One year later and the Euros are finally upon us. We’ve been patient, and hopefully a year of waiting will have us rewarded with an excited tournament filled with nail-biters, top drawer goals, and some historic upsets. As far as our Fair Dea are concerned, the club has very good representation in this year’s campaign. One of the benefits of having such a diverse squad is the opportunity to have skin in most matches, while still being a neutral supporter. Obviously, I’d love to see Italy do well, but my allegiance to land of Serie A is not so cemented that Italy’s failure to win the competition will not have me wallowing in misery. Instead, I’m much more excited to see how our nine representatives from eight different nations fair in Europe’s prestigious tournament.
Group A
Italy: Rafael Toloi and Matteo Pessina
Naturalized Italian citizen Rafael Toloi stays in good graces with Mancini and looks to be a serviceable backup both at centerback and fullback. While he probably won’t see any starts without a serious injury or yellow-card accumulation, Toloi’s versatility most likely won him a roster spot. Matteo Pessina found his way onto the squad as a replacement after Sensi surprised another injury (shocker). Similar to Toloi, Pessina’s ability to play centrally and up front as a trequartista makes him a versatile option for Mancini to go to off the bench depending on the flow of the game and opponent. Again I don’t see Pessina receiving any starts, but with a stacked Italian midfield department, being called up is still a great accomplishment for the youngster.
Switzerland: Remo Freuler
With nearly 30 caps to his name, Freuler is quickly becoming a staple of the Swiss midfield. He should be featuring in the Swiss’s starting XI alongside captain Grenit Xhaka. Having seen Switzerland play very little recently, I’d imagine Remo to have a very similar role as he does at Atalanta – going box to box and being a general nuisance. The fight for top 2 in the group will be tough (assuming Italy finishes 1st), and Remo will have to bring his calming presence to Italy’s neighbors to the north in order to see off two other tricky opponents in Turkey and Wales.
Group B
Denmark: Joakim Maehle
Joakim Maehle is most likely going to nestle into the Danish starting XI, playing fullback on the left side of the formation. With Daniel Wass entrenched on the right- and very little depth at left fullback – Maehle on the left is a necessity more than anything. He’s shown the ability to play there, and has looked competent the few times I’ve seen him with Denmark. I also like the prospect of him getting good game minutes on his weaker side – as this will be beneficial for him next season to become more capable on the left side for Gasperini.
Russia: Aleksei Miranchuk
Lesha (and I guess Malinovskyi a close 2nd) is the Atalantini I’m most excited to see this tournament. I envision he’ll be called on for major playmaking duties and could be the linchpin that hoists Russia past Denmark into the 2nd spot of the group. Miranchuk found nice form going into the end of the season, and with a packed house of CAMs at Gasperini’s disposal, an impressive showing with Russia could secure him more match time early next season.
Group C
Netherlands: Marten de Roon
Hans Hateboer did not get the call up this year, but Atalanta still has representation in the Oranje’s set-up with de Roon. Netherlands is in a bit of an identity crisis right now, barely squeezing out victories and draws despite the immense talent on the squad. de Roon’s in a bit of a difficult spot as his role with de Boer is much different, as he’s asked to contribute more in playmaking rather than being a tireless ball-winner. Hopefully de Roon gets to do what he does best internationally, and leave the playmaking to the likes of de Jong.
Ukraine: Ruslan Malinovskyi
In a club filled with Dinamo Kyiv players, Malinovskyi almost becomes a black sheep in this lineup. BUT he’s a black sheep in a good way, as he’ll be called upon frequently to be the playmaker for the Ukrainians who look poised to advance out of the groups. We all know what Malinovskyi is capable of offensively, and he has even shown his skill internationally – the France match stick outs in my head last international break. I’m expecting more of the same as what we saw from March until now.
Group D
Croatia: Mario Pasalic
Perhaps the player who needs a good tournament more than any other, Mario Pasalic if not a starter should feature heavily for Croatia. A player that seems driven by emotion, a strong showing could be a nice spring board for a player who didn’t do a whole lot to improve his game last season. Sharing a midfield with Modric is never a bad thing, and hopefully Pasalic can show his chops in a very winnable group for Croatia.
Group F
Germany: Robin Gosens
The Group of Death will be a blood bath this year, and it’s quite unfortunate that France, Portugal, and Germany will have to duke it out to not be in the unfortunate position to advance as one of the best third place teams. Gosens should help the German’s cause, who have experimented with a back three recently – and he even scored his first international goal on Monday against Latvia. I envision starters minutes from the “Goose,” and he’ll be instrumental in Germany’s attempt to dethrone one of Portugal or France.
Tied for the club with the 9th most participants in the tournament, Atalanta have plenty of opportunities to do themselves good in Europe this summer. I for one will be sitting back, relaxed and excited to watch good soccer (I’ll sweat for the Copa America instead!) With Duvan and Muriel playing over in South America, there may not be a whole lot of goals coming out of this squad, but you can never deny a sneaky Gosens run into the box, or a Malinovskyi banger getting Atalanta onto the scoresheet – some old habits never die. Enjoy the Euros everyone, and best of luck to all the Atalantini participating!
