Pagliuca: ‘Atalanta underdogs in Europa League Final, like against Liverpool’ | OneFootball

Atalanta‘s co-owner Stephen Pagliuca is confident La Dea can win the Europa League even if they are not the favourite in the Final against Bayer Leverkusen and says Charles De Ketelaere was their most impressive player this season.

Pagliuca released an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport on the eve of Atalanta’s first-ever European Final against Bayer Leverkusen.

La Dea eliminated Liverpool and Olympique Marseille in the previous two rounds and have already qualified for the Champions League, mathematically securing a top-five finish.

Pagliuca described his first two seasons in Bergamo as “incredible.”

“The Percassi are excellent partners and have done extraordinary things,” he said.

“We will finish the stadium refurbishment by the deadline, and it will be amazing. The team has improved and continues to do so. We have one of the best youth sectors. Those two have been truly fantastic.”

How important it is to have qualified for the Champions League?

“It’s our mentality, similar to the Celtics’. We want to compete at the higher levels,” the American businessman replied.

“It’s a big achievement because it’s not easy to accomplish it. We are happy to have made it, but it was our target.

“I will be in Dublin to cheer on the team. Bayer are a strong side; they play attacking football, similar to us, so I expect a great game,” continued Pagliuca.

Pagliuca: ‘Atalanta underdogs in Europa League Final, like against Liverpool’

“Surely, we are the underdogs, but it was the same with Liverpool, and you saw how it ended. Even against Marseille, some said we were not the favourite, but we’ll do everything to bring the cup to Bergamo.”

Pagliuca explained his plans for Atalanta’s future and how La Dea can become a title contender in the next few seasons.

“We want to continue investing in the club and have the best possible facilities and the best players,” he said.

“We want to build a winning culture and continue the path taken by the Percassi. We’ve been on the right path in these two years, so we look to the next decade with confidence to continue our growth.

“We must continue developing young talents and sign high-level players. By doing this, we can compete for the title.”

Pagliuca, who also co-owns NBA team Boston Celtics, said De Ketelaere is “surely” the Atalanta player who impressed him the most this season.

“He arrived after a difficult season at Milan, and he’s done so well. Of course, the team’s success depends on the performances of many players, but Charles is undoubtedly one of those who emerged the most,” he noted.

“I’d also mention Scamacca after a tough start due to injuries. Koopmeiners has confirmed to be really strong and Ederson is a top-level midfielder. Carnesecchi and Musso have been excellent in goal, like Hien and Scalvini in defence. Gasperini has been fantastic. It’s one of those seasons where everyone has fulfilled their potential. Equally important, like the Celtics, was the winning mentality and the desire to pass the ball to your teammates without selfishness.

“I don’t know if Serie A has a ‘Manager of the Year Award’ like in the NBA. In this case, I’d love Luca Percassi to win it because he’s done an extraordinary job,” continued Pagliuca.

Lastly, Pagliuca briefly spoke about the Coppa Italia Final that Atalanta lost to Juventus in Rome last week.

“I think Atalanta played better than Juventus, but we could not win. This is football,” he concluded.

During the same interview, Pagliuca also spoke about the development of Serie A, saying that Italian football needs the same creativity as the NBA.