Atalanta and Israel: Why the “Dea” Might Play in Hungary Against Hapoel Tel Aviv
Atalanta knows its fate in the Conference League. The draw on Monday, August 3, determined that the Nerazzurri will enter the main draw of Europe’s third-tier competition by facing the winner of the match between Hapoel Tel Aviv and GKS Katowice, who will face off on August 6 and 12. Maurizio Sarri’s team will take the field in Bergamo on August 20, while the second leg is scheduled for August 27. It’s worth noting, however, that if the Polish team wins, the away match will be played in the city of Katowice. If the Israelis prevail, however, the Bergamo-based team would have to travel to Hungary: to the DTKV Stadion in Miskolc. This apparent anomaly actually has a fairly clear explanation.
Given the significant problems posed by the current geopolitical situation, UEFA has currently banned international soccer matches from being played in Israel. The move to Hungary is nothing new: as you may recall, Italy also faced the Israeli national team on Hungarian soil in September 2024. Another point worth noting—which also applies to other sports such as basketball—is that although Israel is geographically located in Asia, it has been a member of UEFA and all European confederations since 1994. Before then, in fact, there were instances of away games being canceled or home games never played due to the often very delicate relations with other countries on the continent. In particular, since the late 1960s, those in the Middle East.
Hapoel Tel Aviv, after all, is a club that has been making headlines in recent weeks even beyond Israel’s borders and the world of soccer. The red-and-white club, which is also very active in basketball, has signed Zac LeDay, the American forward who was the standout player for Olimpia Milano last season, helping the Milan-based team win the historic “Triplete.” This high-profile international signing confirms the Tel Aviv club’s ambitions on the European stage as well.
On the soccer front, meanwhile, Atalanta is working on multiple fronts ahead of the new season. According to the latest transfer rumors, the Bergamo-based club’s management is reportedly monitoring with interest the situation surrounding Sebastiano Esposito, a center forward currently playing for Cagliari. The relationship between the forward and the Sardinian club has deteriorated significantly in recent hours, with the Rossoblù officially announcing that the player left the first team’s training camp in Ponte di Legno without authorization. Atalanta is reportedly in pole position alongside Lazio to capitalize on this situation, with Sarri having long been a great admirer of the young striker. However, there is much more activity on the outgoing front, with El Bilal Touré on the verge of agreeing to a move to Parma and Giorgio Scalvini recently drawing the interest of Newcastle.
