Atalanta defender Sead Kolasinac assures they are ‘super excited’ to play Liverpool in the Europa League and especially to face his ‘idol’ Virgil van Dijk.
The first leg kicks off at Anfield on Thursday at 20.00 UK time (19.00 GMT).
While La Dea played here in November 2020 for the Champions League, it was during the COVID pandemic, so the stands were completely empty.
Of the current squad, someone who has experienced this stadium packed to the rafters is Kolasinac, who played for Arsenal, Schalke 04 and Olympique Marseille before the free transfer to Bergamo in the summer of 2023.
“We are ready, we are super excited to play this game tomorrow,” Kolasinac told the official Atalanta website.
“It’s a special place to play at, Anfield is a very difficult place to play, especially for the team away from home. As always in football, you need to defend together and hopefully we will have some chances that we can use to bring to our side.
“We are super ready, we can’t wait to play this game. We are super excited.”
Kolasinac also spoke to Sky Sport Italia and confessed this is also going to be a very special match for other reasons.
“Van Dijk is the player I am most inspired by. He is one of the best defenders in the world and is an idol for me.”
The 30-year-old Bosnia and Herzegovina international has made 36 competitive appearances so far this season for Atalanta, contributing one goal and one assist.