Atalanta BC

Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio, commonly called Atalanta, is a professional football club based in Bergamo, Italy. Founded in 1907, the club competes in Serie A and holds the record for the most seasons in the top flight (65) without being based in a regional capital and without winning the league title. They also boast the most promotions to Serie A and share the record for the most Serie B titles with Genoa. Atalanta won the Coppa Italia in 1963 and the UEFA Europa League in 2024. They have qualified for the UEFA Champions League five times, reaching the quarter-finals in 2020, and have played six seasons in the UEFA Europa League. In 1988, while in Serie B, they reached the semi-finals of the Cup Winners' Cup, still the joint-best performance by a non-first division club in a major UEFA competition. The team plays at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia in black and blue kits. Their long-standing rivalry with Brescia Calcio continued with Brescia's phoenix club, Union Brescia, after the original club dissolved in 2025. Atalanta's youth academy is renowned for producing talents who have played across Europe's top leagues.[edit]

Atalanta was founded on October 17, 1907 by a group of Swiss students at the Liceo Classico Paolo Sarpi in Bergamo. The club's first official match came in 1913 against a team from Milan. They joined the Italian Football Federation in 1914 and played their first competitive season in 1919 after World War I. Atalanta first reached Serie A in 1928, winning the Serie B title that same year. The 1930s and 1940s saw the club establish itself in the top flight, with a best finish of 5th in 1936. The 1963 Coppa Italia triumph remains the club's first major trophy, a 3-1 victory over Torino at San Siro. The 1980s brought a memorable run in the Cup Winners' Cup, where as a Serie B side they eliminated Dinamo Zagreb and Malmö before falling to KV Mechelen in the semi-finals. The 1990s under Emiliano Mondonico saw Atalanta consistently challenge for European places, finishing 6th in 1991. But the real transformation came with Gian Piero Gasperini's appointment in 2016. He implemented a high-pressing, attacking style that turned Atalanta into a Champions League regular. The 2019-20 season saw them reach the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time, scoring 98 Serie A goals in the process. Gasperini's crowning achievement came in 2024 when Atalanta beat Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 in the Europa League final, ending Leverkusen's 51-match unbeaten run. After Gasperini's departure in 2024, former youth coach Raffaele Palladino took over, tasked with maintaining the club's upward trajectory.[edit]