What a difference a month can make in football.
Atalanta had started the season with successive defeats to Lazio (3-4), Sampdoria (1-2), Cagliari (0-3) and Palermo (0-1) and the fans were already feeling resigned to another frustrating campionato. Then, came the victory at home to Torino which lifted their spirits and rekindled the team’s hopes of a trouble-free campaign.
New coach Gian Piero Gasperini seemed a dead man walking after the shock home upset to Palermo on September 21. At that juncture, Atalanta had already conceded 11 goals in five matches.
However, the former Inter and Genoa mentor never lost the backing of the club’s chiefs who continued to support him and since then the team bounced back into the reckoning.
Atalanta started winning points at a canter, distancing themselves from the wrong side of the table and soaring to a high sixth place and now inside the Europa League zone.
From match-day six to 11, Atalanta went on to collect 16 of the 18 points at stake following wins over Crotone (3-1), Napoli (1-0), Inter (2-1), Pescara (1-0) and Genoa (3-0).
Fiorentina denied Atalanta the three points after a stalemate in Florence in this streak of positive results.
In the last six games, Gasperini’s side won more points than leaders and defending champions Juventus (15) but Gasperini is wise enough to know that the season is long and nothing is achieved as yet.
Atalanta boast one of the best youth systems in Italy.
Over the years, they have developed several players who eventually went on to play at the top level for bigger clubs and the national team.
Among the most popular in the impressive list is the late Gaetano Scirea who made a name for himself as an accomplished sweeper.
After leaving Atalanta he spent 14 years with Juventus and in Turin he became one of only five players in European football history to have won all trophies for clubs recognised by UEFA and FIFA.
Scirea, who died in a traffic accident on September 3, 1989 in Poland, came through the Atalanta youth system, making his Serie A debut for the Bergamo club in 1972.
After 58 appearances for Atalanta, the stylish and unassuming centre-half joined Juventus, also becoming a key player in Enzo Bearzot’s 1982 Italy World Cup winning side.
Roberto Donadoni, currently in charge of Bologna, also kicked his first ball at Atalanta and made his debut for the team in 1982.
The high-flying right-winger collected 96 appearances and scored five goals for Atalanta as he also helped the team win promotion to the top flight in 1984.
Then, in 1986, he was spotted by Milan, who had just been taken over by ambitious supremo Silvio Berlusconi.
Donadoni was a mainstay at Milan for practically an entire decade. He was also regular for Arrigo Sacchi’s Italy who finished runners-up in the 1994 World Cup finals.
Others to emerge from the Atalanta youth ranks were Alessio Tacchinardi, Riccardo Montolivo and Giampaolo Pazzini.
Tacchinardi joined Juventus in 1994 as Montolivo was touted to be the heir of midfield genius Andrea Pirlo.
However, Montolivo never really fulfilled his full potential.
Seasoned Verona striker Pazzini, 32, is currently the leading scorer in the Serie B after several stints with top-flight clubs.
Manolo Gabbiadini (Napoli), Giacomo Bonaventura (Milan), Simone Zaza (West Ham) and Daniele Baselli (Torino) also donned the Atalanta colours in the ‘Primavera’ league but at present they are engaged elsewhere.
This season, Atalanta have an enticing mix of young players (Mattia Caldara, Leonardo Spinazzola, Andrea Petagna, Franck Kessie, Alberto Grassi, Roberto Gagliardini, Andrea Conti and Marco Sportiello) and experienced veterans, the likes of Alberto Paloschi, Alejandro Gomez, Jasmin Kurtic, Cristian Raimondi, Marco D’Alessandro, Rafael Toloi, Andrea Masiello, Abdoulay Konko, Boukary Drame and Etrit Berisha.
With some wily tactical modifications, Gasperini has been able to bring the best out of his players, in particular Slovenia international Kurtic.
The midfielder is now being deployed just behind the main strikers, contributing significantly to Atalanta’s ascendency. His double in the demolition of Genoa on Sunday is testament of this.
Meanwhile, the dazzling performances of Argentina-born Gomez, who has recently gained Italian citizenship, have also caught the attention of national team coach Giampiero Ventura.
Atalanta have the potential to go places this season if they keep the good work going.
In the shrewd Gasperini, they have one of the best Italian coaches in circulation and they also possess an exciting squad in terms of quality, making them the surprise package of the Serie A season so far.