The German side Bayer 04 Leverkusen are Atalanta’s opponent in the UEFA Europa League Round of 16. This tough team directly qualified to the Last 16 as they topped their group and now sit third in the Bundesliga.

“It will be a fascinating and interesting clash – said President Antonio Percassi – against a top team. This two-legged tie will be very difficult, but in each competition, especially at this level, there are no easy matches. Atalanta will give everything on the pitch as always, it’s in the DNA of our Club. Even in an emergency situation and at difficult times, the team has always been united and solid and you could see the results”.

After Colonia (UEFA Cup) and Borussia Dortmund (Europa League) here’s another German side to meet the Nerazzurri. If the two-legged tie with Borussia is recent history (Round of 32 in the 2018-2019 season), the clash with Colonia refers to earlier times (1990-1991). There’s one thing that unites those two clashes, though, and it’s Antonio Percassi: “Those are all indelible memories, unique emotions that I carry with me and that I had as the President of Atalanta. A 1-1 draw with Colonia, then a 1-0 win in Bergamo that gave us the qualification to the quarterfinals in the UEFA Cup. The coach of Atalanta then was Pierluigi Frosio, who passed away recently, my heartfelt thoughts are with him.”

“The match against Borussia will also remain in Atalanta’s history as we nearly won in Dortmund with 8000 fans following the team and then an unlucky draw at the Mapei Stadium… Now we are to face another German opponent, it will be another two-legged tie and I hope it will be likewise beautiful and exciting”.