By winning the Europa League, Atalanta might open up a sixth Italian spot in the Champions League for Roma, but only if they finish in fifth place and no higher.
La Dea flattened favourites Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 in Dublin last night to lift the first UEFA trophy in their 116-year history.
As they had already qualified for the Champions League via Serie A, then it makes no difference to their own prospects for next season’s tournament.
However, it could let Roma enter the top tier competition if certain conditions are met.
Specifically, Atalanta must finish fifth in Serie A and no higher.
Why Roma need Atalanta to falter now
If Gian Piero Gasperini’s side are fourth or even third, then the sixth position will not open up and Roma cannot enter the Champions League.
This is because when UEFA set the stipulation for an extra spot opening up for the Europa League winners, Italy only had four automatic entries into the Champions League.
A fifth was added for Italy’s exceptional performance in the UEFA rankings.
As things stand, Atalanta are fifth with 66 points, whereas Bologna and Juventus are on 68.
There is one round left to play in Serie A, but crucially Atalanta have a game in hand to be played against Fiorentina on June 2.
So until that match is completed, Roma must wait to discover their Champions League fate.
Please, Atalanta, lose all remained Serie A match for Roma and Serie A.
How many sports we get is irrelevant. UNLESS our clubs can keep their best players, and have the financial muscle to strengthen. Otherwise it will always be one step forward and two steps back. Roma don’t deserve champions league football.
Biscotto – please Atalanta and Fiorentina.
Every club for themselves. If a club can not finish TOP 4, it means they’re not worthy of CL. Simple as that. What’s the point of having more Italian clubs in CL if in the end, they’ll end up as punching bags for La Liga, Premier League & Bundesliga (Bayern Munchen) giants.
Because CL means more revenue for Italian clubs and the purchase of quality players. Why wouldn’t you want more Italian clubs in CL? Atalanta should remain fifth for the sake of bettering teams in Italy. And I don’t agree with the ‘punching bag’ comment above, wasn’t Atalanta supposed to be that for Liverpool? Look what happened there!
SerieAFan
“lose all remaining Serie A matches for Roma and serie a ” ?!!?
Not going to happen , only hyenas and vagabonds want that!
If Roma were to go into Champions league, does that not mean Lazio would go into Europa instead of Conference? Lazio fans wouldn’t you want that??