Saturday, November 16, 2024

5️⃣ things you need to know about Atalanta – Italy’s fairytale club 🇮🇹

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5️⃣ things you need to know about Atalanta – Italy’s fairytale club 🇮🇹

Every Serie A match is available to watch LIVE with Home of Serie A on OneFootball to users in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Find out more here.

To celebrate, we are delving into the history and traditions of some of Serie A’s most storied clubs, exploring the beauty and passion which makes them so fascinating and unique.

Today we start with…


Who are Atalanta?

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Atalanta may have become a household name in recent years, but their history shows this is a club which has been consistently pulled off the impossible.

Their location, at just 37 miles away from San Siro, has traditionally put them firmly in the shadows of the two Milanese giants. When Milan and Inter draw in fans from all over the globe, how have Atalanta managed to cultivate such a die-hard following?

The answer lies partly in how the club have used local pride to market themselves, with initiatives like handing out complimentary Atalanta shirts to all new-born babies in the area.

Alongside smart investment of transfer fees and funds generated from playing in Europe, the club – nicknamed La Dea (The Goddess) – are standing out as a shining example of a well-run Italian club.


What is the Gewiss Stadium like?

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The Gewiss stadium, previously known as the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia, has been completely rebuilt in recent years.

In May 2017, Atalanta were able to purchase the stadium from the local council for €8.6 million, and in doing so became one of only four Serie A clubs to own their own stadiums outright at the time.

Yet the stands were outdated and did not meet UEFA regulations for European competition, and Atalanta were forced to play their Europa League matches at Sassuolo – some 120 miles away. Champions League qualification the following year meant they then moved to playing at San Siro in Europe.

In 2019, the club set about a stand-by-stand renovation of their newly-owned ground, allowing their home matches to continue.

The fully complete Gewiss stadium was completed in time for Atalanta’s home match with Fiorentina in September 2024, and now holds 24,000 fans in total.


Who are their Ultras?

Atalanta Ultras are notoriously hostile towards fans of all the big clubs – Roma, Lazio, Fiorentina, Juventus, Torino and Napoli – but their main rivals are Brescia and the two Milan teams due to their geographical proximity.

Members of various Ultra groups came together to create the Curva Nord Bergamo 1907 group back in 2005, thus making one singular organised fan group for the club.

Atalanta are twinned with Ternana and Eintracht Frankfurt, as well as holding an agreed respect towards Cagliari.


What is Bergamo famous for?

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Bergamo is an Alpine city in the region of Lombardy in Northern Italy.

Atalanta has become a popular destination for football tourists due to the proximity of Milan Bergamo airport to the stadium and the availability of cheap flights.

It’s a city on two levels, and the Città Alta – the high part – is accessed by a quirky funicular railway.

Up there, there’s everything you’d expect to find on a trip to Italy: history, architecture and excellent food.

Local delicacies include Casoncelli, a traditional stuffed pasta served with melted butter, sage, and cheese, and Straciatella, vanilla ice cream laced with flecks of chocolate.


Their biggest achievement?

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Before lifting the Europa League trophy in 2024, Atalanta’s only other major honour was a Coppa Italia win back in 1963.

Their victory over Bayer Leverkusen was the crowning glory in an eight-year run of over-achievement under boss Gian Piero Gasperini that had also seen them reach an unlikely Champions League quarter-final where they narrowly lost out to PSG in the 2019/20 campaign.

Gasperini’s belief in youth is what has propelled them forward, making huge profits on the likes of Rasmus Højlund, Teun Koopmeiners, Cristian Romero and Dejan Kulusevski, whilst continually making intelligent signings to replace the players they’ve sold on.


SERIE A PASSES ARE NOW AVAILABLE, with team passes priced at £79.99 and Season passes priced at £99.99, enabling you to watch every single match in the 2024/25 season. Individual matches can also be purchased for a one-off fee of £4.99. To find out more about the Serie A Pass, go here.

Streams will be available to watch live on mobile and desktop, simply by tapping on a match card or navigating to the Matches or TV tab and following the on-screen instructions.

All matches are also live-streamed on the OneFootball TV app, available on connected TVs from Apple TV, Google TV, Samsung, LG and Fire TV.

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