Atalanta market: Raffaele Palladino speaks out, club takes time
Atalanta soccer market: with the Nerazzurri now certain to finish the Serie A in seventh place, all that remains is to find out whether the coach of the Orobica team will be Raffaele Palladino again next season. A question that the Campania coach himself asked himself after the game at San Siro, after his team’s success over Milan. An answer in that sense is still lacking, and even Luca Percassi’s intervention did not contribute to clarity.
“I do not think about my future but about the present, since I still have to finish this season well,” Palladino told ‘DAZN’. “I at Atalanta have given everything, I hope that my work in that sense can be appreciated at the club as well. I have no regrets, I always try to do my best. Evaluations, however, will come at the end of the season from the club. Then with the boys great harmony was created, and it was not easy. Tonight against Milan, moreover, they responded on the field after a particular week. I want the good of them, the team and the fans in Bergamo. They deserve a strong team.”
Sibylline, however, had been Luca Percassi before the opening whistle at San Siro. “As Atalanta, we always want to do well and continue to grow,” the Dea CEO had told ‘DAZN’.
Every match is a cue to further deepen some aspect and clarify. With Mister Palladino, then, we have always been very clear. With him there is constant discussion, open dialogue and a sincere relationship. But we like to deal with these kinds of issues after the season is over.”
This is not the first time Palladino has been faced with questions about his own future in this final stage of the season. Back in early May, after the disappointing 0-0 home draw against Genoa that left the Nerazzurri stuck with just one point in their last three league games, the coach candidly admitted that he felt “under scrutiny.” “We all are at Atalanta, and we all have to give something more – he had told ‘Sky Sport’ -. At the end of the championship I will meet with the club, we will discuss and together we will evaluate what to do.” Words that, in light of the success at San Siro, take on a different specific weight today.
The 2-3 in Milan therefore represents an important response on the field, which came at a delicate moment for the Nerazzurri environment. The victory was built with authority: Ederson had opened the scoring as early as 7′, taking advantage of the immobility of the Rossoneri rearguard, before Zappacosta doubled on 29′ on an assist from Krstovic. In the second half, at 52′, came the tris with Raspadori who deflected a ball served by the same Ederson into the net. Milan shortened only in the final period with Pavlovic and Nkunku on a penalty, but only really rattled the Nerazzurri when time was practically up.
The San Siro victory effectively closes a chiaroscuro season for Atalanta, which also can boast a Champions League run that ended in the round of 16 and a Coppa Italia semifinal, lost on penalties against Lazio. On the market front, meanwhile, a number of issues loom to be resolved ahead of the summer: Sead Kolasinac, according to rumors in recent weeks, would not seem to be part of the club’s future plans and could leave Bergamo on a zero-parameter basis. Quite different is the matter related to Honest Ahanor, the young 2008-born defender who arrived from Genoa last summer for about 18 million euros: his performance has attracted the attentions of Real Madrid, but Atalanta does not intend to discount a player whose valuation has already exceeded 30 million euros.
