History of Atalanta BC

[11] The club was founded on 17 October 1907 by Liceo Classico Paolo Sarpi students Eugenio Urio, Giulio and Ferruccio Amati, Alessandro Forlini, and Giovanni Roberti.

[85][86][87] Upon returning to the top flight in the 1940–41 season, Atalanta achieved its first ever victory against Juventus (3–0) and also defeated reigning champion Bologna en route to a sixth-place finish.

[91][92][93] Italy was split in two parts after the fall of the fascist regime in 1943 and the onset of the Italian Civil War, rendering a unified national championship impossible until the 1945–46 season.

[117] This allowed the club to sign Danish forwards Jørgen Sørensen and Karl Hansen,[97] in addition to already-present Swedish midfielder Bertil Nordahl.

[117] In the early 1950s, the club continued to perform consistently in Serie A and launched the careers of young players such as Battista Rota, Giulio Corsini, and Gaudenzio Bernasconi.

The team escaped relegation thanks to 16 goals from Danish midfielder Poul Rasmussen[122][123]—who arrived in 1952 to replace Swedish forward Hasse Jeppson after a then-world record 105-million lire sale to Napoli[124]—as well as defensive solidity.

Despite securing Serie A safety on the field, the club was accused of match fixing and was subsequently relegated by the FIGC, while Padova defender Giovanni Azzini, who was allegedly involved in this incident, received a lifetime ban from football.

[147][148] During the next season, Atalanta went through three different coaches—Corrado Viciani, Renato Gei, and Battista Rota—and experienced a negative club record of 772 minutes (seven consecutive matches) without scoring.

At the beginning of the 1972–73 season, Atalanta did not concede a goal in its first six matches and was considered very solid defensively, but then collapsed in a 9–3 loss against Milan, leaving both the players and visiting fans at San Siro shocked.

[160] In 1975–76, Giancarlo Cadé was appointed as coach to challenge for promotion, and the club acquired young winger Antonio Cabrini in a co-ownership deal with Juventus.

[161] The next season, under Rota, and thanks to the contributions of players such as midfielder Pietro Fanna, striker Ezio Bertuzzo,[166] and goalkeeper Pizzaballa (who returned mid-season to the club at age 38),[167] Atalanta secured a third-place finish in Serie B.

[176][177] Also in 1984, midfielder and Sweden international Glenn Strömberg arrived at the club, where he would remain for eight years and win the Guldbollen—an award given to the best male Swedish footballer each year—in 1985.

[189][f] Upon returning to Serie A, Strömberg became team captain,[179] and Atalanta brought in young goalkeeper Fabrizio Ferron—who would perform consistently at the club for eight seasons[192]—and Brazilian forward Evair.

[183] In the 1989–90 season, Atalanta further reinforced its attack by bringing in Argentina international forward Claudio Caniggia;[184] the club finished seventh in Serie A and earned a second consecutive UEFA cup qualification.

[198][199][200] Despite obtaining a second consecutive qualification for the UEFA cup, the end of the 1989–90 season was marred by Bortolotti's death; he died in a car accident the night of 6–7 June 1990.

[216] Despite these arrivals, Atalanta had a poor campaign:[216] Guidolin was sacked after ten matches, which saw the club in second-to-last place with only six points and the worst defense in the league, and was replaced by Cesare Prandelli as caretaker manager amid financial difficulties.

[231] Under the guidance of Vavassori and with the help of homegrown players in the senior team, as well as the return of Caniggia (though he would leave at the end of the season), the club achieved promotion to Serie A.

[194] This season also saw the top-flight debuts of many youth players who were considered promising, among them twin defenders Cristian and Damiano Zenoni and goalkeeper Ivan Pelizzoli, who would also be called up to the Italy national team.

[235][236] Additionally, during that season, several Atalanta players were accused of match fixing in a 1–1 Coppa Italia draw with Pistoiese in August 2000, for which betting patterns were deemed unusual and investigated; initially, they faced bans of up to a year, but these allegations were later dropped for lack of evidence.

[260][261][263] This poor form, combined with elimination from the Coppa Italia by Lega Pro (third tier) club Lumezzane,[264] resulted in Conte having an altercation with the Atalanta supporters and subsequently resigning on 6 January 2010 following a defeat to Napoli.

[273] Atalanta faced a six-point penalty in the 2011–12 Serie A standings, and Doni was handed a three-and-a-half-year ban from all football-related activities on 19 August, effectively ending his career.

Colantuono was consequently sacked and replaced by Edoardo Reja,[283] under whom Atalanta obtained 14 points in 13 games (with two victories, eight draws, and three defeats) and eventually finished in 17th place (just above the relegation zone).

[289] On 13 May 2017, Atalanta secured a place among the top six teams in Serie A with a 1–1 home draw against Milan, which guaranteed qualification for UEFA competitions after 26 years of absence.

[194] This result was achieved in spite of a double commitment—which some pundits believed would cause the club to struggle[292]—and a tough start to the season in the league (9 points in 7 matches).

Following an agreement with both Milan clubs, Atalanta would play its home matches in the competition at San Siro, as the stadium in Bergamo was undergoing renovations to comply with UEFA standards.

[314] A month later, in the Champions League round of 16, Atalanta defeated Spanish club Valencia 8–4 on aggregate; forward Josip Iličić scored all four of his side's goals in the second leg.

[322] Following a 1–1 home draw against Midtjylland[320]—a match rumored to have catalyzed the mid-season departure of captain Alejandro (Papu) Gómez from the club[323]—Atalanta secured qualification to the knockout phase with a 1–0 away win against Ajax.

[342] Gasperini remained at Atalanta in spite of the club's failure to qualify for European competitions, though under new ownership, sporting director Giovanni Sartori was replaced by Lee Congerton and Tony D'Amico.

[343] In July 2022, defender José Luis Palomino was suspended for failing a doping test, though would return four months later following a successful appeal;[344] nevertheless, his suspension led to inclusion of several youth academy players in the first team.

[344] The club experienced positive and negative streaks throughout the season, though would never fall outside the top seven places in Serie A, and went on to secure a fifth-place finish, directly qualifying to the group stage of the 2023–24 UEFA Europa League.