Video: Atalanta given explosive reception after securing Champions League return

Originally posted on Football Italia | By Peter Young | Last updated 5/19/24

Atalanta were given a hero’s welcome upon their return to the team hotel after securing their return to Champions League football with a 2-0 win away to Lecce in Serie A on Saturday evening.

Though the team returned to their accommodation in the early hours of the morning, there were hundreds of supporters waiting to welcome them back with songs, flares and fireworks going off long into the night.

It will be the first appearance in the Champions League in three years for La Dea, who were eliminated before the knock-out rounds in 2021-22, finishing third in a group containing Manchester United, Villarreal and BSC Young Boys.

In fact, it will be only the fourth time ever that Atalanta have appeared in the Champions League. All three previous outings have come under Gian Piero Gasperini between 2019 and 2021.

#Atalanta | Nonostante la pioggia battente (che a una certa ha dato anche tregua), un centinaio di tifosi hanno atteso la squadra a Zingonia con tanto di fuochi d’artificio per festeggiare il ritorno in #UCL … e caricare il gruppo verso Dublino pic.twitter.com/d04tlvoDYH

— Giorgio Dusi (@Gio_Dusi) May 19, 2024