The quarter finals of the coveted UEFA Champions League gets underway on the 13th of August with an anomalous tie between the affluent PSG against the gumptious Atalanta. The stark contrast on display between the two sides tells quite the story, one that highlights the sheer defiance of conformism by the Italian side.
The La Dea roller coaster
Joining the Italian league in 1937, fans have witnessed La Dea traverse from a mainstay in the Serie A to the fringes and back, last being relegated in 2010, only to return the next season. Floundering in the trenches of the bottom half of the table, a lack of identity plagued the club. In 2016, Gian Piero Gasperini was appointed as the new manager and in a trice, breathed life into the side, taking them from the depths to consistent European spots, ending a 27-year draught in 2017 when they qualified for the Europa League. They replicated the feat the following year before ultimately making their Champions League debut this season, finishing the past season comfortably in the third spot with 69 points. The side has taken massive strides this season, embracing their incessant style of play and securing third place in a much more competitive Serie A season with 78 points and the most goals scored in the league with 98. The tight-knit fanbase of the impecunious club embarked on a roller coaster that finally seems to be bearing fruit.
All Out Attack
Twelve goals over two legs in the Round of 16 tie against Valencia might seem like a staggering statistic. However, prior knowledge of their tactical set-up makes the score-line unsurprising. Gasperini had a tall task ahead of him this season with winger Dejan Kulusevski joining Juventus for a record €44 million along with midfielders Franck Kessie and Bryan Cristante departing from the club. Fielding a general 3-4-1-2, the line-up was set to accentuate the incessant offensive mentality of the side. With Marten De Roon and Remo Freuler providing cover for the centre-halfs and Robin Gosens and Hans Hateboer occupying the wings, proving to be key in offence and defence alike, the front 3 now had the freedom they lacked. Argentine midfielder Alejandro Gomez has been a vital ingredient to the teams’ recent rise to European contention. Josip Ilicic was the talk of the town, becoming the first player in history to score four goals away from home in the Champions League against Valencia. While the team does tend to concede freely, their refusal to settle and continually move forward adds a unique tinge to the Italian side, making them a formidable force.
Road to Lisbon
Atalanta suffered a rough start to their maiden Champions League campaign, losing their first three games to Shakhtar Donetsk, Dinamo Zagreb and Manchester City. However, with a miraculous turn-around, La Dea managed to qualify with a draw against City while picking up wins against the other two, a feat only achieved once before by Newcastle United F.C in 2002-03. Drawing Valencia CF in the Round of 16, Atalanta handily beat the Spanish side with Hateboer, Freuler and Ilicic getting on the score sheet with Denis Cheryshev grabbing a late glimmer of hope for Los Ches. The hope was short-lived as the Slovenian scored a penalty right at the start of the second leg, the first of the four he would go on to score. Leading two to one at the break, the Italian side refused to sit back and accept the seemingly insurmountable lead and kept ambushing the opposition, leading to the 3-4 score-line in favour of La Dea with the Slovenian making the headlines, taking the team to the quarter finals in their debut in the competition. While played in the absence of the vociferous home supporters at the Mestalla, the 7-goal thriller saw striker Josip Ilicic make history.
The tie against PSG is poised to be a poetic roadblock in Atalanta’s fairytale. With both teams boasting an incredible attacking aptitude with clear deficiencies at the back, the game has goals written all over it. While the French champions do have a superior line-up on paper, Atalanta’s form along with players like Kylian Mbappe and Marco Veratti potentially missing out, a result in the favour of the Italian side would hardly be a surprise.
