Yahoo Sports Percassi wants Atalanta pride and humility on Champions League anniversary
On the fifth anniversary of Atalanta’s first ever Champions League point, CEO Luca Percassi tries to balance pride with humility as they visit VfB Stuttgart and deal with Scudetto talk.
It kicks off at the MHPArena in Stuttgart at 20.00 GMT.
November 6, 2019 was the date of Atalanta’s 1-1 draw against Manchester City, representing their first ever point earned in the Champions League.
The only players who are still in the squad since that day are Berat Djimsiti, Rafael Toloi, Marten de Roon and Mario Pasalic.
“Time flies, but we are happy and being still here in the Champions League is something to be very satisfied about,” Percassi told Sky Sport Italia.
“It is important for us to pick up points, this is going to be a very difficult match against an opponent with quality and physical strength.”
Atalanta have become a European regular
La Dea finally won their first piece of European silverware, beating Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 in the Final in Dublin to lift the Europa League trophy to the sky.
Atalanta suddenly found themselves on the front page headlines and part of the Scudetto race after their 3-0 victory away to Napoli on Sunday evening.
“Sunday’s match was very pleasing, but it is only November,” noted Percassi.
“It is a starting point that gives us belief and conviction, but we are still keeping our feet on the ground. We know everything we’ve earned over the years was achieved with hard work and have many young players who still need to grow.
“That performance was great, but we will have another test of our current level this evening.”
