Atalanta director Umberto Marino concedes they have ‘a very different DNA and initial objectives’ to PSG, but can create a Champions League fairy-tale worthy of Forrest Gump.
It kicks off at 20.00 UK time (19.00 GMT), click here for the line-ups and LIVEBLOG.
Atalanta director Umberto Marino concedes they have ‘a very different DNA and initial objectives’ to PSG, but can create a Champions League fairy-tale worthy of Forrest Gump.
It kicks off at 20.00 UK time (19.00 GMT), click here for the line-ups and LIVEBLOG.
This is La Dea’s first ever Champions League campaign and they are already in the quarter-finals, up against a team that invested more in signing one player than it cost to put their entire squad together.
“Undoubtedly, there are different DNAs in these clubs and they started the season with very different objectives.
“Now we are both here, so we will try to honour it in the best way, in the Atalanta style,” Marino told Sky Sport Italia.
“The players don’t need motivating, these are games that prepare themselves. PSG have extraordinary technique, but like Forrest Gump, we have to run, run, run and then see what we get in the box of chocolates…
“Our coach knows full well after all these years working with the side what he needs to say in order to get the players ready. As a club, we just need to take pressure off, give them a reassuring pat on the back and leave the rest to them.
“The great thing about this team is that they know the movements off by heart. It’s evident that for Atalanta, keeping and consolidating this squad is already a sacrifice, but we want to keep doing it, because it’s too wonderful being in the Champions League.”
The game is behind closed doors, but some Atalanta fans did travel to Lisbon for the Final Eight tournament, as the town of Bergamo emerges from the worst of the coronavirus pandemic.
“This match has a different feeling also for all that happened over the last few months in Bergamo, Lombardy and Italy in general. We felt the tragedy of what happened to all these families, the players showed great respect during the lockdown and I say with a lump in my throat that this night means so much to the city.”