Atalanta‘s weekend match-up against Ac Milan is also being noted by the press as a duel between two current Serie A top forwards, German Denis against Zlatan Ibrahimovic, as both are the top two scorers in the league at the moment.

Trying to relieve the personal pressure on him, Denis simply stated that he wont try to embark in a personal battle with Ibrahimovic and will only play to help his team gets all three points.

Despite not pressuring himself with a goal against Milan, Denis obviously won’t mind if he does manage to score against the Scudetto holder, especially since he already had the experience. The ex-Napoli man remind everyone how he successfully bagged a goal against the Rossoneri last season, where he helped Udinese snatching a 4-4 draw in San Siro.

The game is Atalanta versus Milan and not Denis versus Ibrahimovic. It will be great if I do manage to score on Sunday, but the important thing is that Atalanta actually win the match. I know how to score against Milan as I have already done that, Last year I put Udinese 4-3 up [in the 89th minute] at San Siro, but then Ibrahimovic invented that goal [in minute 93]” Denis explained.

Arriving pretty late in the summer transfer market from Udinese, Denis made a pretty remarkable impact with Atalanta as he surprisingly managed to lead the top scorer list in Serie A with 12 goals, one above Ibrahimovic. The Argentinian striker’s goals obviously helped his team’s success in reaching the 11th place, a pretty good spot considering they are suffering points deduction from the start of the competition.

Should the Bergamo outfit didn’t get penalized, their points are actually enough to put them competing in the top five place as they will be level on points with current fifth place holder, Inter Milan. Atalanta’s home record is also pretty good this season, this would definitely gives them confidence ahead of the match against Milan this weekend.

photo credit: marco Canoniero

AC Milan extended their lead to six points in Serie A despite a 4-4 home draw with Udinese, though SSC Napoli will be hoping to close in on the Rossoneri when they host Juventus later.

Fans at San Siro were treated to an eight-goal thriller as Milan came from behind three times to force a 4-4 draw. Pato cancelled out Antonio Di Natale’s 35th-minute opener on the stroke of half-time only for Alexis Sánchez (53) and Di Natale (66) to put the visitors 3-1 up, but the hosts rallied through a Medhi Benatia own goal (78) and a second Pato strike (82). Germán Denis (89) then grabbed what looked to be the winner with a minute remaining, yet the league leaders salvaged a point via Zlatan Ibrahimović in added time.

It proved a crucial draw as second-placed Lazio lost 2-1 at home against lowly Lecce to slip further adrift of the summit. Fourth-placed Roma also tasted defeat, losing 2-1 at nine-man Sampdoria after losing Júlio Sérgio to a 55th-minute red card, though their hosts finished with nine men following the late dismissals of centre-backs Daniele Gastaldello and Stefano Lucchini.

Inter came from behind to triumph 2-1 at Catania and lift themselves to seventh, while an even more dramatic comeback ended with Fiorentina turning a 2-0 deficit at home to Brescia into a 3-2 win.

Elsewhere, there were victories for Bologna and Cagliari at Bari and Parma respectively, while Palermo and Genoa were held to 0-0 draws at Chievo and Cesena.

photo credit: Jan S0L0

Nickname(s): The Black-Blues

All-Time Ranking: 11th

2007/2008 Finish: 9th

2008/2009 Position (as of 04/07): 10th

Coach: Luigi Del Neri

Key Players: Cristiano Doni, Sergio Floccari, Simone Padoin

History:

Atalanta was founded in 1907 in Bergamo, Italy. They have historically been one of the best clubs located outside of a major city. Since 1928, Atalanta has played at Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia, a historic venue that holds 25,000 fans. The team has had spells in both Serie A and Serie B, and has never finished above 5th in the top flight.

The club’s only major trophy was captured in 1963 when they won the Coppa Italia title (which is similar to our US Open Cup competititon). While the organization has a very good youth system, it seems the big clubs often woo its youngsters away with higher salaries. Though they haven’t had much success, their fans are very dedicated. 

American Sports Doppleganger:

Atalanta reminds me of the NFL’s perpetual also-ran, the Buffalo Bills. Both teams have been unable to win any league titles and both are in smaller markets that sort of prohibit them from competing with the biggest teams with the deepest pockets. I wanted to compare them to an Atlanta team (for obvious reasons), but I just don’t think any fit.