After the U19s team, preparations also kicked off for the Under-18 team, as they met up at the Centro Bortolotti in Zingonia. The first day was dedicated to the usual medical check-ups and physical tests, in compliance with the FIGC protocol.

Players born in 2005, who are fresh from the U17s championship, will be part of the Nerazzurri team coached by Stefano Lorenzi, who is back at the helm of the Under-18 team after last season’s spell with the U16s. The manager from Bergamo is in his 11th season as a coach in the Atalanta Youth Academy. “Since its foundation, the Under-18 championship has reached a good level, it’s tough. We hope we’ll have a good season. Given the previous experiences, we know what we have to work on and what awaits us, so we are ready to take on this new season with great enthusiasm”.

This will be Lorenzi’s first year at the helm of the players born in 2005: “Having coached the Under-16 team, we have worked closely together and I had the opportunity to appreciate a group that seemed very cohesive and with good qualities. We will try to make the most of this season for the players’ growth. Having reached this point, I always congratulate them because I see the U18 as the end of one path, from which a new one begins. Those who make it to the U18 build their future: at the end of this season, they will either play for the Primavera or in the top amateur league, to build their career in the pros. To make it to the U18 is not for everyone, but it is a very important goal in my opinion”.

Lorenzi knows well the junior division, as he coached the U18 team in the past: “In the first year the championship title was awarded, we were deserving to be in the first place before the Covid stopped us, but the most important thing is that several of those boys who had taken part in that championship are now professionals: that is the real scudetto for us”.