Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio Under-23, or simply Atalanta U23, is a professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
club based in
Bergamo
Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Como ...
,
Lombardy
Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...
, Italy, which acts as the
reserve team of club
Atalanta. Founded on 4 August 2023, the club competes in Serie C Group A and the
Coppa Italia Serie C.
History
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
Piero Gardoni (12 February 1934 – 15 December 1994) was an Italian professional association football, footballer who played as a defender (association football), defender. He played for various Italian clubs, most notably Atalanta B.C., Atalant ...
.
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
The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain between 13 June and 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy national foo ...
with
Italy).
Following Italy's failure to qualify for the
2018 FIFA World Cup
The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...
, the
Italian Football Federation
The Italian Football Federation ( it, Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio; FIGC), known colloquially as ''Federcalcio'', is the governing body of football in Italy. It is based in Rome and the technical department is in Coverciano, Florence.
It ...
implemented several reforms, among them the reintroduction of reserve teams, which already existed in other countries such as
Spain,
Germany,
Portugal, and
England.
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.
Juventus
Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...
was the first Italian club to establish a reserve team;
Juventus Next Gen
Juventus Next Gen (), also known as Juve Next Gen or Juve NG (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, which acts as the reserve team of club Juventus F.C., Juventus. They compete in , and play t ...
(then known as Juventus U23) was admitted to the
2018–19 Serie C
The 2018–19 Serie C was the fifth season of the unified Serie C division, the third tier of the Italian football league system.
Teams
The league originally featured 60 teams. However, it saw the bankruptcy and subsequent withdrawal of Andria, ...
on 3 August 2018. 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.
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;
Giana Erminio
Associazione Sportiva Giana Erminio S.r.l. is an Italian football club based in Gorgonzola, Lombardy. The team currently plays in Italy's .
History
The club was founded in 1909 as ''Unione Sportiva Argentia'', and later adopted the current name ...
.
Stadium
The club will play its home matches at the Stadio Comunale in Caravaggio
Michelangelo Merisi (Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi) da Caravaggio, known as simply Caravaggio (, , ; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the final four years of hi ...
, a '' comune'' in the Province of Bergamo
The Province of Bergamo ( it, provincia di Bergamo; lmo, proìnsa de Bèrghem) is a province in the Lombardy region of Italy. It has a population of 1,112,187 (2017), an area of , and contains 243 ''comuni''. Its capital is the city of Bergamo.
...
.[
]
Players
Coaching staff
References
{{Atalanta BC Under-23 squad
Atalanta BC
2023 establishments in Italy
Association football clubs established in 2023
Italian reserve football teams
Serie C clubs