With a heartbreaking final five minutes of Atalanta’s 2019-2020 season, La Dea’s exhaustively long campaign has finally come to a bittersweet end. On one hand there will always be the “what-ifs” if Atalanta were able to stave off PSG’s furious attacks for just another 5 minutes. But oppositely, it’s unfair to dwell on such an ending when there were so many positives to glean on what was Atalanta’s most successful season in their 100+ year history. Finishing 3rd for the 2nd straight season in Serie A, plus reaching the quarter finals (and nearly the semis) in their first ever run in the Champion’s League, Bergamaschi everywhere have dozens of reasons to be extremely happy with their club.
Given the turmoil that the world has gone through, it’s quite improbable that a sleepy town such as Bergamo became the epicenter for COVID destruction for sometime. In such a strange 2020, it seems so long ago that Europe and the US were in utter panic, and it’s important to never forget. However, what I’ve learned is that sport can still heal, and I’m confident in saying that Atalanta’s thrilling performance post COVID helped not only Bergamo, but Italy as a whole heal at least a little and return to some semblance of normal. Losing only once in Serie A post-COVID (in a game in all honesty that they probably weren’t trying), Atalanta, along with Milan, was the best team in Italy continuing to stymie the big guns of Italy. Even with the ever-present rumors that the club is being torn apart, it’d be foolish to not have faith in Percassi after he’s essentially achieved the dream of every Football Manager player by consistently utilizing his excellent network of scouting, top-notch Academy, and impeccably timed profit turning transfers. Regardless of what happens there’s always room for hope in Bergamo!
The Great
None of it would have been possible without La Dea’s captain and wind-up-toy Papu Gomez. He played nearly every game in both Serie A and Champion’s League, and completely embodied what Atalanta and Gasperini football is all about: non-stop movement, and constant attacking. He was the heartbeat of Atalanta’s season, and none of their success would have been possible without him in the lineup.
The goal trio of Zapata, Muriel, and Ilicic was something to behold, and all three players carried the team at certain points of the season when goals were sorely needed. All 3 finished in the top 10 for goals in Serie A, and without Zapata’s and Ilicic’s missed match-time, both could have easily finished in the top 5. Even better, they all score in their own unique ways, and there’s never a cookie cutter way to defend against them, especially with Papu pulling the strings.
Robin Gosens was the “where did that come from” revelation of the year. With 9 goals from the left wing, he cemented himself as one of the best fullbacks/wingbacks in Serie A, unfortunately to the point that Juventus and Inter are potentially locked in on him now for next year. Additional kudos to Gosens for playing nearly every match in one of the most demanding positions form a physical standpoint in Gasp’s system.
Remo Freuler continued to demonstrate time and time again that he’s the rock in the middle of all of Atalanta’s gyrations that makes the system work. He’s good for one poor touch or back pass per game, but other than that he never stops running and working in the middle, and is the perfect compliment to de Roon in the middle of the double pivot.
The Good
Castagne, and Gollini seemed to improve as the season went along, especially our inhouse rapper. Gollini demonstrated his excellence in positioning in one on one chances, and being a solid distributor of the ball out of the back. While his shot stopping is average (maybe even below), he does enough other things well, including his decision making, to make up for this shortcoming. Now similar to Gosens, Castagne put himself on the map for a move by playing a bit too well, and in a way may be a bigger loss if he leaves than Gosens. Capable of playing on both wings, his versatility was paramount in providing rest to Hateboer and Gosens in the insane run of games to end the Serie A campaign.
It’s debatable who the signing of the offseason was (perhaps Muriel), but Ruslan Malinovskyi definitely cemented himself as one of the best marksmen in not just Italy but Europe. His thunderous left (and right) foot provided so many moments of awe, including his Lazio goal which is definitely top-3 in the pecking order for Atalanta goals of the season. He misses “The Great” category as he still needs to work on his decision-making a bit, but there is certainly a lot to look forward to with the Ukrainian.
Marten de Roon continued to his thing with Freuler in the middle of the double pivot. Like Freuler his calmness is a welcome sign sometimes amidst the fury of Atalanta style. He does so much to stop counters that result from the high defensive press, that you can forget that he is indeed a midfielder. Him and Freuler have a fantastic connection in the middle, and when either is off the pitch something is definitely missing from the Atalanta mojo.
The Needs Improvement
There was nothing “bad” with Atalanta this year, so Needs Improvement seems to be a much more appropriately titled header. The internet always trashes on Atalanta’s defense, and in a way their correct but there’s more to the story. The high press, and the constant pushing forward of Djimsiti and Toloi leaves so much space behind the defensive line that its almost a guarantee that attacks are going to slip through (just take a look at the 2nd Sassuolo game). However, while Gasperini’s centerbacks don’t act like normal centerbacks and it’s extremely difficult to find someone who can play the role the way Gasp wants (just look at Kjaer being shipped off). It is fair that they could use some polishing at the back, mainly when it comes to pace. When Palomino is your fastest centerback in a club that requires so much pitch coverage, you do have a slight problem. Some speed at the back would be extremely helpful, not only to help stop counters, but also to provide much needed squad depth.
Which brings me to my next point. As Juventus showed this year, while they weren’t at their best, options and keeping players rested helped guide them to a Scudetto that they didn’t have too much business winning. Atalanta is almost the anti-Juve in that a) they have very little squad depth to begin with, and b) Gasperini is incredibly stubborn to switch out his lineups. In the 2nd half of the year, after all the January transfers, Cyzborra and Bellanova only played in garbage time against Brescia, Tameze hardly played even though he showed the capability to backup either de Roon or Freuler, and Barrow was shipped perhaps too soon, and is now flourishing in Bologna. And the result of lack of squad depth: a gassed team. By the end of the season it was obvious how tired the team was, and definitely played a role in how they finished the season, and handled PSG in the 2nd half. With a team that relies on so much movement, its evident that depth is essential, and Atalanta either needs to address this in the offseason or begin trusting the players that they do have in the squad to contribute.
One of the biggest stories that will come out of this offseason, is what is Josip Ilicic’s future? An instrumental force in La Dea’s attack, Ilicic hardly played after the COVID break, with many rumors abound, including that he may retire now. If Ilicic indeed does retire, not only would it be a shock and a huge miss for the Atalanta squad, but how do you fill his boots? Both Malinovskyi and Pasalic filled in well enough for him, but it’s a huge ask for both those players to try to emulate Josip’s unique game. Malinovskyi could be an heir apparent, as he dribbles well and has an eye for goal, but it still would be a huge blow to lose such a quality player. Let’s hope that rumors are just rumors, and Ilicic handles his personal business properly and comes back strong for La Dea next season.
Prep For Next Season
Now we shouldn’t end on negatives, so looking forward to next year lets dream a little. Atalanta was already a few unlucky breaks away from legitimately challenging for the Scudetto, and with the right additions, and keeping the main core together who’s to say they can’t challenge for Serie A supremacy next year. Juventus with Pirlo at the helm is a complete wildcard, and Conte doing Conte things to sour his relationship between him and management could mean that the top two challengers for the Scudetto could let someone else squeeze in. AC Milan demonstrated that they may have their mojo back, and Lazio look menacing too, but there’s very little that separates Atalanta from these other 4 contenders (meh Napoli). So let’s dream! No one thought Atalanta would have ever been five minutes from the Champion’s League semi-finals, so if the cards fall right, a Scudetto win is really not an unreasonable shout. With experience playing both in Europe and Italy, it’ll help the club manage another demanding schedule, and if Atalanta’s supreme scouting team can find a few more savvy signings for some much needed depth (as they seem to always do), let’s shoot for the stars, dream, and set our sights on a Serie A victory!
