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Bergamo coach ahead of reunion with former teammate: “Meeting a strong team”
Just under three weeks after their 0-2 defeat against Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund face another top Italian team. The task against Atalanta is likely to be just as challenging as the one against the league leaders from Milan. Following the departure of successful coach Gian Piero Gasperini last summer, a brief stint with Ivan Juric, and the signing of Palladino in mid-November, Bergamo has impressively stabilized. The new coach has led the team from the bottom of the table back into the top half – only Inter have collected more points in the new year.
With their 2-0 victory at Lazio in Rome's Olympic Stadium, Atalanta solidified their sixth-place position and celebrated a successful dress rehearsal for their upcoming match against Dortmund. “2026 has been a very good year for us. We've recovered, we're on the right track, and we're very confident,” said Palladino enthusiastically. However, the joy was dampened by Giacomo Raspadori's absence, who will miss both games against BVB with a thigh injury. “That's a heavy blow,” said Palladino. The absence of Belgian international Charles De Ketelaere is also a significant loss.
In the Champions League group stage, Atalanta outperformed Dortmund for the second consecutive year. An impressive 3-0 victory at Eintracht Frankfurt caused a sensation across Europe. Further wins against Club Brugge (2-1), Chelsea FC (2-1), and away at Olympique Marseille (1-0) paved the way to the playoffs. However, away defeats against Paris Saint-Germain (4-0), Athletic Bilbao (3-2), and Union Saint-Gilloise (1-0), as well as a goalless draw against Slavia Prague, prevented direct qualification for the round of 16 (to the facts).
Of the only previous competitive encounter with Borussia Dortmund – in the Europa League round of 32 eight years ago – only captain Marten de Roon remains at Atalanta. Despite being eliminated after hard-fought two legs (3-2 home/1-1 away), he fondly remembers the match in Dortmund: “Half of Bergamo was there. It was a football festival and a real experience for us and our fans to play in that beautiful stadium.”
Compared to the match in Dortmund back then, the 34-year-old midfielder sees great progress in his team: “The level is significantly higher. Back then it was the Europa League, now it's the Champions League. We now have many professionals who have already played in such matches. We have to play compactly and with a lot of intensity. And we have to enjoy it – without fear, and with a lot of courage.”
Atalanta celebrated the greatest triumph in the club's history in 2024 with their Europa League victory, when they inflicted Bayer Leverkusen's only defeat of their double-winning season in the final. Reaching the Champions League round of 16 would further enhance their international reputation.
Despite personnel problems, Atalanta will travel to Dortmund with confidence. Palladino is well aware of the atmosphere at SIGNAL IDUNA PARK – and of the quality of their opponents. “We're facing a strong team. But I've seen my players highly focused. I'm convinced we can cause problems for Dortmund.” The Italians have lost only two of their last eleven European matches against German teams. They've won all three of those games without conceding a goal.
For the coach, it will also be a special reunion: In Dortmund, he will again meet assistant coach Robert Kovac, with whom he once shared a dressing room at Juventus. “I'm looking forward to seeing Robert,” said Palladino.