Atalanta finish ahead of Inter Milan, AC Milan and Roma to take third place in Serie A, drawing comparisons with Ajax's success this season
Tuesday 28 May 2019 12:36, UK
Atalanta secured Champions League football for the first time in their history with a comeback win over Sassuolo on the final day of the Serie A season.
They have one of the smaller budgets in Serie A, but, under innovative head coach Gian Piero Gasperini, played some of the most attractive football and finished with the highest tally of goals scored.
How did they secure third place ahead of Inter Milan, AC Milan and Roma and can they build on their success in the Champions League next season? We take a look…
Atalanta had finished in the bottom half of Serie A in each of the five seasons previous to Gasperini's arrival in the summer of 2016. They have been steadily improving since.
In Gasperini's first season they came fourth, qualifying for Europe for the first time in 26 years but missing out on a Champions League place as Serie A only had three qualification spots. The following season they came seventh, reached the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia and the last 32 of the Europa League, introducing themselves to an English audience along the way by thrashing Everton 5-1 at Goodison Park.
This season has seen them take another step forward.
They stunned Juventus on their way to reaching the Coppa Italia final, where they lost to Lazio, and they have been the story of the Serie A season, taking points from Juventus, Napoli, Inter, AC Milan and Roma, and scoring a league-high 77 goals.
"We have been working for the last three years to achieve something great," said Alejandro Gomez, who has been a key player for Atalanta under Gasperini.
"It is an amazing cycle, and this is the way it was supposed to end, making it to the Champions League. It is something unique, we are taking this club and this city where nobody thought it would have been possible."
Gomez has been with Atalanta since 2014, but it is only in the last three years - since Gasperini arrived - that his stock has soared. He is in no doubt that Gasperini has been key to Atalanta's success.
"There has been a change from everyone, starting with the club…our mentality has changed. Before we only thought about staying up. Now we're playing for much more important objectives.
"Without him, none of this would've happened."
Gasperini, 61, has had a curious managerial career. He had a positive spell with Genoa from 2006-2010, leading them to promotion to Serie A in his first season and then a fifth-placed finish the following year. Jose Mourinho, then in charge of Inter Milan, said at the time that Gasperini's Genoa played the best football in Italy.
However, his next role after Genoa saw him sacked after five winless games with Inter Milan. He was then sacked twice in a season by Palermo - the second time after only two games - before returning to Genoa and then joining Atalanta in 2016.
Gasperini strongly favours an attacking 3-4-3 formation, or similar variants such as a 3-4-1-2 or 3-4-2-1.
Atalanta are aggressive, press high, use tight man-marking to good effect, and are exciting to watch. They can quickly put teams to the sword - as evidenced by a ruthless showing against Bologna when they scored four times in the first 15 minutes of the match - and they also have a strong belief - they have taken more points from losing positions than any other Serie A side this season (26, four more than Juventus in second).
Only three Serie A teams covered more distance on average per game than Atalanta in the 2018/19 season. And only two teams had more average possession than Atalanta.
Worryingly for Atalanta, there has been speculation that Gasperini will leave this summer to take over the vacant role at Roma. Atalanta president Antonio Percassi said after the final day that "it's already a given that he'll still be here next season", but Gasperini was somewhat less assertive.
We earned it, we knew it wasn't going to be easy, we know we played a season beyond our limits. We gave it all to make the history of this club and of this city, and we made it. We did something extraordinary, and now it's time to enjoy this qualification to the Champions League.
"The important thing now is that we share the same ideas. Atalanta finished third. That is a fact. If we are going into the Champions League, we need a squad equipped to do well and not embarrass ourselves or Italian football.
"We can't go in there with a 'sad' transfer strategy and then people a few months later tell me it's the strongest team Atalanta have ever had. If I am credible and can make decisions, then I am happy."
Gasperini has already worked wonders with the Atalanta squad, but could he do it again?
Atalanta have already sold Franck Kessie, Mattia Caldara, Roberto Gagliardini, Andrea Conti and Bryan Cristante in recent years, and there is speculation that others might leave this summer.
Gomez, who finished second in the assists chart this season and has been such a key player under Gasperini, has been linked with Lazio. There have also been rumours around Duvan Zapata, who was the second-highest scorer in Serie A with 23 goals and is in the middle of a two-year loan from Sampdoria, and the influential Josip Ilicic, who has called Gasperini the best coach he has worked with during his career.
Gasperini has shown he can develop youngsters and get the best from players, but he will surely be hoping for some stability this summer while strengthening the squad to compete on another front.
Speaking after the win over Sassuolo, he said: "We'll have to make two or three signings that we have targeted for specific positions, and they'll have to be good enough to compete with those 14-15 who have found more time on the pitch this year."
Atalanta's success in Serie A has come in the same season that Ajax have shocked Europe with their run to the semi-finals of the Champions League, beating Real Madrid and Juventus before suffering heartbreak against Tottenham.
The similarities in style between Atalanta and Ajax have not gone unnoticed.
"We share the same principles of football," said Atalanta's Dutch defender Hans Hateboer earlier this month. "It's true, we both play with one-on-one situations all over the pitch.
"Gian Piero Gasperini is a great coach and what he's done with Atalanta is incredible."
A few months before Ajax knocked Juventus out of the Champions League, Atalanta did the same in the Coppa Italia with a shock 3-0 win over the Serie A champions. They also drew twice with Juve in the league, won away at Napoli, shared two 3-3 draws with Roma and beat Inter Milan 4-1 at home.
Those results against the top sides in Serie A suggest Atalanta, who have just started refurbishment work on their 21,000 capacity stadium, could cause a few more surprises in the Champions League next season.
Europe's elite, beware.
