The fixture to be played on Friday, the 9th of December, at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo will mark the edition number 25 of the Trofeo Achille e Cesare Bortolotti, silverware celebrating the figures of two presidents whose memory is deeply enshrined within the history of the Club.
Moreover, for the second time in the history of this contention, the black-and-blue will challenge Eintracht Frankfurt. The precedent dates back to the 2016 edition, that time held in August, which saw the German team victorious after the penalty shoot-out (following the 2-2 after regulation time with Papu Gomez and Rafael Toloi scoring in between Meier’s brace for Eintracht). Zukanovic’s penalty miss turned out to be crucial to award the German team with the cup. That match also marked the debut of Gian Piero Gasperini at the helm of Atalanta a few weeks after his arrival on the bench of the Club. On that day, out of the players comprised today in the current 1st team, Sportiello and Toloi featured in the starting XI, whereas Djimsiti was subbed in during the last minutes of the match together with Raimondi, now part of the coaching staff.
Atalanta had instead come out on top from the two latest editions of the trophy facing, respectively, LOSC Lille and Hertha Berliner Sport-Club.
During the course of years, due to the hosting of many foreign teams, the tournament has garnered an international feel and appeal. In the last 15 years, ever since 2007, excluding the two editions featuring an Italian team, namely Udinese Calcio, the Trofeo Achille e Cesare Bortolotti has witnessed the participation of international guests including the likes of Malines, IFK Goteborg, Hull City AFC, Sevilla FC, Sporting Clube de Braga, QPR, FC Nantes, Shakhtar Donetsk, Eintracht Frankfurt, LOSC Lille and Hertha Berliner Sport-Club.
Besides, the first edition of the trophy paying homage to the memory of the two distinguished presidents, back in 1993, as well saw the participation of a foreign guest, more precisely Olympique de Marseille. Likewise, also the previous format (dedicated exclusively to Cesare) opposed Atalanta to Borussia Dortmund (that time featuring also Juventus due to it being a triangular tournament).
