Atalanta B.C.

FootyGirl88

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Feb 12, 2018
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I couldn’t find a thread on them so I thought I’d make one, they first caught my eye when they played Everton in EL group stages in 2017 they’ve come along way since then. They came from 2-0 to beat Lazio yesterday, finished 3rd in Serie A last season they’re currently in 4th.

I’m intrigued to see how they do in the CL when it comes back.



video on their tactics
 
One of the best attacking sides in Europe, joy to watch, and fantastic for betters like myself!

Their name also reminds me of Atlanta, which is the city of my heart.
 
They are one of the best attacking teams in europe and they are well drilled team.
 
Anyone who thinks playing 3 at the back is defensive should watch them play.
 
They're fantastic to watch. Iličić is having his best season ever at 32 and former 'Boro man De Roon is class for them.
 
Goalscoring killers

Papu Gomez and Illicic are two of the most underrated players in Europe
 
roonster09 said:
They are one of the best attacking teams in europe and they are well drilled team.
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Aye, a breath of fresh air in recent times, and super exciting to watch as they play with a great deal of intensity from front to back with quick execution in fluid passing connections and excellence in position play, interchanging of Ilicić (should be included in the Ballon D'Or shortlist at the very least) and Gómez in half-spaces either side of Zapata, verticality through midfield, and overloads on the flank with Gosens/Hateboer. You have to wonder how long they can sustain this distinctly demanding approach before Gasperini's system comes apart at its seams, however — a few of the key players are getting up there and while the depth is decent, it's not exactly comparable to the giants of club football. A favorite of hipsters for the here and now, though... :drool:
roonster09 said:
Anyone who thinks playing 3 at the back is defensive should watch them play.
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Always a flimsy contention as Cruyff's Barcelona, among others, played intoxicating football with a back 3. Oh well!
 
Invictus said:
Aye, a breath of fresh air in recent times, and super exciting to watch as they play with a great deal of intensity from front to back with quick execution in fluid passing connections and excellence in position play, interchanging of Ilicić (should be included in the Ballon D'Or shortlist at the very least) and Gómez in half-spaces either side of Zapata, verticality through midfield, and overloads on the flank with Gosens/Hateboer. You have to wonder how long they can sustain this distinctly demanding approach before Gasperini's system comes apart at its seams, however — a few of the key players are getting up there and while the depth is decent, it's not exactly comparable to the giants of club football. A favorite of hipsters for the here and now, though! :drool:
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Players like Illicic and Papu Gomez should be rated very highly, for some reasons they barely get any recognition. Papu Gomez is one of my favorite players to watch, technical wizard.
 
roonster09 said:
Last season they scored 77 goals after 38 games.

They have some big wins too.
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Well yeah they’ve pretty much beaten that record, I read they have most goals in Europe which is remarkable considering they don't have any “top” players
 
Invictus said:
Always a flimsy contention as Cruyff's Barcelona, among others, played intoxicating football with a back 3. Oh well!
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No system is intrinsically defensive anyway. If you play 8-1-1 but all your defenders are bombing forward like Sheffield's, then even that can turn out pretty offensive. (I'm imagining that like a line of infantry running forward :D )
 
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Their manager seems to have been around a while has he always had teams playing like this or has it just clicked with Atalanta? Strange he’s not really widely known playing football like this.
 
Plucky little Atalanta.

Seriously, they've had a wonderful season. It would be great if they could cause an upset in Europe. Just to bring a little happiness to a city/province that has suffered so much recently.
 
ShinjiNinja26 said:
Their manager seems to have been around a while has he always had teams playing like this or has it just clicked with Atalanta? Strange he’s not really widely known playing football like this.
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Only know him from Palermo where he took over from Sannino in September, got sacked at the start of February, was rehired at the end of February then sacked and replaced by Sannino in early March.
 
ShinjiNinja26 said:
Their manager seems to have been around a while has he always had teams playing like this or has it just clicked with Atalanta? Strange he’s not really widely known playing football like this.
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Yes, his teams always played like this. At atalanta it just clicked in spectacular fashion, thanks to the combination of their academy(one of the best in the world) and great signings tailored specifically for his needs(and also they managed to retain their best players longer than is normal, though that's in part because they built the team from cast-offs and neverweres who turned in the best seasons of their careers with Gasp). Great work by the club that

When he had similar quality of players at Genoa(Milito and Motta most of all) he got them 5th. Then Inter promptly signed those two away and won the treble
 
Nick7 said:
Only know him from Palermo where he took over from Sannino in September, got sacked at the start of February, was rehired at the end of February then sacked and replaced by Sannino in early March.
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Cheers, just shows you can never write a manager off despite not working out at certain clubs.
 
giorno said:
Yes, his teams always played like this. At atalanta it just clicked in spectacular fashion, thanks to the combination of their academy(one of the best in the world) and great signings tailored specifically for his needs(and also they managed to retain their best players longer than is normal, though that's in part because they built the team from cast-offs and neverweres who turned in the best seasons of their careers with Gasp). Great work by the club that

When he had similar quality of players at Genoa(Milito and Motta most of all) he got them 5th. Then Inter promptly signed those two away and won the treble
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Yeah cheers pal, like I said to Nick7 who responded it just shows you can never write a manager off despite failing to work out at previous clubs. Although it’s a lot easier to have faith in managers that have a set philosophy and a history of playing good football just other circumstances prevent them doing well, like you said having their best players poached off them regularly. You think this could lead to him getting a shot at one of the bigger clubs in Italy? As it seems he’s content managing there.
 
Not anytime soon in Italy

He actually did got a shot with inter in 2011 but it didn't work and was sacked 3 games into the season

He needs the club and players to buy fully into his methods and playing style, he's got his ideas and isn't going to change them
 
Love watching them. Ilicic and Gomez are just magic.

Rozay said:
One of the best attacking sides in Europe, joy to watch, and fantastic for betters like myself!

Their name also reminds me of Atlanta, which is the city of my heart.
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Are you from Atlanta Rozay??
 
Rozay said:
I’m an East Londoner, but a frequent visitor to Atlanta. Been there about 14 times now.
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Fantastic. I don't know when we'll have crowds again but if you fancy watching an MLS game next time you're in the city PM me and I'll loan you a ticket. Least I can do for the great posts you deliver on here.
 
Apparently, (I believe between Quieroz and Phelan) Sir Alex tried to get Gasperini to be his Assistant Manager and even had an eye on him as a potential successor. He can't really be judged by his time at Palermo as they were such a shit show back then. Also, he only managed Inter for 5 games - a joke. I think it takes time for his system to work and he needs the right type of players, but he's clearly an excellent coach.
 
SparkedIntoLife said:
Apparently, (I believe between Quieroz and Phelan) Sir Alex tried to get Gasperini to be his Assistant Manager and even had an eye on him as a potential successor. He can't really be judged by his time at Palermo as they were such a shit show back then. Also, he only managed Inter for 5 games - a joke. I think it takes time for his system to work and he needs the right type of players, but he's clearly an excellent coach.
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Is he the Bielsa type?

In that both appointment and implementation of a system is a case of when it works it's amazing but it has an amazingly narrow operating window where everything has to be perfect?
 
ValenciasDrilledCrosses said:
Fantastic. I don't know when we'll have crowds again but if you fancy watching an MLS game next time you're in the city PM me and I'll loan you a ticket. Least I can do for the great posts you deliver on here.
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My word, I am touched! I’ll definitely take you up on that, Atlanta United are my MLS team by default!

I’ve been to Phillips Arena to see the Hawks, that’s about it.
 
It was the club for one of my childhood heroes, Glenn Strömberg. They deserve some joy in Bergamo after being hit so hard by corona.
 
matherto said:
Is he the Bielsa type?

In that both appointment and implementation of a system is a case of when it works it's amazing but it has an amazingly narrow operating window where everything has to be perfect?
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I think that's probably right to some degree. Although I would say that Gasperini is very versatile and intelligent tactically. I think his systems do require mobile players that can adapt to different roles and positions.

If I recall, he expressed a lot of admiration for the traditional English management model. It seems like he's found a great club setup in Atalanta that suits his philosophy and there's good (as Mourinho says) 'structural empathy'.

That was impossible at Palermo where they changed coaches based on what side of the bed Zamparini woke up on.

Inter wasn't as well run during his time as it is now and 5 games wasn't enough to judge him on. He was their third choice behind Capello and AVB and he wasn't backed. Also Inter were stuttering through a rebuild with lots of the stars from Mourinho's CL winning side either long in the tooth or departed. Also, they lacked energy in some areas.

His second spell at Genoa wasn't as impressive as the first but he had a lot less money to spend and lost several key players. His first couple of seasons were relegation battles but he ended his second reign with a 6th place finish, if I recall.

He's clearly a top coach. Good to see him shine again.
 
One of the most exciting teams to watch today. I was fortunate enough to attend quite a few of their games, most recently against Valencia in the Champions League. Atalanta are relentless in attack, Papu Gomez and Ilicic are magicians in their class, Pasalic bosses the midfield, Zapata (after some warm-up months to the season...) is a real killer in front of the goal. A real joy to watch them and the fans and the locals of Bergamo are fantastic as well.
 
matherto said:
Is he the Bielsa type?

In that both appointment and implementation of a system is a case of when it works it's amazing but it has an amazingly narrow operating window where everything has to be perfect?
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Kinda? I mean that definition is very broad and describes a lot of managers.

He's not Allegri or Ancelotti, who'd largely model their ideas and playing style on the qualities of the players at their disposal and mix and match depending on the situation, yeah. He's got his own well defined ideas and playing style and he's only ever going to make minor tweaks to them. He specifically needs players who are fast, dynamic and great in individual duels for example, and if he doesn't have those, he won't change things to make up for it
 
I don't watch much of them (Lazio and Verona are the Italian teams I watch) but they had one of my favourite games of the season against Verona.
 
I love Atalanta. Watched them beat Lazio in Rome last year too in a big game for top 4, with about 5 fans across the other side of the stadium going absolutely mental. Alejandro Gomez is just class.
 
Scored two more already today against Napoli. They are so effective when changing the pace of the game. Also, their players are skilled, capable of playing quick one-touch football from goalie to striker.
 
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