Inside Atalanta: Gasperini’s Tactics, Transfer Window and Best Players

What a 2024 it’s been for Atalanta. 

The side from Bergamo, constantly in the shadow of behemoths AC Milan and Inter Milan, won their first major piece of silverware since 1963, reached a second Coppa Italia final in three years and finished the £100m refurbishment of the Gewiss Stadium, making it one of the most-modern arenas in the country.

Gian Piero Gasperini finally won a trophy his career deserved, and the 66-year-old will undoubtedly have a statue built in his honour when the time comes for him to walk away from La Dea. But that day doesn’t seem to be coming anytime soon for now.

In light of winning the Europa League last May, and in rampaging style to boot, Atalanta president Antonio Percassi stuck to his word and retained the majority of the team that led the provincial side to glory in Dublin.

The notable exception to this was Teun Koopmeiners, who angled for a move to Juventus and got his wish in the final week of the window, but with Atalanta earning close to €55m (£45.8m) on the Dutchman.

Atalanta strengthened smartly in the summer, and were forced into some tactical rethinking after losing Gianluca Scamacca during pre-season with an ACL injury that will keep the Italian out until next year.

The question remains can Gasperini get Atalanta over the line and challenge for the Scudetto? The next logical step for the club amid European success is now to build a credible tilt at the Serie A title. Of course, this is much more difficult to implement with a resurgent Juventus, Napoli and current champions Inter, but this is the level Gasperini has now taken the club to.

Result so far in the league have been mixed. This is due to the departure of Koopmeiners and the arrival of multiple new summer signings and the inevitable delay in adjusting to Gasperini’s exact tactical requirements.

La Dea have won two from four of their league matches so far and, as is the Gasperini way, goals have been flowing in each way. The 4-0 win against Lecce on the opening day was reversed a week later, when Inter brushed them aside at San Siro by the same score line.

Atalanta will likely not click into gear until the second half of the season, but by then a title challenge might be out of the question, yet expect Gapserini’s side to be entertaining, as always.

Transfers: Atalanta were quite active on the summer transfer market. The first piece of business was the signing Charles De Ketelaere on a permanent basis from Milan for €24m. Ben Godfrey was brought in from Everton for €10m, while Raoul Bellanova was signed as cover for the injured Giorgio Scalvini for around €25m. 

In the wake of Koopmeiner’s move to Juve, Marco Bresciannini was signed on loan with an obligation to buy for €10. Meanwhile, Lazar Samardzic was signed for €25m, whilst Nicolo Zaniolo arrived on loan from Galatasaray. 

In the aftermath of Scamacca’s injury, Atalanta then turned to Mateo Retegui, signing the Argentine-Italian from Genoa for €22m. Odilon Kossounou was also a big-money signing from Bayer Leverkusen — the side Atalanta crushed in the Europa League final — with La Dea paying €5m for a loan but with an option to buy next summer for €25m.

Best performers: Many of Atalanta’s new signings will take time, considering the tactical requirements demanded by Gasperini, yet Bresciannini has hit he ground running, scoring a brace on his debut in the 4-0 win against Lecce. Most of the new signings have been on the bench, and will be slowly integrated into the team, as is the Gasperini way.

Tactics: Pep Guardiola once claimed facing Gasperini teams was like ‘going to the dentist’ and the 66-year-old continues to be one of the shrewdest managers in the Italian game. He’s continued with his 3-4-2-1 system from last season so far this campaign, but can often switch systems in-game if needed to a four-man defence. Yet the demands of his system and the man-for-man marking system takes time for players to adjust, which is why so few of the new signings have started games thus far.