When you look for the Italian team which has most astounded in 2024 there can only be one winner. Giancarlo Rinaldi argues that what Atalanta have achieved this year has been truly stunning for a club their size.
Last Christmas it looked like their magic might be starting to fade. A mediocre start to the season with nearly as many defeats as victories had left them sitting outside the European places in a pretty miserable eighth spot. But anyone writing an epitaph on the Gian Piero Gasperini miracle at Atalanta will have had to rip it up over the past 12 months.
There are other teams that have had fine achievements – Bologna getting into the Champions League last season, Fiorentina fighting at the top this term but none really come close to the Bergamaschi. A European trophy, leading the Serie A race and playing some tremendous football they are uncontested Italy’s most surprising side of the calendar year. Among the traditional giants, they have emerged as one of the most talked about teams across the continent by people who know their football.
What has been amazing about 2024 is that it has come about with the latest reinvention of La Dea by their coach. He has gone through several distinct cycles of personnel and continues to produce triumph after triumph. Players discarded by other sides seem to become gems in his expert crafting hands. And he orchestrates their team play with such precision that it rarely delivers anything short of a skill-packed symphony. Even losing top players – like Teun Koopmeiners this year – has hardly seen them stutter.
The cynical might say it is no surprise any more but that is to ignore the history and context of what this side has achieved. They have been good, for sure, but not this good at any point in time. To set the pace on the home front and joust with the very best in Europe’s elite on a regular basis is astonishing by any yardstick. Just because they are starting to make it seem commonplace shouldn’t make it any less remarkable.
Let’s just rewind to the end of last season when they delivered one of the most comprehensive European dismantlings ever seen. Ademola Lookman ran riot against previously undefeated Bayer Leverkusen to raise continental silverware for the first time. That they had previously wiped the floor with Liverpool only raised their profile and reputation further.
It is worth remembering that Bergamo is not a big city. With a population of about 120,000 it is only the fourth-largest city in the region of Lombardy behind Milan, Brescia and even Monza. That it is currently battling for a title with the likes of Inter and Napoli speaks volumes about how well run the club has been. This is a role model for other ambitious outfits in Italy and beyond.
And to think that on the eve of this season, their plans were rocked by injury to Gianluca Scamacca. Other sides might have been knocked a little off track but not the Nerazzurri. Mateo Retegui was pinched from Genoa and slotted in like the perfect missing piece for a Swiss watch. If anything, their attack has been even better without a man who looked central to their goals.
Some teams from the provinces have enjoyed success over the years with a pragmatic approach of covering up in away games and being a bit more expansive when they are at home – not so Atalanta. They try to play their own way regardless of the surroundings and the reputation of their opponents. It has earned them admirers across the footballing globe.
Even by his own high standards this has been a special year for the sometimes curmudgeonly Gasperini where everything he touches seems to turn to gold. From front to back his team has performed brilliantly and attracted covetous eyes from other clubs. Remember the Charles De Ketelaere who looked so forlorn in the red and black of Milan? Gasp has turned him into a player envied by countless others. The list of footballers outperforming even their wildest projections is endless.
In a sense, of course, their element of surprise is being lost a little with every big match they deliver. Nonetheless, it will take a while before they can be considered established as one of Italy and Europe’s regular big hitters. So, in the meantime, we can only sit back and admire what one of Serie A’s smaller sides has achieved this year with a dash of incredulity and appreciation.
@ginkers
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