Having picked Serie A outfit Atalanta BC as the team that entertained me the most in early May, it gives me immense pleasure to follow the exploits of some of the most understated footballers from the Bergamo-based team.
The strong, solid Brazilian born Rafael Toloi, who plays for Atalanta, made his point in the Euro 2020 while donning Italy’s jersey. At the age of 30, playing an important role in the right-back or just by filling in, Toloi proves his ability to shine either way.
The Germans would not have come out of the Group of Death without another influential player from Atalanta, Robin Gosens. It’s been a while since we’ve seen a marauding fullback, and Gosens certainly justified his selection.
Another Atalanta defender, Joakim Maehle, has been outstanding for Denmark.
The attacking midfield talent of Atalanta’s Mario Pasalic was not appreciated by the Croatians, but he forged a reputation, nonetheless. His ability to ghost into goal-scoring positions made the Spaniards sweat as his goal took the game into extra time. Maybe sooner rather than later, the Croatians will realise that hierarchy destroyed their hopes.
The “headless chicken” running of Croatia’s Mateo Kovacic could have been better served with Pasalic’s intelligent movement.
The creativity of Atalanta’s Ruslan Malinovskyi has buoyed Ukraine.
Atalanta’s pair of defensive midfielders, Remo Freuler and Marten de Roon, contributed so much tenacity for Switzerland and Holland, respectively.
The skills and intelligence of the likes of Alexei Miranchuk made Russia look better than they really are.
But the star of Atalanta has to be Matteo Pessina! Initially, he was left out of the Italy squad and was staring at the likelihood of watching Euro 2020 in his living room.
Pessina, instead, “owned” the Italians’ progress, scoring crucial goals along the way.
These are the fantastic boys of Bergamo. As individuals or a team, they truly shine bright.
This is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of Twentytwo13.
