Palladino: ‘Atalanta are a model for Italian football’ with faith in youth

Raffaele Palladino explains the Atalanta ‘mantra’ ahead of today’s match with Lecce, as fourth place is within reach, while this club can be ‘a model for Italian football.’

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It kicks off at the Stadio Via del Mare at 14.00 UK time (15.00 CEST).

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from today’s four Serie A games on the Liveblog.

Como were held to a 0-0 draw by Udinese earlier today, while Roma were swept aside 5-2 by Inter last night, so the race for fourth place is hotting up.

A win here would take Atalanta to within five points of Como and the top four, with seven rounds left after that.

Palladino trusts Atalanta model for success

“Our mantra over the last five months is to keep climbing that mountain,” Palladino told DAZN Italia.

“We won many games, were competitive in the Champions League, are still in the Coppa Italia, and now we are going into the last eight games of the Serie A season.

“We must give everything, have no regrets and be ambitious, as is the style of this club.”

So much has been said about the Italy crisis after failing to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup, and the main culprit is the lack of Italian representation in Serie A club football.

In that sense, Atalanta stand out as an example to others, especially as their youth academy has been churning out talent for a long time and their players receive passage to the senior squad.

“Before I arrived here, I looked to Atalanta as a model for Italian football, because this is a club that believes in youth, not just Italian, even though over half the squad is Italian,” noted Palladino.

“We know that even if they make mistakes, we must give these young players belief and the time to grow.

“The tendency is to drop players who make errors and then they get forgotten, whereas we are ready to keep the faith.”

There are three Italians starting for Atalanta today, two in the Lecce XI, although it would’ve been more if not for Gianluca Scamacca’s injury.