For four years, Atalanta Bergamo, third of the last two Calcio, has been the scarecrow of Italian football. In 113 years of existence, the Dea, whose record only mentions a meager Italian Cup in 1963, has never shone so high in the transalpine sky. But this time, after decades of traveling from Series A to Series B, the Nerazzuri have managed to align the planets. From the president to the coach, including the players.
Former Atalanta defender in the 1970s, Antonio Percassi, 67, bought the club in 2010. This wealthy entrepreneur, founder of the Kiko cosmetics brand, made his fortune by operating franchises and has agreements with the most big brands like Lego, Levi's, Nike or Starbucks.
274 million euros in capital gains over ten years
“He's a very good businessman, but above all he's someone who knows what he's talking about,” explains writer and director Davide Ferrario, a keen observer of the club. He is not there like many to make money or to establish his popularity. He has a real project. »And a very Bergamasque philosophy made of calm, patience and acceptance of the result provided that we have given the best. The management of Percassi is also a model. In ten years, the transfers have enabled him to generate 274 million euros in capital gains.
Including 180 million euros during the last seven mercatos, that is to say since the arrival on the bench of the "genius" Gian Piero Gasperini. Here, we discover, we shape, we sell and we retouch if necessary. For its first steps in the Champions League, the team kept its framework and took Luis Muriel and Ruslan Malinovskyi.
At the Zingonia training complex, we don't look for big sometimes shooting stars. But enough to compose a homogeneous constellation (which marries fifteen nationalities) where everyone is concerned and each one fulfills a very specific role in the sacrosanct 3-4-3 of the coach. The Dea training center is also one of the best in Italy.
"Gasperini trains young people to do what he demands," explains Pietro Serina, club specialist at Eco di Bergamo. The 30-year-old has reflexes and certainties. Gasperini says that the 18-year-old kid is a blank page on which he writes as he wants… ”
"We can no longer hide"
"Every time they sold players, we said to ourselves: It's dead, we will never be strong ," continues Ferrario. But everyone must understand that the main thing is the collective. We saw it with Malinovskyi. At first he wanted to score, play alone and Gasperini took him out all the time. Since he integrated this notion of group, he plays much better. It remains to be seen how long this model can last, with thirty-something to replace and inflation on the purchase due to the club's new status.
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“It will be harder and harder to do good business,” Serina blows. “After two seasons in 3rd place, it's going to be also interesting to watch how the team and the fans behave,” Ferrario said. We were always happy with what we had. There, we are clearly one of the best teams of the elite, we have responsibilities, we can no longer hide. And compared to our mentality, that can be a problem. But that's tomorrow. We will first enjoy today… ”
