It’s the eve of the Europa League Round of 16 between Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen. The Nerazzurri are at work at the Centro Bortolotti in Zingonia in order to prepare for a delicate and important clash between the two sides, with the first leg taking place at the Gewiss Stadium. It’s important for Atalanta to redeem the setback suffered in Rome, as Marten de Roon confirms: “We must regain confidence, play well and believe in ourselves”.

Marten de Roon, Atalanta are ready to face Bayer Leverkusen, considering that the qualification is played over two legs: the one at the Gewiss Stadium and the one at the BayArena.

“Yes. We must be ready. The whole team wants to redeem last Saturday’s loss. It’s important for us now to get a result, especially at home. Of course, it’s a two-legged tie. The decider will be played there [at the BayArena]. If we’re able to go there having two possible results at hand, it would be the best.”

So, you’d like to repeat what you did against Olympiacos, even if this time you are playing against an opponent, with all respect to the Greek side, of another level.

“We’ve already analysed Leverkusen, who are a strong team, with many young players, with many talented players, who are very fast. It will be a tough clash. We must believe in ourselves, play with confidence, as we’ve always done. In this way, we’ll be able to get a result, against anyone.”

You’ve overcome last Saturday’s setback suffered at Roma in the league, haven’t you?

“Yes, of course. It’s obvious, I think we always have a strong reaction [after a defeat], even at the most difficult times. We’re going through a delicate, difficult time now. But like we did in Greece, we’ve always been capable of playing well, playing our football and scoring goals. This is important to us. We must regain confidence, play well and believe in ourselves.”