“Atalanta are a team with a very modern approach to the game,” said head coach Gerardo Seoane after the draw at his press conference before the Bundesliga home game against Arminia Bielefeld on 26 February. “It’ll be an exciting and tough task against Atalanta.” The Italians’ performances from recent years confirms that expectation.
Based in the city of Bergamo in the northern Lombardy region, Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio – as the club is now known – traces its roots back to 1907. It is named after the female athlete Atalanta of Greek mythology. They have spent over 60 seasons in Serie A but are yet to be champions of Italy. Nicknamed La Dea (The Goddess), their best finish was in 2018/19 when they came third. They went on to repeat that feat in the following two seasons. Atalanta have finished in the top half of the table in each of the last five years. And that positive development is inextricably linked with one man.
That is head coach Gian Piero Gasperini. The 64-year-old joined from Genoa for the 2016/17 season. The former midfielder (59 Serie A appearances) began his coaching career in the Juventus academy. His first senior position as head coach was at Crotone. He’s since had spells in charge of Genoa, Inter Milan, Palermo, Genoa again before coming to Atalanta. Gasperini was named Serie A Coach of the Year in 2019 and 2020.
The best-known name in the Atalanta team from a German perspective actually left the club in January, with Robin Gosens moving to Inter. But the squad remains full of real quality even without the left-back. Mario Pasalic, Marten de Roon and Remo Freuler are key in midfield. Top scorer is Colombian striker Duvan Zapata, but he’s been out with a muscle strain of late.
Atalanta’s home ground is the Gewiss Stadium, known in European competition as the Stadio di Bergamo. Opened in 1928, the club acquired the stadium in 2017. It is located in the north of Bergamo and can currently hold just under 20,000 spectators due to construction work.
“Year after year, this is an incredibly valuable gathering, both in terms of the content covered and the opportunity for mutual discussion,” stressed Bayer 04 goalkeeping coach David Thiel in his welcoming address at this year’s goalkeeping coaches’ meeting. This was the third time in four seasons that the event had been held at the BayArena. Organised by the German Football Association (DFB), the meeting brought together goalkeeping coaches from the Bundesliga, Bundesliga 2 and the 3rd division from the west region. For the first time this year, goalkeeping coaches from the youth performance centres (NLZ) were also present. Bayer 04 fitness coach Markus Müller provided fascinating insights into the specific fitness training carried out with the Werkself’s goalkeepers.
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It was another incredibly close call in the end: The second showdown in the 2026/27 VBL Club Championship saw the #B04eSports team once again narrowly miss out on a place in the top 16 of the preliminary round – and with it, a spot in the in-person knockout stage. It was a bitter blow: Marc and Sean Landwehr again fell just short, despite being level on points with their rivals. As was the case last month, their weaker record across the twelve individual matches in the six preliminary round fixtures proved decisive.
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“They stuck with us over the past few weeks when things weren’t going so well,” said captain Edmond Tapsoba, thanking the fans for their support after the 2–1 win in Cologne and dedicating the derby victory to them. Throughout the 90 minutes, the Werkself had looked unfazed and in command, inflicting the first home defeat of the season on FC Köln. It was the sixth consecutive win against the Cologne team for Bayer 04 – head coach Carles Martínez, on the other hand, was facing the team from the neighbouring city for the first time and “now really knows what this derby win means”. The Werkself derby review.
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Following the 2–1 derby victory away at FC Köln on Bundesliga matchday 9, Edmond Tapsoba, Malik Tillman and Aleix Garcia spoke to Werkself TV...
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-1 derby win at 1. FC Köln Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season...
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