A Love for Bergamo is the Bond as Atalanta Boast Eight Players at World Cup

Atalanta’s rise in the last decade has been one of the most endearing stories in the European game. Previously known as a ‘yo-yo’ provincial club, La Dea have shed that image after 10 years of top-half finishes in Serie A.

Gian Piero Gasperini’s influence cannot be overstated. The Italian was the mastermind for results on the pitch, and brought the club their first European honour in the shape of the Europa League in 2024. Their rise is now being reflected in the number of players representing their countries at the World Cup this summer.

Eight players from the Bergamo-based outfit were named in squads heading for North America.

Among them is Belgium attacker Charles De Ketelaere. He joined from AC Milan in the summer of 2023 after a failed season with the Rossoneri, but despite the setback at San Siro, he loves life in Italy.

“I like the fresh ingredients I find in your restaurants, from meat restaurants to trattorias,” he told Icon Magazine once settled at Atalanta, before going on to reveal that his favourite dish was cacio e pepe.

De Ketelare won’t be the only Atalanta player trying to make a name for himself at the World Cup. Ederson Silva (Brazil), Sead Kolasinac (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Odilon Kossounou (Ivory Coast), Isak Hien (Sweden), Mario Pasalic (Croatia) and Kamaldeen Sulemana (Ghana) are there. So too is club captain Marten De Roon.

Now 35 the Netherlands international is very much in the autumn of his career, De Roon has been at the heartbeat of Atalanta since re-signing from Middlesbrough in 2017. Despite the continual revolving door at the club, De Roon has been the one constant: the steady hand in the middle of the park who personified their hard-working ethos.

De Roon was so constant that he was awarded the Civic Merit prize by the city of Bergamo at the end of 2024 for his ‘extraordinary commitment as captain of Atalanta and the deep affection he has shown over the years for Bergamo and its people’.

The Dutchman, by his own admission, knew very little about Italy but got advice from one of the greatest strikers in the history of the game: Marco van Basten.

“I didn’t know much about Italy because I always used to go to France on my holidays,” confessed De Roon in an interview with Serie A’s YouTube channel. “But I had Van Basten as a coach and he told me about Italy, that’s how I learned things about the country.”

Once he signed for La Dea, bar a brief interlude in England with Middlesborough, De Roon never looked back. “I feel like am ambassador for Bergamo because it’s our hometown,” he said. “I’m someone who likes to tell all the players who come to live here everything about the city and offer suggestions on where to live because it’s the perfect city to live in.”

Such has been the city’s impact on De Roon that he doesn’t plan on leaving any time soon. “After my career ends we’d like to stay here,” he said. “The city is growing and becoming more important.”

Another bedrock of Atalanta’s squad over the past several years has been midfielder Mario Pasalic, who will be representing Croatia at the World Cup.

Arriving from Chelsea on loan and then signing permanently, Pasalic has been part of the furniture for eight years and has grown to love the city.

“Bergamo is a small but very beautiful city, it’s very tranquil when I get to walk around it,” he said. “My favourite dish is casoncelli.”

Casoncelli is a pasta dish native to Bergamo, made by folding two sheets of pasta together and making them look like handkerchiefs and stuffed with meat, cheese and breadcrumbs. It’s also a favourite of De Roon’s.

Many of La Dea’s players will play pivotal roles for their countries at the World Cup this summer, reflecting the club’s rise towards the upper echelons of the Italian game.

And aside from being team-mates, the one thing that unites them all is their love for Bergamo.