Gian Piero Gasperini and His Magnificent Atalanta Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio, commonly referred to as Atalanta, is an Italian football club based in Bergamo, Lombardy. The club is nicknamed La Dea, the Nerazzurri and the Orobici. Founded in 1907 by Swiss students in the gym of the liceo classico, Atalanta play in blueand-black vertically striped shirts, black shorts and black socks. Atalanta joined the Italian league in 1929. However the club has never won Scudetto so far. The biggest success of Atalanta in domestic competitions came in 1963, when they won Coppa Italia. The club reached the Cup Winners’ Cup semifinal in 1988, when they were 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. Atalanta also participated in four seasons of the UEFA Europa League, reaching the quarter-finals in the 1990/91 season. The club began to experience its greatest days after the appointment of Gian Piero Gasperini as head coach. At the beginning of 2016/17 season, Gian Piero Gasperini was appointed as a manager of Atalanta. Atalanta stuttered at the beginning of the season and new coach was on the verge of dismissal. However with an amazing
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run of positive results, the team secured an impressive 4th-place finish with 72 points. With that result, Atalanta qualified for 2017/18 Europa League and reached the round of 32. In this round they lost to Borussia Dortmund on aggregate. In 2017/18, Atalanta placed 7th in the Serie A, earning them a berth for the chance to qualify for 2018/19 UEFA Europa League group stage. However, they were defeated by Danish side FC Copenhagen in the final of qualification. In 2018/19, Atalanta struggled at the beginning of the season, getting only one win in their first 8 matches. A strong second half to the season including a 13 match unbeaten run to end the season meant Atalanta finished third in the league, qualifying to the 2019/20 UEFA Champions League group stage for the first time in their history. Atalanta also made the finals of the 2018/19 Coppa
