Atalanta can end 61-year wait for trophy in Europa League final
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Atalanta's Gianluca Scamacca (left) celebrates with teammate Giorgio Scalvini after scoring against Lecce.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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ROME – Atalanta have a date with history and Bayer Leverkusen on May 22, when the Italians aim to become the first team to beat the new German champions this season and win their first European final.
Gian Piero Gasperini’s side have in the Europa League final another shot at winning a first trophy in 61 years, after losing the Italian Cup final against Juventus on May 15.
The small traditional club from Bergamo – who last won the Italian Cup in 1963 – travel to Dublin, Ireland, in high spirits after securing a spot in next season’s revamped Champions League.
Star attackers Charles de Ketelaere and Gianluca Scamacca secured a 2-0 win at Lecce on May 18 that guaranteed Atalanta at least fifth spot in Serie A – they still have two games to play.
“Qualifying for the Champions League is best we can achieve at Atalanta, it’s not like we can aim to win Serie A,” Gasperini said, as fifth in Serie A will earn a place in Europe’s elite club competition next term.
“We were a bit tired in the final with Juventus... between now and Wednesday we need to make sure that we’re the very best version of our ourselves.”
Atalanta will be missing key midfielder Marten de Roon to a hamstring problem picked up during the Italian Cup final, an injury which Gasperini called the “real loss” of that evening.
However, the coach can count on the brilliant form of Scamacca and de Ketelaere, and potentially the return of defender Sead Kolasinac as the 66-year-old Italian tries to win his first final in his eight-year reign after losing his previous three.
Belgium midfielder Ketelaere has been a hit since being loaned to Atalanta from AC Milan last summer, scoring 14 goals and setting up nine more as he slotted perfectly into Gasperini’s attack-minded set-up.
“Gasperini’s style of play gives me confidence. I’m disappointed that I didn’t do at Milan what I’ve done with Atalanta, but I’ve had a great season here,” he said after the win over Lecce.
A provincial club playing in the shadow of the Milanese giants down the road, Atalanta have scaled new heights, reaching the Champions League four times since Gasperini took over.
They have managed to overtake traditionally bigger clubs like Fiorentina and Lazio, while maintaining close ties with their local community. They are one of the few Serie A teams to own their stadium, whose reshaping into a modern arena should be complete for the start of next season.
And their run through the Europa League has taken them past Sporting Lisbon, Liverpool and Marseille, all more storied teams with vastly bigger fan bases and at least one European honour in their trophy cabinet.
Atalanta have already experienced their two greatest-ever nights with their fans against Liverpool and Marseille as their run to the 2020 Champions League quarter-finals came at the height of Covid-19 which devastated Bergamo.
They might start as underdogs in Dublin against giant-killers Leverkusen, but have almost nothing to lose after going further than anyone ever expected.
“I don’t think winning a Cup is necessarily always part of the parameters by which success is judged. If we also manage to add a Cup, of course, we’ll be even more satisfied,” Gasperini said. AFP
