeful fashion – four losses from his first five matches left Gasperini inches from the axe. He later revealed “I was on the verge of being sacked, it’s true.”
Then, the turning point: a remarkable 1-0 victory over heavyweights Napoli, courtesy of wholesale changes to the team’s formation decided the night before the match. Gasperini’s job was saved. Atalanta was reborn.
READ MORE:
GUARDIOLA WILL STAY AT MAN CITY … ‘IF THEY DON’T SACK ME’
‘WHEN YOU’RE LINKED WITH LIVERPOOL, IT MAKES YOU PROUD’: SPURS’ NEMESIS HINTS AT REDS MOVE
‘F*** OFF UEFA, WE’LL SEE YOU IN COURT’: BANNED CITY LIFT SPIRITS WITH EASY PL WIN
That season, ‘La Dea’ (The Goddess) would beat Inter Milan and Roma, finishing the season in fourth. With their highest result since 1932, Atalanta was rewarded with a place in the Europa League.
They slipped to seventh in the league the next year, but an impressive Europa League campaign only added to the burgeoning reputation of the giant-killers.
They finished top of their group with wins over Everton and Lyon, before Borussia Dortmund outclassed them in the Round of 32.
If that was as far as the story went, it would be remarkable. But last season was even better.
La Dea beat Inter, Lazio, Napoli and drew at Juventus. As the season drew to a close, Atalanta went unbeaten in their last 13 matches, scoring a barrage of goals as well — finishing the season with 77, more than any other side.
They finished third in the league, the club’s best-ever result, and earned a first-ever place in the Champions League.
Their Coppa Italia campaign was even better, beating Juventus and finishing runners up to Lazio.
Their Champions League group was difficult to say the least. English champions Manchester City were joined by Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk and Croatian team Dinamo Zagreb – both champions of their respective competitions.
Making things worse, Atalanta’s Atleti Azzurri d’Italia stadium, which holds just 21,300 fans, didn’t meet UEFA requirements.
The side would be forced to travel 55km to Milan’s famous San Siro, with a capacity nearly four times larger. The stadium of Inter and AC Milan would be loaned out to the little brothers from Bergamo – and two-thirds of Bergamo’s population could fit inside!
The Champions League is brutal, especially to minnows.
Zagreb flattened them 4-0 in Croatia, Shakhtar stole a last-ditch 2-1 win, then Manchester City thumped them 5-1 in England. Three losses from their first three matches. Bottom of the table. Two goals scored, 11 conceded.
No team had ever recovered from three opening defeats to reach the knockout stages. But Atalanta aren’t just any team.
Man City came to town, were 1-0 up and had a penalty in the first half. The dream looked dead. Then Gabriel Jesus slammed the spot-kick a mile wide, and everything changed. Mario Pasalic headed the equaliser in the 49th minute. A draw.
Dinamo Zagreb was next. Luis Muriel and Gomez scored in each half to make it 2-0, while Shakhtar snatched a draw at the Etihad. The dream was – improbably – still alive.
It all came down to the final matchday, and a trip to Ukraine to face Shakhtar.
The visitors fought hard but couldn’t break down the hosts. Then VAR reared its head, as it simply had to.
Timothy Castagne scored for Atalanta in the 66th minute, but the linesman ruled off-side. By mere millimetres, VAR overruled the decision. Goal.
A Shakhtar red card followed, then came two more Atalanta goals. It ended 3-0, and Atalanta had written history. The first team to reach the knockout stages after three opening losses.
They were drawn to face Spaniards Valencia. Not the most glamorous opponent, but a formidable one nonetheless.
On Wednesday morning, Atalanta flattened the visitors. A lightning-quick start saw them score inside 16 minutes, and they never looked back. Four goals up in the 62nd minute, and it could have been more. Denis Cheryshev pulled one back four minutes later, but by then the match was well out of reach.
The Italians travel to Spain in three weeks’ time, with a three-goal advantage and full of confidence that they can reach the quarter-finals. If they play like they did in the first leg, any team would hope to avoid them in the next round.
After their 1-1 draw, Man City boss Pep Guardiola said “Playing Atalanta is like going to the dentist, it’s really, really tough.”
Even if the Italian minnows get knocked out in the second leg, this Champions League campaign has been one for the ages. Not just for Italian football, so often dominated domestically by Juventus, but for the competition as a whole. While the glamour clubs of Liverpool, Bayern, and Barcelona might still be heavy favourites to lift the trophy, Atalanta is a breath of fresh air.
And for a club operating on the tightest of budgets, their performance in Europe could be a game-changer. They’ll receive €15.25 million in prizemoney for reaching the group stage. An extra €2.7m each for their two wins in the group, and €900,000 for the draw against City. €9.5m for reaching the Round of 16. That’s €31.05m ($A50m) in total – and another €10.5m if they make it to the quarter-finals.
As well as prizemoney is the television revenue, distributed from UEFA’s ‘market pool’. That could easily tally another €10 million ($A16m) so far, and will only grow if they continue in the competition. Then there’s ticket revenue, merchandise and sponsorship. Millions upon millions of dollars flowing into the coffers.
But Atalanta supporters would trade all the money in the world for each and every magical win in this incredible Champions League season.