Atalanta
Atalanta is a football (soccer) club from Italy.
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Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio, commonly known as just Atalanta, Atalanta Bergamo or the abbreviation Atalanta BC, is an Italy football (soccer) club based in Bergamo, Lombardy. They are nicknamed the Nerazzurri and the
orobici. Atalanta play in blue-and-black vertically striped shirts, black shorts and black socks.
Atalanta stadium is the 26,638 seater Atleti Azzurri d'Italia. In Italy, Atalanta is sometimes called
Regina delle provinciali (queen of the provincial clubs) to mark the fact that Atalanta is historically one of the best among non-metropolitan ones.
History
Atalanta was founded in 1907. A football club had existed in Bergamo since 1904. Founded by Swiss wealthy immigrants, it was known as
FC Bergamo. The rival Atalanta club grew out of a division between different sporting societies in the town. The name is taken from the Atalanta of Greek mythology. The Italian Football Federation was unimpressed with the new club and did not officially recognize them until 1914. The current club is the result of a merger between Atalanta and a third team called Bergamasca. The first, black and white coloured and the second wearing a blue and white shirt, merged in 1924 as
Atalanta Bergamasca di Ginnastica e Scherma 1907. The team moved to the site of the current ground, on the Viale Giulio Cesare, in 1928.
Atalanta joined the Italian league in 1929. Atalanta first reached Serie A in 1937, but was relegated immediately. Atalanta returned in 1940 and remained in
A until 1959; after a single season in Serie B Atalanta was promoted and lasted a further decade in
A, before relegation in 1973 led to an uncertain period of promotion and relegation between the two levels.
Atalanta achieved its highest position in 1948, finishing in 5th place. In 1981 Atalanta fell into Serie C1, a blow which revitalised the club. The team returned to
B the next season and made it back to
A in 1984. The club's form in
Serie A remains uncertain, as it was relegated in 1987, 1994, 1998, 2003 and 2005.
In terms of titles Atalanta has won little, their sole silverware is the 1963 Coppa Italia. Atalanta has had very few good runs in Europe, the best spell ending in a Cup Winners' Cup semi-final in 1988; in 1991 Atalanta reached UEFA Cup quarter-finals.
The club's youth system has produced many sucessful players, such as Roberto Donadoni (Italy national football team coach from July 2006), Alessio Tacchinardi, Domenico Morfeo, Giampaolo Pazzini, Riccardo Montolivo, Ivan Pelizzoli, and Samuele Dalla Bona who have quickly been grabbed by the bigger clubs. Other players who have graced the Atleti Azzurri d'Italia include Claudio Caniggia, Glenn Strömberg, Alemao, Paolo Montero, Christian Vieri, Filippo Inzaghi, Gianluigi Lentini, Cristiano Lucarelli, Cristiano Doni, and, in the past, Stefano Angeleri, Adriano Bassetto, Antonio Cabrini, Angelo Domenghini, Humberto Maschio, Mario Mereghetti, Giuseppe Savoldi, and Gaetano Scirea
As of July 28, 2009