Ahh the Derbi di Lombardia! The battle for Lombardy that goes way beyond football, extending centuries since the little fiefdoms of Bergamo and Brescia never learned to play nice with each other. The Athletic’s James Horncastle (then at ESPN) eloquently carries us through the oddities, idiosyncrasies, and plain ruthlessness of the battle here, and perhaps save the Milan clubs its probably difficult to find local rivals who hate each other more. Unfortunately, this is probably our last derby for at least awhile, and with no fans, the Bergamaschi faithful and citizens are cruelly being shortchanged to hopefully see a good old fashioned drubbing of their bitter rival.
Now with the Scudetto firmly in the rear view mirror (damn handball rule!), Gasperini has the twofold task of ensuring his players don’t lose focus and creating opportunities for some youngsters. First off, the results and performance both show that Brescia has probably been the worst team in Serie A this season, and somehow Atalanta have really struggled against sides fighting to stay afloat in Serie A. With a stupefying home loss to SPAL (and a tight game on the road in matchday 1), plus a draw and a late game saving strike by Zapata against Genoa, the bottom of the table has delivered La Dea quite a bit of trouble this season. And now with the cruelty of how Saturday’s contest ended, it is even more paramount to ensure that points are not foolishly dropped, especially against Brescia. Now its obvious that the team is more than just a collection of players, and most definitely a unit, which is hard to say about some other clubs at the top of the table. Knowing this, I’m less worried of a collapse in an obvious trap game. But still, Atalanta must keep the pressure and not let the game get away from them. Not having Balotelli should help Atalanta as Brescia don’t really have a player who can turn the game on a dime, so it will come down to sound, cohesive Gasp-ball.
Second, this being the derby, of course Gasperini has to let the local boys play. Atalanta has so few Italians to begin with, but conveniently two of them in the announced lineup are from Bergamo. I would be shocked not to see Mattia Caldara get the start at center back, but what I want to really see is youngster Roberto Piccoli get the nod off the bench. The 17 year old has really been great this year tearing up both the Primavera League and the UEFA Youth League, and definitely deserves his 3rd Atalanta appearance against the team he has been ingrained to hate. With 5 subs at his disposal, I see no reason why Piccoli shouldn’t come, and show his chops at the largest level. Imagine him netting his first ever Serie A game in the derby!
At this point of the season, its a fine balance between conservation and delivering results. Draws are acceptable at times, but this is definitely not the case, save the draws for the tricky fixtures coming up against Bologna and Parma if there needs to be one, but these 3 points are essential to stay neck and neck with Lazio and Inter for 2nd. So let’s all get some craving for pork belly and ham sandwiches and help to stamp Brescia’s ticket down to Serie B! As always Forza Atalanta!
