Atalanta B.C.

Atalanta

Full name	Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio S.p.A.
Nickname(s)	La Dea (The Goddess), Nerazzurri (Black-blues) Orobici (Orobics)
Founded	1907
Ground	Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia, Bergamo, Italy (capacity: 24,642)
President	Antonio Percassi
Head Coach	Stefano Colantuono
League	Serie A
2012–13	Serie A, 15th
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio, commonly known as just Atalanta, Atalanta Bergamo or the abbreviation Atalanta BC, is an Italian football club based in Bergamo, Lombardy.

They are nicknamed the Nerazzurri and the orobici. Atalanta play in blue-and-black vertically striped shirts, black shorts and black socks.

The club stadium is the 26,638 seater Atleti Azzurri d'Italia. In Italy, Atalanta is sometimes called Regina delle provinciali (queen of the provincial clubs) to mark the fact that the club is historically one of the best among non-metropolitan ones.

In 2010–11, the club gained promotion from Serie B to Serie A. Atalanta reached the Cup Winners' Cup Semifinal in 1988, when it was still competing in Serie B. This is still the best ever performance by a non-first division club in a major UEFA competition (together with Cardiff City).

History

The club was founded in 1907. A football club had existed in Bergamo since 1904. Founded by wealthy Swiss immigrants, it was known as FC Bergamo. The rival Atalanta club grew out of a division between different sporting societies in the town. The name is taken from the female athlete of Greek mythology. The FIGC was unimpressed with the new club and did not officially recognize them until 1914. The current club is the result of a merger between Atalanta and a third team called Bergamasca. The first, black and white coloured and the second wearing a blue and white shirt, merged in 1924 as Atalanta Bergamasca di Ginnastica e Scherma 1907. The team moved to the site of the current ground, on the Viale Giulio Cesare, in 1928.23

Atalanta joined the Italian league in 1929. The club first reached Serie A in 1937, but was relegated immediately. The club returned in 1940 and remained in Serie A until 1959; after a single season in Serie B, the club was promoted and lasted a further decade in Serie A before relegation in 1973 led to an uncertain period of promotion and relegation between the two levels.

The club achieved its highest position in 1948, finishing in fifth place. In 1981, the club fell into Serie C1, a blow which revitalised the club. The team returned to Serie B the next season and made it back to Serie A in 1984. The club's form in Serie A remains uncertain, as it was relegated in 1987, 1994, 1998, 2003, 2005, and 2010. After a change of ownership, in 2011, Atalanta immediately came back to Serie A, where it has been ever since.

In terms of titles the club has won little, their sole silverware is the 1963 Coppa Italia. The club has had a few good runs in Europe, on several occasions being eliminated by the eventual winners.

Welsh club Merthyr Tydfil caused an upset in the 1987–88 European Cup Winners' Cup, beating Atalanta 2–1 in the first leg of their first round match at Penydarren Park. After winning the second leg 2–0 in Bergamo, Atalanta went on to reach the semi-finals, losing to eventual winners Mechelen of Belgium, but in the process becoming one of only two teams in the competition's history to reach the penultimate round while playing their football outside of the national top flight league. Oddly enough, the only other team to do so being Merthyr Tydfil's countrymen at Cardiff City.

Atalanta reached the UEFA Cup quarter-finals in the 1990–91 season, losing to local rivals Internazionale, who went on to beat another Italian side, Roma, in the final to win the tournament.

Reputation

Over the years, Atalanta has earned the reputation of being a feeder team within the league, mostly due to their highly acclaimed and much vaunted youth policy which has enabled the club to produced a number of players who went on to bigger clubs. The clubs has also launched (or re-launched) the careers of many other players, however, either by loan or co-ownership, who came to the club and developed before moving on. Names such as the now disgraced Cristiano Doni and the likes of Andrea Consigli, Massimo Donati, Fabrizio Ferron, Sergio Floccari, Maurizio Ganz, Filippo Inzaghi, Paolo Montero, Sergio Porrini, Alessio Tacchinardi, and Christian Vieri all came to notice while playing for Atalanta with players such as Germán Denis and Gianluigi Lentini rebooting their careers while on loan at the club.

Further proof of the club's youth credential comes in the form of Gianpaolo Bellini. The defender came through the team's youth system, making his first team debut in Serie B on 11 April 1999 and has been with the club ever since, rising to become a regular first team choice and is now the current first team captain.

Players

Current squad

As of 31 January 2013

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 2 DF Guglielmo Stendardo 3 DF Stefano Lucchini 4 DF Daniele Capelli 5 DF Lionel Scaloni 6 DF Gianpaolo Bellini (captain) 7 FW Marko Livaja 8 MF Ivan Radovanović 9 MF James Troisi 10 MF Giacomo Bonaventura 11 MF Maximiliano Moralez 13 DF Michele Canini 16 GK Ciro Polito 17 MF Carlos Carmona 18 MF Luigi Giorgi (on loan from Novara) 19 FW Germán Denis

No. Position Player 20 FW Igor Budan (on loan from Palermo) 21 MF Luca Cigarini (on loan from Napoli) 22 DF Matteo Contini 23 MF Franco Brienza 28 DF Davide Brivio 32 DF Michele Ferri 44 MF Riccardo Cazzola 47 GK Andrea Consigli 77 MF Cristian Raimondi 78 GK Giorgio Frezzolini 83 DF Cristiano Del Grosso 88 MF Davide Biondini (on loan from Genoa) 89 FW Guido Marilungo 91 FW Giuseppe De Luca (on loan from Varese) 99 FW Facundo Parra (on loan from Chacarita)

Youth team

Main article: Atalanta Primavera

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 92 DF Luca Milesi 93 MF Roberto Gagliardini 94 MF Antonio Palma 95 FW Davide Cais

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 13 DF Federico Peluso (at Juventus) 23 MF Matteo Scozzarella (at Ternana) 25 DF Carlos Matheu (at Siena) 33 MF Moussa Koné (at Varese) 88 MF Nadir Minotti (at Virtus Lanciano) GK Simone Colombi (at Modena) GK Francesco Rossi (at Cuneo) GK Marco Sportiello (at Carpi) DF Alberto Almici (at Virtus Lanciano) DF Carlo Cremaschi (at Tritium) DF Alessandro De Leidi (at Barletta)

No. Position Player DF Matteo Gentili (at Vicenza) DF Marcello Possenti (at Lumezzane) DF Emanuele Suagher (at Pisa) DF Riccardo Tantardini (at FeralpiSalò) MF Davide Agazzi (at Savona) MF Daniele Baselli (co-owned with Cittadella) MF Salvatore Molina (at Barletta) MF Christian Monacizzo (at Tritium) MF Nejc Praprotnik (at Gorica) FW Matteo Ardemagni (at Modena) FW Simone Magnaghi (at Viareggio)

Retired numbers

14 – Federico Pisani, Forward (1991–97) – posthumous honour.
12 – Dedication to fans, in particularly for Pisani Curve ones
80 – Elio Corbani, radio journalist.

Primavera

Main article: Atalanta Primavera

Noted players

• See also: Category:Atalanta B.C. players

Presidential history

Atalanta have had several presidents over the course of their history. Some of them have been the main shareholder of the club, while others have been honorary presidents. The past president is Ivan Ruggeri, who was relieved of his duties after he suffered a stroke in January 2008, being replaced by his son Alessandro that was named President of Atalanta in September 2008. Alessandro's father is unable to manage the team due to the consequences of the stroke. In June 2010, after another relegation in Serie B, Alessandro Ruggeri sold his share of Atalanta to Antonio Percassi, who became the new President of Atalanta.

Name Years Enrico Luchsinger 1920–21 Antonio Gambirasi 1926–28 Pietro Capoferri 1928–30 Antonio Pesenti 1930–32 Emilio Santi 1932–35 Lamberto Sala 1935–38 Nardo Bertoncini 1938–44 Guerino Oprandi 1944–45 Daniele Turani 1945–64 Attilio Vicentini 1964–69

Name Years Mino Baracchi 1969–70 Achille Bortolotti 1970–74 Enzo Sensi 1974–75 Achille Bortolotti 1975–80 Cesare Bortolotti 1980–90 Achille Bortolotti 1990 Antonio Percassi 1990–94 Ivan Ruggeri 1994–08 Alessandro Ruggeri 2008–10 Antonio Percassi 2010–

Managerial history

Atalanta have had many managers and head coaches throughout their history, below is a chronological list of them from when Serie A was changed into a league format, from 1929–30 onwards.

Name Nationality Years Cesare Lovati 1923–27 Imre Payer 1927–29 Enrico Tirabassi 1928–29 Luigi Cevenini 1929–30 József Viola 1930–33 Imre Payer 1933 Angelo Mattea 1933–35 Imre Payer 1935–36 Ottavio Barbieri 1936–38 Géza Kertész 1938–39 Ivo Fiorentini 1939–41 János Nehadoma 1941–46 Giuseppe Meazza 1946 Luis Monti 1946 Ivo Fiorentini 1946–49 Alberto Citterio Carlo Carcano 1949 Giovanni Varglien 1949–51 Denis Charles Neville 1951–52 Carlo Ceresoli 1952 Luigi Ferrero 1952–54 Francesco Simonetti Luigi Tentorio 1954 Luigi Bonizzoni 1954–57

Name Nationality Years Carlo Rigotti 1957–58 Giuseppe Bonomi 1958 Karl Adamek 1958–59 Ferruccio Valcareggi 1959–62 Paolo Tabanelli 1962–63 Carlo Alberto Quario 1963–64 Carlo Ceresoli 1964 Héctor Puricelli 1965–66 Stefano Angeleri 1966–67 Paolo Tabanelli 1967–68 Stefano Angeleri 1968–69 Silvano Moro 1969 Carlo Ceresoli 1969 Corrado Viciani 1969–70 Renato Gei 1970 Battista Rota 1970 Giulio Corsini 1970–74 Heriberto Herrera Udrizar 1974–75 Angelo Piccioli 1975 Giancarlo Cadè 1975–76 Gianfranco Leoncini 1976 Battista Rota 1976–80 Bruno Bolchi 1980–81

Name Nationality Years Giulio Corsini 1981 Ottavio Bianchi 1981 – June 83 Nedo Sonetti July 1983 – June 87 Emiliano Mondonico July 1987 – June 90 Pierluigi Frosio 1990–91 Bruno Giorgi 1991–92 Marcello Lippi July 1992 – June 93 Francesco Guidolin July 1993 – Sept 93 Andrea Valdinoci Cesare Prandelli Nov 1993 – June 94 Emiliano Mondonico July 1994 – June 98 Bortolo Mutti July 1998 – June 99 Giovanni Vavassori July 1999 – Nov 2002 Giancarlo Finardi Dec 2002 – June 2003 Andrea Mandorlini July 2003–05 Delio Rossi Dec 2004 – June 2005 Stefano Colantuono July 2005 – June 2007 Luigi Delneri July 2007 – June 2009 Angelo Gregucci July 2009 – Sep 2009 Antonio Conte Sept 2009 – Jan 2010 Valter Bonacina (interim) Jan 2010 Bortolo Mutti Jan 2010 – June 2010 Stefano Colantuono June 2010–

Honours

• Coppa Italia
  • Winners 1962–63
• Serie B
  • Champions 1927–28, 1939–40, 1958–59, 1983–84, 2005–06, 2010–11
• Serie C1
  • Northern Champions 1981–82

Supporters

Atalanta's supporters are considered very loyal. When Atalanta plays at the Atleti Azzurri d'Italia, the supporters in the Curva Nord (North Curve) encourage the team with their chants during the entire match.

The biggest rivalry is with the neighbouring supporters of Brescia, and there are strong rivalries also with supporters of Verona, Genoa, Fiorentina, Roma, Lazio, Napoli, Milan, Internazionale, Torino; while there has been a long-standing friendship with Ternana, fans of the German Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt and fans of the Austrian club Wacker Innsbruck.

On special occasions, Atalanta supporters display a very large black and blue flag called Bandierù which covers the whole Curva Nord stand.

External links

• (Italian) Official Atalanta BC Website
• (Italian) Official Atalanta BC fans site
• (Italian) Tutto Atalanta: Atalanta News & Gossip
• Russian Atalanta BC fans site