Champions League: How Atalanta became the “darling of Italian football”

Since the reintroduction of the round of 16 in Europe’s top tournament in the 2003-04 season, there has always been at least one Italian representative.

Since the 1987-88 season, when Napoli were knocked out in the first round of the European Cup by Real Madrid, Serie A has not had any teams in the round of 16 of the competition – or in the first knockout round when it took other forms.

After Inter’s exit on Tuesday, many Italian football experts described what happened as a disaster for the sport in their country.

“It’s a piece of history,” said journalist Vincenzo Credendino. “Talking about Italy and Inter, this is one of the worst things.”

Another Italian football journalist, Daniele Ferri, said that the failure of the three teams to qualify for the knockout rounds would have been “a complete disaster, and a disaster for our clubs.”

Atalanta’s progress – and the way they have struggled – at least offers hope, although it does not get any easier for them in the last 16, with Arsenal or Bayern Munich waiting.

But against Dortmund, they showed the kind of self-belief that will stand them in good stead against the leaders of the Premier League or Bundesliga.

“Now Atalanta have become the darling of Italian football,” former West Brom and Aston Villa defender Curtis Davies told BBC Radio 5 Live.

European football expert James Horncastle added: “They’re kind of like the Bodo/Glimt of Serie A in a lot of ways.

“They were a yo-yo club until about eight years ago and we’ve seen them not only win a European Cup and reach three Coppa Italia finals, but really establish themselves in the Champions League.”

Football journalist Nicky Bandini described Atalanta’s comeback win as “important” for Italian football, adding: “I think there will be a feel-good factor that carries over to a team like Atalanta more than Juventus or Inter because they have not traditionally been one of the big teams in Italian football.”