Italian Atalanta will have a date with history and German Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, as it aspires to become the first team to defeat the new German champion this season, and to win its first European title ever.
Coach Gian Piero Gasperini’s men will compete in the final of the European League (Europa League) in the Irish capital, Dublin, with a golden opportunity to win their first title in 61 years after losing the Italian Cup final to Juventus (0-1) last week.
The traditionally obscure club travels from Bergamo to Ireland in high spirits, having secured its qualification to the Champions League next season.
This came after the goals of Belgian Charles de Ketelaar and Gianluca Scamaca, who gave the team a 2-0 win over Lecce on Saturday, which confirmed its at least fifth place in the Italian league standings, before Atalanta received a hero’s welcome upon its return to the city from the far south of Italy.
Thousands of fans gathered in the heavy rain to welcome their team at the Tzingonia training center outside Bergamo, lighting candles and firecrackers, expressing their great joy at another wonderful season under the leadership of Gasperini. This season may become the best in the club’s 117-year history.
Gasperini told reporters on Saturday: “Qualifying for the Champions League is the best we can achieve in Atalanta. It is not as if we can aim to win the Italian League.”
He continued, “We were a little tired in the final match against Juventus. From now until Wednesday, we need to make sure that we are the best version of ourselves.”
Atalanta will be missing its Dutch midfielder, Martin de Roon, due to a muscle injury he suffered during the Italian Cup final, an injury that Gasperini considered “the real loss” from that evening.
Great evenings
But Gasperini is always counting on the wonderful performances of Skamaca and Di Ketlar, who will likely start on Wednesday, in addition to the possible return of Bosnian Sead Kolasinac, as the 66-year-old coach aspires to win his first major title during his era that began eight years ago at the club and after losing the three final matches. Previous.
De Ketelaar was one of the coach’s most prominent discoveries, and since he was loaned to Atalanta from Milan with an option to buy for 24 million euros last summer, he has scored 14 goals with eight assists to enter the core of Gasperini’s offensive plans.
“I don’t know if I will be in Bergamo next year,” De Ketelaar said on Saturday. “I’m just focusing on football and we’ll see what happens.”
He added, “Gasperini’s playing style gives me confidence. I am disappointed that I did not do in Milan what I did with Atalanta, but I had a wonderful season here.”
The club, which remained in the shadow of Milan’s two poles for a long time, has recently succeeded in reaching new levels, qualifying for the Champions League four times since Gasperini took over.
Atalanta has succeeded in outperforming clubs that are historically larger than it, such as Fiorentina and Lazio, and maintains a strong link with its local community and is considered one of the few clubs in the league that owns its own stadium, which it is currently developing to keep pace with modern development, and the work is expected to be completed at the beginning of next season.
During his career in the Europa League this season, he overcame clubs with a long football history, such as Sporting of Portugal, Liverpool of England and Marseille of France, all of which are more established clubs, enjoy larger fan bases, and have at least one European title.
Atalanta has already gone through two historic evenings during the continental competition this season when it surpassed Liverpool and Marseille, after reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League in 2020 amid the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic that devastated Bergamo.
Atalanta may be the least favored party in the final confrontation in Dublin against a team that has proven its mettle this season and has never lost a match, but it does not have anything to lose after making giant strides.
. .