Atalanta's Slovenian midfielder Josip Ilicic (3rdL) celebrates after scoring during the UEFA ... [+]
One of the biggest misconceptions of modern soccer is that Italy is notoriously only focused on defending.
Italian players are considered masters of ‘Catenaccio’, a tactical system that puts a strong emphasis on preventing opponents’ goal-scoring opportunities.
However, the current UEFA EURO 2020 is proving this theory to be biased, if not stereotypical.
And not only because of the 9 goals netted by Roberto Mancini’s Italy on their road to the quarter finals against Belgium, set to take place on Friday.
Out of the 109 goals scored so far at EURO 2020 (excluding the own-goals), a whopping 30 come from Serie A - Italy’s top-flight soccer league.
German Bundesliga comes in second place with 25 goals, followed by British Premier League with 20.
And while it’s not surprising to see Serie A giants of the like of FC Inter and Juventus among the top 3 clubs who provided the most goalscorers, Atalanta’s second place stands out.
According to data provided by Sky Sports Italy, out of the 9 Atalanta players who are taking part in EURO 2020, a whooping of 5 managed to get their names in the scoresheet, scoring a total of 7 goals.
Only Juventus managed to do better than the Bergamaschi, with 9 Bianconeri finding the back of the net during the continental competition.
The Atalanta players who scored are Aleksej Mirančuk (Russia) against Finland, Robin Gosens (Germany) against Portugal, Mario Pasalic (Croatia) against Spain, on top of the braces by Joakim Mæhle (Denmark) and Matteo Pessina (Italy).
With 5 different scorers at the Euros, the Bergamo-based club became the club with the most different goalscorers at a European championship in the history of the competition, along with Belgian side Anderlecht (1984), FC Barcelona (2000), and Real Madrid (2012).
BERGAMO, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 02: Atalanta BC coach Gian Piero Gasperini looks on before the serie A ... [+]
But how did a club that was used to bounce back and forth between the top two divisions managed to get to the elite of modern European soccer?
Needless to say, the arrival of manager Gian Piero Gasperini on the bench in 2016 radically changed Atalanta’s style of play for the better, showcasing the blueprint of a top club.
Gasperini turned the team - nicknamed “La Dea” (Italian for ‘goddess’) - into a goalscoring machine, netting 98 and 90 goals over the last two domestic seasons, respectively.
Moreover, in the last three seasons, the Gasperini squad finished on the Serie A podium, managing to qualify for the lucrative UEFA Champions League for the third time in a row.
BERGAMO, ITALY - JULY 21: director Antonio Percassi of Atalanta Bergamo during the Club Friendly ... [+]
But this clear and impressive evolution on the pitch was paired by a less visible, but equally successful one off the pitch.
According to a KPMG report, Atalanta are one of the few teams in Europe that managed to register a profit in 2020, despite the negative financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the last five years, the Bergamaschi managed to triple their revenues: from a total of $ 70 million in 2016 to $ 182 million by the end of the 2020 fiscal year.
This impressive income growth is mainly due to their constant participation in the Champions League, which generated a 40% share in the club’s overall revenue, the report continues.
Moreover, over the last five years ‘La Dea’ saw a boost in commercial income (+80%), and with the COVID-19 pandemic slowly fading away, they have great potential to increase the matchday income in their own, fully renovated ‘Gewiss Stadium’.
At the same time Atalanta owner Antonio Percassi, an Italian real estate and retail mogul with properties in Italy and the U.S., also managed to keep the staff costs down.
The $ 88 million expenditures are less than half the money that giants like FC Inter ($ 236 million) and Juventus ($ 339 million) spent in 2020 only.
Last but not least, the very key factor of Atalanta’s latest rise to glory is their stunning player trading performance.
Gasperini’s unlevelled scouting abilities matched with one of the best youth development programs in Italy allowed the Bergamo-based club to sell their best players high and injecting new talents in the squad for a little price.
According to Transfermarkt, the most notable examples are midfielder Amad Diallo - a product of the youth sector - sold last season to Manchester United for $ 25 million, German international Robin Gosens, taken from Dutch side Heracles Almelo in 2017 for around $ 1,2 million, and currently valued $ 42 million, and Swedish winger Dejan Kulusevski paid $ 4 million in 2016 and sold to Juventus last season for $ 41 million.
With the EURO 2020 showcase, however, Atalanta’s most precious jewels are drawing a lot of attention on the transfer market.
It is yet to be seen if ‘La Dea’ will keep their profitable business model by selling their best assets to the highest bidder or if Percassi will decide to keep the crown’s jewels to win Serie A and make the final step to soccer Olympus?
