Football Season Guide

Coming off a two-faced season, characterized by a positive beginning and a rather poor second half, also due to a risky winter transfer campaign, Atalanta management opted for a major overhaul during the summer. Aging coach Edy Reja was let go, without being thanked for saving the ship in the darkest times of the last two campaigns, and Giampiero Gasperini arrived from Genoa, where he obtained some excellent results during the last decade. The new man in charge usually adopts a 3-4-3 or 3-5-2 formation and he will be happy for Atalanta often did that too with the former man at the helm. The squad was heavily trimmed, with plenty of fringe players quitting without leaving a mark, and reshaped as several regular and key players were either let go, this is the case of Borriello, Paletta and Diamanti, or sold for lots of cash like De Roon and Cigarini. Several players returned from loan, having made some experience in Serie B: Kessié in particular could end up becoming a protagonist in the middle of the park after impressing with Cesena. Some investments were also made: Paloschi, above all, is expected to provide those goals Atalanta had troubles scoring in the past campaigns, with Petagna as his substitute and Pinilla being told that he is doomed to the bench, while Zukanovic, on loan from Roma, should become a regular in the back three. The feeling is that the squad is still a bit of a work in progress: Sportiello and Gomez are likely to leave for pastures new in the next weeks and they need to be replaced as soon as possible. Otherwise, their departures would leave huge holes in goals and on the wings. However, they might be short also in defence, with Suagher injured, and in the midfield, with valid alternatives needed to Kurtic and Kessié.