The Atalanta Primavera will face Fiorentina in the TIMVISION Cup final on Wednesday 4 May. This match has been the occasion to take stock of the Atalanta youth teams with Maurizio Costanzi, the Head of the Youth Academy, who said about the final: “An exciting fixture”.

It has always been the flagship of the club. The Atalanta youth academy has once again showcased promising youngsters this year. Scalvini and Cittadini have already become permanent players of the first team, and many other youngsters are regularly called up by Gasperini, in time order, the last one was Cisse. It seems the Academy has reached its main goal this year, the goal of providing players to the first team.

“These are certainly significant results. This should be the main objective – i.e. to develop players – of a Club’s Academy that has been working on it for years. It was a lucky year because several players were able to make their debut, maybe even for some minutes, but in this way, Atalanta has shown that, even as a top team in the Italian league, the Club’s Academy is efficient. It is the biggest achievement as many say that in Italy the higher you are in the standings, the higher it’s difficult for young players to make their debut. We hope to do it with consistency”.

The youth leagues have almost ended too. What was this season like for the Atalanta youth teams?

“I’d say that after two years of lockdown, after two years of difficulties, when the lads had to change their habits, their training programs, change their lives… It was a kind of test that made us worry a bit but made us curious, too, as it was a good test for us that helped us understand if our work was efficient, and especially it helped us to change some aspects that left their mark on their mentality, on their physicality and on the stress level, which was certainly very high. I’d say that the results have been very good, considering that they are still to come as the championship is not over yet. [The results] helped us understand that we’re on the right track. Our most important goal is to understand if we are competitive and if our developing methods are updated and aligned with the football of the future. We have to interpret and foresee what the future will be. We have to make clear that we are curious, self-critical and at the same time aware that we must reward ourselves a little”.

There’s an important fixture to play now, as the Primavera will face Fiorentina on Wednesday at the Stadio Penzo to win the Coppa Italia.

“It’s one of the important fixtures that we’ve had over the last years with the Primavera. The Primavera always fought hard over these years, sitting in top spots between semifinals, finals, league titles and Supercups. It’s another motivating fixture, very important for the lads because it’s a showcase for the end of the season. It’s important to prove themselves. We always tell the lads that it’s important to show their qualities. If the results come, we’ll be extremely happy. But reaching this point and showing consistency is an achievement, to my mind. It doesn’t mean I’m satisfied with anything. I hope that the lads can rejoice. However, at the same time, it’s important to show that football is also beautiful for this reason, it’s important to participate, to reach the very end and to fight till the end. We managed to do it this time again”.