Until recently, Atalanta was a flawless machine: a club that launched or relaunched young and experienced talents, achieved extraordinary performances under Gasperini, and then financed new operations through lucrative transfers, thus keeping the virtuous cycle alive.
Add to that multiple Champions League qualifications and a European trophy, and Atalanta stood as a true model of sustainable and intelligent football. A model that several clubs, for example Roma, tried to replicate. But in recent months, the story has changed.
Gasperini’s decision to leave had long been in the air, yet the Bergamo management seemed unprepared. With Gasperini off to Rome, Atalanta’s management decided to turn to one of his protégés, Ivan Juric. A former player under Gasperini, Juric had managed several clubs with mixed results, including Torino and Verona (probably one of the best experiences of his career).
Getting Juric guess wrong
Over the past year, however, he has made a series of poor decisions that have severely damaged his credibility and career. A year ago, he took charge of Roma with disastrous results, as everyone now knows, replacing Daniele De Rossi. He then moved to Nottingham Forest, where things somehow went even worse.
The English press even dubbed him “the worst coach in Premier League history”. Given such a background, Atalanta’s decision to bet on him was, at best, astonishing. To replace a totem like Gasperini, they chose Juric, fresh off two unequivocal failures.
Unsurprisingly, both the media and fans were skeptical. Still, the club’s management stood firmly behind him, supporting his transfer requests, from Nicola Zalewski to Khaldeem Sulemana. But results on the pitch quickly proved them wrong. On November 10, exactly one year after his dismissal from Roma, Atalanta sacked Juric and appointed another Gasperini disciple, Raffaele Palladino.
Palladino another gamble
Unable to bring back the original, Gasperini, now thriving at Roma and sitting atop the table, Bergamo’s managers seem intent on solving every problem by recruiting his followers, hoping to rebuild a new project on the same foundations. But what made the difference in Bergamo was never just Gasperini’s tactical ideas. It was the quality of his work, his ability to get the best out of every player, to coach anyone regardless of status or experience.
Palladino has shown flashes of promise, tactical intelligence mixed with a few character flaws, but this, too, is another gamble. Over the years, the squad’s quality has grown significantly. Today, Atalanta boasts several established stars, true champions who are far more challenging to coach than when they first arrived as ambitious youngsters or players seeking redemption.
Ederson and Ademola Lookman, for example, are top-level talents pursued by major European clubs. Managing them requires both skill and personality. Nevertheless, Atalanta has again turned to one of Gasperini’s protégés, hoping for a different outcome after Juric’s failure. The talent is there, no one can deny that, but after such a difficult start to the season, a serious change of pace is essential. Atalanta must start running again.