Here is a brief FM20 team guide of the Atalanta squad, their club structure, relationship any potential managers will have with the board, expectations and possible tactics any FM manager can use in Football Manager 2020.
Here is a brief FM20 team guide of the Atalanta squad, their club structure, relationship any potential managers will have with the board, expectations and possible tactics any player can use in Football Manager 2020.
About the club
Atalanta are a professional football club that ply their trade in the Serie A. Interestingly, the club was founded by a few students and their teacher at a gym in Bergamo.
Atalanta are referred to as the queen of the provincial clubs in Italy to mark the fact that they are one of the most consistent clubs that are not based out of a regional capital having played 58 out of their 87 seasons in the top flight of Italian football.
Atalanta reached the UEFA Cup Winners Cup in 1988 while playing in the Serie B. This is the best performance by a non-first division club in any UEFA competition till date. They have also participated in the Europa League 4 times, reaching the quarterfinals once. They are a relatively small club though with a stadium capacity of just 21,000.
Board's Expectations
Atalanta have qualified for the Champion’s League for their first time in their history by finishing 3rd in the Serie A in 2018-2019. The minimum board requirements should be;
- Make the top half of Seria A
- Make the knockout stages of the UEFA Champion’s league
- Make the QF of the Italian Cup/Coppa Italia.
There will be no particular demands from the board in terms of how you want to play as long as you achieve the results.
The transfer budget when you initially take over should not be too great considering that Atalanta have already spent on a couple of players and is a relatively smaller club with lesser ambitions. The club, however, has decent training facilities and a very famous youth academy that has produced international stars. You must really make use of this aspect if you wish to succeed with the club.
Squad, Formation and Tactical Style
Atalanta are a team that generally like to play on the counter. They like playing a fast tempo game and release their wing-backs to create chances for their front men.
So a Fluid counter-attacking style of football is best suited to go with their strengths.
Alternatively, you can choose to go with Wing-play if you see fit.
A 3-4-1-2 is probably the best-suited formation to the available squad of players. This is incidentally how they line up in real life as well. This also helps them maintain the width and releasing the ball quickly to counter opponents.
A rough example of what your line-up would look like in a 3-4-1-2 formation is as follows;
- Pierluigi Gollini as a regular keeper.
- Jose Luis Palomino, Berat Djimsiti & Rafael Toloi as the 3 centre backs. Toloi can be played as a Ball Playing Defender.
- Hans Hateboer & Robin Gosens as the 2 wing-backs. Increased crossing instructions to take advantage of counter-attacks and the 2 strikers.
- Marten De Roon & Remo Freuler as the 2 central midfielders, the former as a holding defensive midfielder and the latter as a deep-lying playmaker.
- Alejandro Gomez as the attacking midfielder who needs to be given a completely free role.
- Duvan Zapata & Luis Muriel as the 2 strikers, one in an advanced forward role and the other in a deep-lying forward role.
Alternatively, you can deploy a 4-3-3 and play Mario Pasalic as a roaming playmaker and bring in Josip Ilicic as one of the strikers.
Key Players
1. Alejandro Gomez
Gomez is the captain and the best player of Atalanta. He is very versatile and can operate in multiple positions. His returns up front are crucial in securing results.
2. Duvan Zapata
Zapata is a massive aerial threat and is a beast of a striker. Having netted 28 times last time in Atalanta’s campaign it is crucial you maintain his fitness to get favourable results.
3. Jose Luis Palomino
Palomino may not be a renowned name but he does an important job for Atalanta at the back. His organization and aerial abilities are important in maintaining good defensive records.
4. Hans Hateboer
Hateboer is an attack-minded wing-back. He scored a crucial 6 goals in last year’s campaign and one of the most important men for their 3rd placed finish.
Weaknesses
- The quality of backups in the squad may not be up to the quality and could prove fatal if your squad is affected by injuries.
- You run the risk of some talents being poached by other clubs especially in search of higher wages.
- Being a relatively small club, the wage and transfer budgets are not in par with the other competitors making a top 4 finish very difficult to secure.
Potential Transfers (in)
Atalanta are not the best squad in the league with respect to squad depth, these players could be welcome additions to the side.
- Nikola Milenkovic
- Cengiz Under
- Rolando Mandragora
Potential Transfers (Out)
These players may be surplus to requirements at the club or may not be of the expected quality.
- Ruslan Malinovskiy
- Timothy Castagne
Youth Prospects
There are a few exciting young prospects in the ranks who have the potential to be some of the best players in the league. A few examples are;
- Musa Barrow (ST
- Ebrima Colley (CM)
- Roberto Piccoli (ST)
FM20 Team Guide - Atalanta
To Summarize, Atalanta are a very exciting club to manage for many FM Managers with a lot of challenges. Will you be able to hold on to your young stars and build an empire with the club?
