Atalanta

Ground: Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia

Visits: 1

Date: 7th April 2012

Match: Atalanta - Siena 1-2 (Serie A)

Attendance: 15 508

The last match on this trip was to be in Serie A. We were hoping for some luck and a chance of a match both on Saturday and Sunday. Easter meant a Sunday free from football in Italy though. Milan vs Fiorentina was perhaps the most interesting match but since I have already visited San Siro I persuaded Jonas to go somewhere else. In the end we decided for Atalanta vs Siena. Atalanta are from Bergamo and with us staying the night in Brescia we only had 60 km or so before reaching our final stop on this tour. Atlanta vs Siena might not sound as the biggest of matches. Apparently the club was thinking in those terms and had special prices for this match. I paid 11 Euros for a good seat in the upper tier and that was the cheapest ticket on this tour. After getting our tickets we walked round the the ground taking some pictures. Unfortunately it started to rain and we took shelter in a café, ordering something to drink as well. The café was full of local police getting prepared for the match. When they looked out of the window they could notice more and more rain. For 45 minutes it varied between heavy and torrential rain coming down. One thing was certain, if it continued like this the match would be called off. By 13.15 (kick-off at 15.00) the rain eased and by 13.25 it had almost stopped. We stayed in the café for another 20 minutes and when we entered the ground the pitch seemed OK.

Atalanta play at Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia which has a capacity of 27 000. This ground has two all-seated covered stands and despite both ends being open terraces it felt like a decent ground. Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia is of course in Sweden most famous for being the the ground where Glenn Stömberg played during his years in Italy. Between 1984 and 1992 Glenn Strömberg made 219 appearances for Atalanta and in Bergamo, where he lives today, he is a legend.

The match started with Atalanta making it 1-0 in the 9th minute. Four minutes later Siena equalised from the penalty spot and it was 1-1 at half-time. The rest of the match was quite boring but in stoppage time Siena made it 2-1, to the delight of the 20 away fans. The weather this afternoon was all but boring. We had sunshine. more rain and finally a thunder storm. Fortunately it didn´t affected the match but we got a bit wet as we hurried back to the car. On his way back to Germany Jonas dropped me off at my airport hotel and we said good-bye to each other. A great trip came to an end and hopefully I/we will be back in Italy next year.

creberg stand, rear