After some technical difficulties with the streaming, Atalanta fans around the globe were finally able to witness their first live Dea action of the year. It was nothing earth-shattering, friendlies never are, but every time live football is on tap, its impossible to not get excited and have the juices flowing!
Atalanta ultimately suffered defeat, losing 1-0 on a lone Chris Wood penalty, but the boys ultimately put on a good display, and Friday was absolutely a step in the right direction towards being ready for August 13 against Sampdoria. Reading too much into the individual performances would be a futile exercise; however, there were some interesting odds and ends that surfaced during the match that are worth commenting on- and, in fact, may shine just a little bit of light into Gian Piero Gasperini’s plans this season.
Atalanta’s New Defensive Midfielder?
Starting in central midfield for Atalanta was not Teun Koopmeiners and Remo Freuler. It wasn’t our tried and tested favorite pairing of Marten de Roon and Remo Freuler. Not even our new signing in Ederson was central (he played further up as an attacking midfield). Instead it was the aforementioned Koopmeiners and apparent teenage swiss army knife Giorgio Scalvini. Yes Giorgio Scalvini got the nod in midfield, while de Roon marshalled the backline. While Scalvini’s touch may be a bit heavy at times, he certainly holds his own in the middle of the pitch, and looked the part pressing and contributing to the attack. If Scalvini can ultimately develop into a stone cold defensive midfielder – sign me up.
Keeping the Right Center Back
Two names were frequently circling around the transfer mill when Atalanta signed Ederson from Salernitana: Matteo Lovato and Caleb Okoli. Obviously Lovato was shipped off to Salerno, and Atalanta kept onto U21 Italian international. And honestly after 90 minutes, in which Okoli was only one of two Atalantini to play the full 90 [de Roon being the other], I’m already convinced that Okoli can be an even more effective rotational centerback than Lovato ever showed in his brief stint in black and blue.
Okoli demonstrated strong defensive chops on Friday. On top of that, he displayed some elite closing speed, and some offensive gifts that were a pleasant surprise. He sprayed a few nice passes to initiate some offense, and had no qualms bombing forward when his number was called. I am thrilled to see what sort of center back he could blossom into.
Speaking of New Insertions into the Squad
Right wingback was often an offensive black hold last year. Almost as if it was cursed, it didn’t matter if Hans Hateboer, Davide Zappacosta, or Joakim Maehle was planted on the right – very little offense ever initiated from that flank. In a complete reverse against the Magpies, Atalanta’s starting right wingback Nadir Zortea actually created the two best chances La Dea had all match. Zortea doesn’t have one elite calling card, but he is offensively competent which can go a long way in an offense that could sometimes use a little more gumption. He also put in a delicious cross that neither Luis Muriel nor Duvan Zapata was prepared to contest (perhaps from lack of good service last year?!?).
Determining Where Ederson Plays
Atalanta’s only new signing of the year also got the nod against Newcastle. Surprisingly he started off as Atalanta’s only attacking midfielder, but he still demonstrated why D’Amico and Congerton were willing to spend 20M euros on him. He’s silky smooth, makes difficult plays look effortless, and looks to have outstanding vision and anticipation defensively. It is interesting to see him playing further up, but perhaps that’s more a symptom of Gian Piero Gasperini wanting to get him more game minutes than anything else. Nonetheless, with Ederson playing in attacking, and Scalvini playing in the midfield – it just adds one more layer of complexity in trying to determine where everyone’s favored position will be.
Building a Steady Base
Unfortunately the boys will be flying back to Italy with a loss to their names, but its preseason – no one really cares about that. Most importantly, no one who played got hurt (at least I don’t think so), and the boys got live action under their belts and back into the rhythm of competitive matches. There’s no reason to peak on form and creativity in July – so as long as the squad is building towards being ready for mid-August than there won’t be any complaints from me. There was a lot of encouraging pieces to build upon, and we’ll just take it one step further next weekend against Valencia. Until then, and as always, Forza Dea!!!
