Atalanta BC Under-23

Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio Under-23, or simply Atalanta U23, is a professional football club based in Bergamo, Lombardy, Italy, which acts as the reserve team of Serie A club Atalanta. Founded on 4 August 2023, the club competes in Serie C Group A and the Coppa Italia Serie C.

Atalanta Under-23

Full name	Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio Under-23
Nickname(s)	Atalanta U23
Founded	4 August 2023; 8 months ago (2023-08-04)
Ground	Stadio Comunale, Caravaggio, Italy
Capacity	2,180^[1]
Owner	La Dea srl (86%) (Stephen Pagliuca and others 55%; Antonio Percassi 45%)^[2] Others (14%)
President^[3]	Antonio Percassi
Manager	Francesco Modesto
League	Serie C
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

History

See also: History of Atalanta BC

Historically, Atalanta has been known for its youth academy, both in Italy and across Europe. The Atalanta side that won the 1962–63 Coppa Italia was predominantly composed of players trained in the club's youth ranks such as Angelo Domenghini and Piero Gardoni.^[4] Additionally, many players who began their professional careers at Atalanta went on to play in Europe's most successful clubs, such as Gaetano Scirea (who would also win the 1982 FIFA World Cup with Italy).^[5]

Following Italy's failure to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the Italian Football Federation implemented several reforms, among them the reintroduction of reserve teams, which already existed in other countries such as Spain, Germany, Portugal, and England.^[6] They play in the same league system as first teams, subject to special regulations such as being restricted to a lower division than that of their corresponding first team.^[7] Juventus was the first Italian club to establish a reserve team; Juventus Next Gen (then known as Juventus U23) was admitted to the 2018–19 Serie C on 3 August 2018.^[8][9] Several other clubs expressed interest in establishing a reserve team during the following years. However, prior to 2023, none materialized, and reserve teams drew criticism from fans of Serie B and Serie C clubs; FIGC president Gabriele Gravina nonetheless defended the project.^[10]

In spring 2023, Atalanta announced its intention to establish a reserve team, to provide continuity for players continuing beyond the Primavera (under 19) team. Atalanta filed for admission of its second team on 14 July 2023;^[11][12] on 4 August 2023, Atalanta Under 23 was officially admitted to Serie C for the 2023–24 season, becoming the second Italian club to have a reserve team.^[13] The club's admission to Serie C was confirmed following the exclusion of Siena due to financial irregularities.^[14][15]

Atalanta Under-23 competes in Serie C Group A.^[16] The team played its first match on 3 September 2023, a 2–3 home loss against Virtus Verona.^[17] On 15 September, Atalanta Under-23 gained their first ever victory, a 3–2 home win over Giana Erminio.^[18]

Stadium

The club will play its home matches at the Stadio Comunale in Caravaggio, a comune in the Province of Bergamo.^[11][19] However, the first few matches of the 2023–24 season will instead be played at the Stadio Comunale in Gorgonzola, while the stadium in Caravaggio undergoes renovations.^[11]

Players

As of 11 February 2024^[20]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 2 DF   ITA Marco Palestra 3 DF   ITA Tommaso Del Lungo 4 DF   ITA Gabriele Berto 5 MF   ITA Leonardo Mendicino 6 DF   ITA Giovanni Bonfanti 7 MF   ALB Endri Muhameti 8 MF   ITA Emmanuel Gyabuaa 10 FW   ITA Christian Capone 11 FW   GUI Moustapha Cissé 13 DF   ITA Marco Varnier 14 DF   ITA Davide Ghislandi 15 DF   ITA Daniele Solcia 20 FW   ESP Kaleb Jiménez (on loan from Salernitana) 22 GK   SVN Matevž Dajčar 23 DF   ITA Andrea Ceresoli 25 MF   ITA Jacopo Da Riva

No. Pos. Nation Player 26 DF   ITA Alberto Masi (captain) 27 MF   ITA Dominic Vavassori 28 DF   ITA Iacopo Regonesi 29 FW   ESP Siren Diao 30 GK   ITA Tommaso Bertini 32 MF   ITA Matteo Colombo 33 DF   ITA Lorenzo Bernasconi (on loan from Cremonese) 44 FW   ITA Alessandro Falleni 48 MF   ITA Simone Panada 72 MF   ITA Alessandro Cortinovis 73 FW   ITA Tommaso De Nipoti 77 GK   ITA Lorenzo Avogadri 80 MF   ZAM Mannah Chiwisa 86 MF   NGA Theophilus Awua (on loan from Crotone) 90 FW   ITA Alessio Rosa 95 GK   ITA Paolo Vismara

Coaching staff

As of 6 August 2023

Position	Staff
Manager	Francesco Modesto^[21]
Assistant manager	Giuseppe Biava^[21]
Technical collaborators	Rolando Bianchi^[21]
Goalkeeping coach	Giorgio Frezzolini^[21]
Fitness trainers	Giacomo Gigliotti^[21]
	Daniele Maggioni^[21]
Match analysts	Marco Liberalon^[21]

References

1. "STADIO COMUNALE DI CARAVAGGIO" (in Italian). USD Caravaggio. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
2. "ATALANTA BC PRESS RELEASE" (Press release). Atalanta BC. 19 February 2022.
3. . Legaseriea.it. Lega Serie A. Archived from the original on 20 December 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
4. "How AC Milan and Others Have Benefitted from Atalanta's Production Line". bleacherreport.com. 16 December 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
5. Losapio, Andrea (2020). 1001 storie e curiosità sulla grande Atalanta che dovresti conoscere (in Italian). Rome: Newton Compton Editori. section 262. ISBN 978-88-227-4635-1.
6. "L'introduzione delle seconde squadre per il club di Serie A". Il Post (in Italian). 12 May 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
7. "Seconde squadre Serie C 2023/24: il nuovo regolamento UFFICIALE" (in Italian). OneFootball. 10 June 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
8. "La seconda squadra bianconera è realtà!" (in Italian). Juventus F.C. 3 August 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
9. (PDF) (in Italian). FIGC. 3 August 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 August 2018. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
10. "Flop seconde squadre, ma Gravina ci crede: "Utili per la Nazionale"". la Repubblica (in Italian). 27 November 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
11. "Application for the Second Team submitted to Lega Pro". Atalanta BC. 14 July 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
12. "Bergamo: Atalanta U23, depositata la domanda di ammissione al campionato di Serie C" (in Italian). Prima Bergamo. 14 July 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
13. "Atalanta U23s to play in the 2023/24 Lega Pro Championship". Atalanta BC. 4 August 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
14. "Futuro della Robur Siena, il sindaco Fabio chiede chiarezza alla Figc e alla Lega". Corriere di Siena (in Italian). 5 August 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
15. Apollo Hayes (7 July 2023). "Atalanta preparing to submit Under-23 team to Serie C". Football Italia. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
16. "Ora è ufficiale: l'Atalanta Under 23 parteciperà alla Serie C 2023/24". L'Eco di Bergamo (in Italian). 4 August 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
17. Pietro Scognamiglio (4 September 2023). "Esordio amaro per l'Atalanta U23, cadono anche Cesena e Benevento". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 4 September 2023.
18. "L'Atalanta U23 fa la storia: prima vittoria in Serie C". Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). 15 September 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
19. Amato, Davide (22 June 2023). "Come sarà l'Atalanta U23 in Serie C?". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 5 August 2023.
20. "Atalanta U23". atalanta.it. Atalanta BC. from the original on 10 February 2023. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
21. "Lo staff dell'Under 23" (in Italian). Atalanta BC. 6 August 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2023.