Atalanta Bergamo: The ideal place for the education and development of young stoppers

It’s been three years since Atalanta’s dream run, when they almost knocked out PSG in the Champions League quarter-finals after their then sensational 3rd place finish in the league. Time has moved on since then, but Gasperini’s team is still playing attractive attacking football. However, Atalanta’s subtle domain is the nurturing and development of stoppers, several of whom we have seen in the Champions League or Europa League finals this season.

In the Europa League final between Sevilla and AS Roma, we could see two stoppers that Atalanta had groomed for the football world on the Italian club’s side.

The Ibañez-Mancini pair cost the Roman club around 30 million euros. However, this purchase certainly paid off for the Romans, as both players have been part of the starting lineup for several seasons now.

In the Champions League final we could see Alessandro Bastoni again. Inter were not afraid to pay 31 million euros for him at the age of 18. However, his price tag is now at least double that.

After two loan spells, Inter incorporated him into the squad and he immediately started paying back his price tag. He has just completed his fourth season in the starting line-up and has signed a new contract until 2028.

It will have been a year since Cristian Romero became a Tottenham player permanently. His €50 million transfer is still the biggest sale in Atalanta’s history. He never kicked for Juventus, from which he came to Atalanta, but in the Premier League the Argentine world champion is one of the best stoppers.

Not all Atalanta stoppers have succeeded, however. The best example of this is Mattia Caldara, who headed to Juventus in January 2017 but never played there. After a year and a half back on loan at Atalanta, he was bought out by AC Milan for just under €40 million.

However, he also never made a Serie A appearance in return, even though he is still officially their player. Also due to protracted injuries, he hasn’t been able to make his way into the squad and is now wandering from one guest appearance to another.

Atalanta also still have several young and skilful stoppers in the squad. Namely the trio of Demiral, Scalvini and Okoli. While Demiral is wanted by Inter, Scalvini has been lured by Juventus of Turin. The third named is likely to stay and develop his skills in Bergamo.

Sources: Transfermarkt, Fabrizio Romano, TuttomercatoWeb, Gianluca Di Marzio