Atalanta: The New Generation

By the one and only Alex Barker aka the Euroexpert -

@EuroExpert

It’s August 2020, and the 89th minute in the Champions League quarter final.

Atalanta, competing for the first time in the competition, are minutes away from reaching a semi final in Covid times, about to dump out Thomas Tuchel’s PSG. A splendid, early goal from Mario Pašalić had Le Dea 1-0 ahead to this point.

That was until a scruffy tap in was bundled over the line by Marquinhos. Realistically, it was the fault of no one, but what threw salt in the wounds was the beautiful linkup between Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting just a couple of minutes later, ripping away the prospect of a Champions League semi final against Leipzig in the dying seconds.

For the Italians though, it wasn’t to worry. Gian Piero Gasperin still had his magical forward line of Papu Gómez, Luis Muriel, Duvan Zapata and Josip Iličić, a quadlet who had scored 58 goals in the 2019/20 Serie A season.

Good things come to an end though.

“That great Atalanta side that Gasperini built from 2016-2020 just naturally faded through age, injury, and departures”, said Tom Underhill, author of The Working Hands of a Goddess, an expert on the side from Bergamo.

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Papu departed for Spain after a falling out with Gasperini. Zapata and Muriel, both still at the club, would fade with age while Iličić heartbreakingly fell into a pit of depression before seeing his contract terminated.

Of course, they weren’t the only departures, as Atalanta’s model of buying low and selling high has seen Cristian Romero, Roger Ibañez, Timothy Castagne, Amad Diallo, Robin Gosens and Remo Freuler all depart Bergamo since that tie against le Parisen.

Yet, here we are in March 2023, and Atalanta are right in the mix of Champions League football once more. They sit sixth in Serie A, four points off Lazio, licking their wounds after a fair defeat at the hands of a resurgent Milan.

It may not feel as great as the good old times, but considering that Atalanta had flirted with relegation in 2015, as Underhill put it himself, their rise to the top remains unparalleled. Yet the pressure to maintain this success is palpable. Bergamo is a city fully behind their club, and one deeply in love with the front-foot playstyle Gasperini has implanted.

Maintaining this identity combined with the success is no easy feat, and that’s where the club’s recruitment must be commended. Because the next face of Atalanta is shining.

The pick of the bunch has to be Rasmus Højlund, a transfer from Sturm Graz that went completely under the radar in the summer - to those without an interest in Austrian football.

In his final five appearances in the Austrian Bundesliga, the Dane scored both goals in a 2-1 win over RB Salzburg, and added three more in the way of goals and assists.

Before he left Austria, his coach Christian Ilzer was overflowing with praise for the striker, saying during pre-season: “This enormous conviction distinguishes him in the way he performs in the team at the age of 19.

He brings that to the pitch with a naturalness that I have rarely seen from such a young player.”

The 20-year-old already has six league goals for Atalanta, and has blown viewers away with the pace he possesses and the power he shows. At 6ft 3, he already looks like a complete forward. Interestingly on the analytical side, no other player in Serie A has received as many progressive passes as him per-90 [FBREF].

Perhaps that indicates how Atalanta have changed this season, becoming even more potent on the counter. Just three teams in the league have made more assists from outside of the box p90 [1v1], and the man who tops Atalanta’s squad for expected assists right now is Ademola Lookman.

After bouncing between Everton, RB Leipzig, Fulham and Leicester, the 25-year-old Nigerian finalised a €9.20m permanent move to Italy in August 2022 and hasn’t looked back. Even taking away the three penalty goals Lookman has racked up, his 13 goals and assists is already the best output he’s ever put up in a single league season.

Lookman has been a “revelation” says Underhill. He adds: “His finishing has been exceptional, a wide range of finishes that I never knew he had.

Headers, long range curling shots, instinctive poachers efforts, he has played like a true striker and most importantly looks to be enjoying his football.”

That last note is key, as Gasperini has opted to use Lookman as a floating second striker, rather than confine him to the wings. One look at his heatmap shows just how different a role the former Charlton prodigy has been asked to play in 2023, and clearly, he’s enjoying it.

There’s talent across this Atalanta team, beyond the two forwards. It’s the seventh youngest in Italy based on the players used so far, including the likes of 19-year-old defensive stalwart Giorgio Scalavani, or the more well known Joakim Mæhle, as the 25-year-old is finally finding a consistent starting spot.

Another worth looking further at is Tuen Koopmeiners. Back in August 2018, Football Oranje asked the Dutchman where he wanted to be in five years time. He struggled to word his answer. Still contracted to AZ Alkmaar, he stumbled around the truthful point: He wanted something bigger and better than Dutch football, and fast.

It took a further three years for his wish to be granted, when Atalanta spent €14m on the midfielder in 2021.

After a modest first season, the Alkmaar product has really shown his class, sitting second in the squad (behind Lookman) for shot-creating-actions per-90. He’s an active and careful presence in the final third, but with an acute defensive awareness.

The 24-year-old ranks high in the squad for statistics like blocks and clearances p90. He’s profiling very nicely as a well-rounded midfielder, with plenty of time to keep improving.

Perhaps this new face of Bergamo is temporary, even more so than the last. As the Premier League riches grow, so does the ability to hold on to younger quality talent decrease across the continent.

Yet if Gasperini can push through his late sixties with the same gusto and tactical acumen that carried his career in northern Italy in the late 2010s into the mid 2020s, and keep his new team relatively intact, Atalanta look extremely healthy.

This team hasn't won any form of major trophy since 1963, where Angelo Domenghini powered the black and blue to the Coppa Italia. Surely, something new will be added to the trophy cabinet sooner rather than later.

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