The Serie A league resumes after the second international break of the season: Atalanta are set to welcome Genoa, who have been delivering solid league performances so far, even against the ‘so-called’ Serie A giants. The Gewiss Stadium match is bound to be no easy task.
When did our last win in Bergamo against Genoa occur?
The last three Serie A fixtures between Atalanta and Genoa played at the Gewiss Stadium all culminated in a draw: oddly enough, the latest two, both played on a Sunday at 18:00 (the very same time schedule of our next commitment), resulted in goalless draws. Our third consecutive tie (this time a 2-2 one) dates back to February 2020. Although, at least technically, we clinched a 2-1 win back In May 2019 courtesy of Barrow and Castagne; this does not count either since it was claimed in Reggio Emilia – back when the Cuva Nord Pisani was under renovations. As such, and THIS is the one, Atalanta’s last win over Genoa dates back to the 3-1 victory of May 2018 courtesy of Barrow, Cristante and Iličić.
How many current Atalanta players have also played for Genoa?
Davide Zappacosta played for the Rossoblù in the 2020/21 season, namely the campaign prior to his comeback in Bergamo. For Genoa, “Zappa” accrued a total of 25 appearances, the whole lot made in the Serie A, providing also 2 assists and scoring 4 goals in the meantime. In that very same season, another current Atalanta player was on the receiving end of Zappacosta’s crosses: it was none other than Gianluca Scamacca himself, who scored his first 8 goals (in addition to the 2 assists) in Serie A in the caruggi of Zena.
Genoa’s roster also comprises a familiar face to all Atalanta fans, Ruslan Malinovskyi: the Ukrainian attacking midfielder played for the Nerazzurri from the summer of 2019 until January 2023, accruing 143 caps and with 30 goals to his name.
Gilardino is the third coach to have played under Gasperini at Genoa before facing his former “master” in a Serie A match.
False. Alberto Gilardino is the fifth former Genoa player who, after having been coached by Gasperini, will face the Grugliasco coach in a Serie A match. The first one in this peculiar list is Ivan Juric: after paying his dues as a member of Gasperini’s staffing, the current Maroon coach decided to opt for a solo career and has already crossed his path with his former master during his former and current tenures at, respectively, Hellas Verona and now Torino. The other name is none other than Thiago Motta: the Bologna coach faced Gasperini’s Atalanta four times, twice with the Rossoblù and as many times while he was at the helm of Spezia. As for Raffaele Palladino, both matches against Monza culminated in a black-and-blue win. The roll also includes Salvatore Bocchetti, Hellas Verona’s former ad interim coach and then Marco Zaffaroni’s assistant after the official appointment of the latter: last May’s encounter resulted in Atalanta’s 3-1 home win.
