Atalanta (H) Pre-Match Thread

[Stevosevic]

Assume we'll see the team for Wolves in this one 

 

Hopefully see a few goals 

[Nick]

I do wonder if Benkovic might get the nod ahead of Soyunco.

[StriderHiryu]

1 hour ago, Buce said:

 

Did you write this Strider?

 

As I was reading it I assumed it was a copy and paste article from a sports journo, but the penultimate paragraph suggests not.

It is a StriderHiryu original !

 

I did take the picture from a specific article on Atalanta's victory over Fiorentina earlier this year, but all the text here is my own. I love watching and playing football and one thing I really love about football is the emphasis team play has on the sport. 11 individuals can do well, but a well drilled team of players that are built around their strengths is often more effective. Apparently there was a team in the East Midlands that proved this point in the 15/16 season? I need to do some more research on that team because they sound great !

 

Atalanta to give them enormous credit are essentially a team without household names that have upset the apple cart through some brilliant coaching and teamwork. I am genuinely looking forward to watching them play, because I haven't seem them too much on the TV.  Here are some highlights from their game against Norwich, and by all accounts Norwich played really well for most of the game and still got beaten convincingly 4-1! Their fans said it was a bit of a wake-up call as to what a "class outfit" looks like.

 

 

[ozleicester]

What time is kick off please?

 

Stopped being lazy and googled it myself sorry  (7.30) 

 

[goose2010]

Just now, ozleicester said:

What time is kick off please?

 

7:30

[Buce]

2 minutes ago, StriderHiryu said:

It is a StriderHiryu original !

 

I did take the picture from a specific article on Atalanta's victory over Fiorentina earlier this year, but all the text here is my own. I love watching and playing football and one thing I really love about football is the emphasis team play has on the sport. 11 individuals can do well, but a well drilled team of players that are built around their strengths is often more effective. Apparently there was a team in the East Midlands that proved this point in the 15/16 season? I need to do some more research on that team because they sound great !

 

Atalanta to give them enormous credit are essentially a team without household names that have upset the apple cart through some brilliant coaching and teamwork. I am genuinely looking forward to watching them play, because I haven't seem them too much on the TV.  Here are some highlights from their game against Norwich, and by all accounts Norwich played really well for most of the game and still got beaten convincingly 4-1! Their fans said it was a bit of a wake-up call as to what a "class outfit" looks like.

 

 

 

I don't know what you do for a living, mate, but if you're not a sports journo you've missed your calling.

[StriderHiryu]

Just now, Buce said:

 

I don't know what you do for a living, mate, but if you're not a sports journo you've missed your calling.

I'll be honest, the "Professional Foxes Talk lurker" career path has not turned out to be as lucrative as I thought it would be 

 

 

[Finnegan]

5 minutes ago, StriderHiryu said:

I'll be honest, the "Professional Foxes Talk lurker" career path has not turned out to be as lucrative as I thought it would be 

 

 

 

@Joe. and @Fez of Mahrez started off chatting rubbish on here and both have gone on to be published. Where there's a will. 

 

[Tielemans63]

11 hours ago, StriderHiryu said:

Leicester City have been dominating the news recently, but not for matters on the pitch! So let's put that right!

 

On Friday evening we take on the highly impressive Atalanta from Serie A, coached by the shrewd operator Gian Piero Gasperini who performed a miraculous feat in 18/19 to guide the Bergamo club to their first ever Champions League campaign, scoring more goals than any other team in the division! Make no mistake, this is a brilliant team who pack one hell of a punch.

 

 

Atalanta typically line up like this, and surely what will grab your attention straight away is that they line up with 3 centre backs and 2 wingbacks. A very similar system in fact to Wolves in the Premier League, who our opponents on game day one. Brendan Rodgers was quoted this week as saying:

 

"Part of our plan was that Wolves will most likely play with a back five and Atalanta play with a back five, so this is our final detail in preparing for that game.

 

It's a good test for us Atalanta", he added. "They have been over here and they've played a few games, so we have watched some of the games and how they play.

 

They are a very good side which is why they finished third and qualified for the Champions League."

 

Another interesting aspect of their play which is very unusual for Italian teams is their style of play, which is dare I say it - Rodgers-esque? Atalanta employ a high pressing game, though they often take this to extremes with their front 6 players often man-marking their opponent in the offensive phase. Imagine the legendary Pontus Kamark's fabulous job on Middlesbrough's Juninho in the 90's and stretch that across almost the entire team.

 

 

^ Here you can see that not only are the Atalanta front three pressing their opponents, but even their central midfielders are marking their opposite number, effectively reducing Fiorentina in this case to playing the ball long as no safe option is on. In this match, despite going one down, the Bergamo outfit would recover to win 3-1, showing they stick to their guns even if faced with an early setback.

 

It's clear to see why Rodgers has favoured such opponents. This will be an acid test for our team in dealing with a team that put you under so much pressure that you have to pass your way out of a press and keep the ball. Against Man City at the end of last season, this was something that impressed many neutrals - teams that go to the Ethihad and try and play their way out of trouble are few and far between. But if there was a criticism there, it was that for all our fine play we created very little of note. Can we put this right on Friday night? It will make for a very interesting game to watch, with all eyes on Turkish international Caglar Soyuncu who may well be auditioning for the part of "first team centre back" this season should our beloved Slabhead leave us for the plastics up north.

 

Very much looking forward to our final open friendly of preseason, and our first at the King Power. COYB!

 

 

 

 

Cracking read Strider. No pressure but I expect one before every game now. Thanks.

[Meat and 2 veg]

1 hour ago, UniFox21 said:

I'd expect Hamza to start over Mendy initially.

I Forgot about Papys injury

[Ric Flair]

Up there with Frankfurt last season as one of the most well coached and tactically excellent teams across the tope leagues in Europe. Their team put together through extensive research and below the radar, something that we once did but is becoming increasingly difficult with the money swimming about in the Prem.

 

Fascinating contest tonight, in many ways it's a shame it's just a friendly and is hopefully the sort of fixture we might get again in a year or two in Europe.

 

I know it's unlikely but I would like to see Barnes start tonight, against a back 3 which he faced a lot last season for West Brom he was at his most deadliest. Teams struggled to deal with his movement in that space between the 18 yard box, especially in a back 3 where the wing backs are often out of position on the turnover.

[Ric Flair]

6 minutes ago, Finnegan said:

 

@Joe. and @Fez of Mahrez started off chatting rubbish on here and both have gone on to be published. Where there's a will. 

 

Both have dropped us like a hot potato an'all since!!

[Finnegan]

10 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

Both have dropped us like a hot potato an'all since!!

 

Twenty years time this place is just going to be me, you and Babs with Mablo talking to himself in the boxing thread. 

[StriderHiryu]

20 minutes ago, Paddy. said:

Cracking read Strider. No pressure but I expect one before every game now. Thanks.

[VLC86]

2 hours ago, StriderHiryu said:

Yeah they beat Norwich 4-1 away from home despite not starting Zupata. They are a very, very good outfit. 

 

Their manager deserves massive credit. They probably have 10% of the budget that Milan and Roma do but beat them to the Champions League places. 

Gasperini has done an incredible job. When I was living over there they would have got relegated had Parma not gone into liquidation (14/15 season). He took over the season after and they have gone from strength to strength.

 

They actually lost one of their best players last summer, Cristante, so to finish ever higher is brilliant.

[StriderHiryu]

2 minutes ago, Costock_Fox said:

Gasperini has done an incredible job. When I was living over there they would have got relegated had Parma not gone into liquidation (14/15 season). He took over the season after and they have gone from strength to strength.

 

They actually lost one of their best players last summer, Cristante, so to finish ever higher is brilliant.

Wow I didn't know that! That's almost Leicester City-esque!

 

Did you live over in Bergamo or just Italy? What was it like? I have been to the Milan derby a few times, and the experience is something else over there.

[VLC86]

22 minutes ago, StriderHiryu said:

Wow I didn't know that! That's almost Leicester City-esque!

 

Did you live over in Bergamo or just Italy? What was it like? I have been to the Milan derby a few times, and the experience is something else over there.

I lived in Bergamo for 4 months mate, got to the Milan derby while I was there as well but going to watch these lot was much better than the San Siro.

 

Crazily passionate fans, the stadium was an absolute shit hole but it’s being rebuilt as we speak. 

 

i cant recommend going there enough, I’ve got time booked off for their first champions league match so hopefully it’s a decent home match (home being San Siro for the first few months unfortunately)

[Dahnsouff]

https://www.atalantini.online/blog/questa-sera-la-dea-nella-tana-delle-volpi-blu-leicester/

 

Love "the bomber Jamie Verdy (Vardy)" bit 

 

Translation

 

The British tour Atalanta will end tonight at 20 in the King Power Stadium in Leicester . For a friendly match against the line-up which triumphantly triumphed in the Premier League three years ago, led by the Roman coach Claudio Ranieri, and in subsequent seasons, although not repeating that exploit, it was confirmed as a top reality with two ninth places in a row . 
A story often compared to that of Atalanta, a provincial that has grown up on the field, with victories .

The Foxes, the blue foxes, trained by Brendan Rogers, also aim this year at a high middle-ranking championship, to confirm themselves among the top ten of the Premier League. 
The most representative and well-known player of the Foxes is the bomber Jamie Verdy, the English national, protagonist with the blues of climbing from the Championship to the Champions League. 
In the door is a well-known name, that of the Danish goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, son of the great number of Ferguson's Manchester United. 
So a tough and prestigious opponent, the most challenging in this week on British soil.

[holyfox]

1 hour ago, StriderHiryu said:

It is a StriderHiryu original !

 

I did take the picture from a specific article on Atalanta's victory over Fiorentina earlier this year, but all the text here is my own. I love watching and playing football and one thing I really love about football is the emphasis team play has on the sport. 11 individuals can do well, but a well drilled team of players that are built around their strengths is often more effective. Apparently there was a team in the East Midlands that proved this point in the 15/16 season? I need to do some more research on that team because they sound great !

 

Atalanta to give them enormous credit are essentially a team without household names that have upset the apple cart through some brilliant coaching and teamwork. I am genuinely looking forward to watching them play, because I haven't seem them too much on the TV.  Here are some highlights from their game against Norwich, and by all accounts Norwich played really well for most of the game and still got beaten convincingly 4-1! Their fans said it was a bit of a wake-up call as to what a "class outfit" looks like.

 

 

Norwich did look good with some nice crisp interplay, but the difference to me was their defence not being used to the clinical nature of a quality attack which they will find through most of the Prem, just like we did in our first season back. Will be a really good test for us tonight.

[Sol thewall Bamba]

7 hours ago, KingsX said:

Two of the top 26 sides in world football* and you don't have to go to Shanghai or LA to see it.

 

 

 

*  source fivethirtyeight ... no, I don't wish to argue the merits of it

202 - Notts Forest

 

[VLC86]

31 minutes ago, Sol thewall Bamba said:

202 - Notts Forest

 

That’s actually pretty decent for a small, championship team.

[TiffToff88]

1 hour ago, Dahnsouff said:

https://www.atalantini.online/blog/questa-sera-la-dea-nella-tana-delle-volpi-blu-leicester/

 

Love "the bomber Jamie Verdy (Vardy)" bit 

 

Translation

 

The British tour Atalanta will end tonight at 20 in the King Power Stadium in Leicester . For a friendly match against the line-up which triumphantly triumphed in the Premier League three years ago, led by the Roman coach Claudio Ranieri, and in subsequent seasons, although not repeating that exploit, it was confirmed as a top reality with two ninth places in a row . 
A story often compared to that of Atalanta, a provincial that has grown up on the field, with victories .

The Foxes, the blue foxes, trained by Brendan Rogers, also aim this year at a high middle-ranking championship, to confirm themselves among the top ten of the Premier League. 
The most representative and well-known player of the Foxes is the bomber Jamie Verdy, the English national, protagonist with the blues of climbing from the Championship to the Champions League. 
In the door is a well-known name, that of the Danish goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, son of the great number of Ferguson's Manchester United. 
So a tough and prestigious opponent, the most challenging in this week on British soil.

 

I liked the bit where we didn't just triumph, we triumphantly triumphed!

 

Auto Translations throw up some brilliant stuff sometimes. Especially when the club post something in Thai on Facebook 

[Ali Begbie]

4 hours ago, Swan Lesta said:

I do wonder if Benkovic might get the nod ahead of Soyunco.

Would be good to see Benkovic given a run out in a Foxes shirt.

 

My worry is that so much of our playing-from-the-back style relies on having a centre-back like Maguire who can go past people. We really need to find another ball playing centre half otherwise our whole style of play will be seriously compromised.

[KingsX]

4 hours ago, Buce said:

 

I don't know what you do for a living, mate, but if you're not a sports journo you've missed your calling.

 

Yeah, wouldn’t that be great. 

 

"Our" Strider:

Atalanta employ a high pressing game, though they often take this to extremes with their front 6 players often man-marking their opponent in the offensive phase. Imagine the legendary Pontus Kamark's fabulous job on Middlesbrough's Juninho in the 90's and stretch that across almost the entire team.

 

Sky Sports Strider:

 

Sky sources spotted talented Bergamo side Atalanta in the arrivals lounge at East Midlands Airport yesterday.  Players were later seen at the Leicester Marriott.  Atalanta star man Luis Muriel, sky Sports understands, passed a note to the check-in clerk, reading:

 

¡Ayuda! Estos italianos me mantienen como rehén. Mi agente necesita hablar con el señor Woodward, ¿es Manchester? *

 

* Help!  I am held hostage by these Italians.  My agent needs to speak to Mister Woodward, is this Manchester?

 

Talks are believed to have advanced to move the prolific Colombian striker to Old Trafford, no doubt as a replacement for Romelu Lukaku.  Frustratingly, the Italians are holding out for more than ₤5 million plus three hospitalized center-backs.

 

A match is reportedly scheduled between the two upstart clubs, to showcase their players for the Big Six.  It will be centrally located at the King Power Stadium, to further the convenience of their traveling scouts and executives.

 

 

[KingsX]

4 hours ago, StriderHiryu said:

I'll be honest, the "Professional Foxes Talk lurker" career path has not turned out to be as lucrative as I thought it would be 

 

Listen mate, you are absolutely smashing it compared to the “would-be Foxes Talk humorist” career path.