In his office in the main stand of Granada’s Nuevo Los Cármenes stadium, Antonio Fernández Monterrubio, the club’s general manager, is reflecting on one of the outstanding results so far of this La Liga season.

“There was €636m worth of difference on the pitch and a huge difference in everything else,” he says of the evening that champions Barcelona came to town. “But it’s football, not mathematics.” Indeed. Granada won 2-0 that September night, a springboard success for the newly promoted side who by the final weekend of October were sitting top of the table for the first time since 1973.

Though there have been three defeats since then, Granada’s encouraging home draw with Atlético de Madrid on Saturday means they have already surpassed their points’ total from their 2016/17 relegation season and Monterrubio is here to explain to Off The Pitch the steps being taken to turn Granada into a competitive club in Spain’s top division despite having the division’s third-lowest playing budget of just under €35.5m.

Shopping local

First, the intriguing strategy taken by a club who are owned by Chinese marketing executive John Jiang but have found success by shopping local. During Granada’s last top-flight campaign they used players of 19 different nationalities. So far this term, players from the local region, Andalusia have scored 12 of their 19 goals.

Monterrubio explains the approach: “A bit of the analysis we did when I came here was there was a lack of identity, of identification with the city, with the province, with the club – not only on the part of the players but you can say the players are the reference point.”

Their economic rights belonged to the former owner, so from the point of view of the economic model it made no sense.

If that is part one, part two was a natural consequence of Jiang buying out the previous owners, the Pozzo family, in May 2016. Players like Allan Nyom and Odion Ighalo, whose images are on a display outside the ground, moved between the Pozzos’ various clubs – Udinese, Granada, Watford – but Granada now began to look elsewhere for talents.

Owner involved in 4 clubs

“Their economic rights belonged to the former owner, so from the point of view of the economic model it made no sense,” adds Monterrubio. “Therefore, it was the change of ownership and the idea of identification and identity. We decided the players had to be owned by the club and we were going to try to ‘nationalise’, in inverted commas.”

Today recruitment is a process involving “four or five” people both inside and outside the club, explains Monterrubio. This includes Granada impressive young coach, 38-year-old Diego Martínez, and sporting director Fran Sánchez. There is also advice from Antonio Cordón, former director of football at Villarreal and Monaco, who helps Jiang run his Hope Football Group, a company which holds stakes not only in Granada but in Parma (Italy), Tondela (Portugal) and Chongqing Lifan (China).

Monterrubio speaks with Jiang “almost every day” yet suggests the Spanish league (LFP) regulations are “restrictive” when it comes to collaborating fully with the owner’s other clubs. “It makes that kind of synergy difficult. Last year we had players loaned in Tondela. We have had and still have Chinese players developing here in Granada. With our team in China, we try to create synergy but it’s not easy because of the financial controls by the LFP.”

He adds: “John Jiang cannot loan us a player for nothing.”

A new identity

Granada is one of Spain’s most beautiful cities and the Nuevo Los Cármenes sits against the spectacular backdrop of the snow-capped Sierra Nevada. Football-wise, though, the city’s team has never had the cachet of the region’s big two clubs over to the west of Andalusia in Seville: Real Betis and Sevilla.

Yet Monterrubio is confident today’s Granada are forging an identity that can appeal to prospective signings. “We’ve created an identity based on certain values: humility, hard work, transparency, sacrifice, fight, perseverance, challenging you and creating a sense of family,” he says.

...and logically if you want a sustainable model we have to change that and increase our matchday revenues, our sponsorship and publicity.

“We’re a medium-sized club but internally we keep on functioning as a family. Our professional players gain a lot from the family feel inside the club, the closeness among the employees and if you’ve got good facilities and a sustainable financial model and results on the field, it makes it attractive to players.”

It helps to have a smart-looking training ground, opened only in 2016 yet due to undergo an expansion project expected to cost around €7m in 2020. This will include an all-weather pitch, training centre and residential block for the club’s academy. There are plans brewing for the stadium too, owing to Granada’s need to increase their matchday revenue.

Revenue streams need to change

The club spent around €3m in the summer on a range of upgrades – new club shop, LED stadium lighting, seating and pitch improvements, and temporary seating in the open corners between the stands. As Monterrubio speaks, workmen are constructing two new offices in the space outside his own, yet he acknowledges much more must be done to improve a venue opened in 1995.

“It’s normal for clubs of our size in Spain to get around 10 per cent of their overall revenue from matchday and sponsorship and publicity – the most important source is broadcasting and logically if you want a sustainable model we have to change that and increase our matchday revenues, our sponsorship and publicity. That’s precisely why we’re looking at filling in the corners of the stadium and achieving additional income from the ground.”

Hence the “medium term” goal of introducing more “eating and corporate areas” as well as a possible hotel development in a stadium which can currently provide hospitality, be it in boxes, a sports bar or the presidential suite, for around 700 people.

Ticket pricing strategy

For the time begin, Granada have set a pricing strategy to capitalise on casual fans’ interest in watching La Liga’s biggest clubs when they visit. When Off The Pitch enquired at the club box office about a ticket for this weekend’s fixture against Atlético de Madrid, the cheapest available was €100.

“We have high ticket costs for non-season ticket holders,” says Monterrubio. “It’s a way of protecting our season-ticket holders, of saying, ‘You put your faith in us and the price of a season ticket when converted per match is very reasonable’, but if someone wants to sit in the main stand just when the biggest clubs come, there’s a significant rise in the cost.” To as much as €180.

At a club where the 14,000 season-ticket holders pay between €280 and €650 per year, there is a definite logic in the plan to wring the absolute maximum out of the remaining 4,000 or so seats when the big boys come to town (albeit the club point out prices are more moderate for other fixtures).

There are other measures, taken away from the matchday, which underline Granada’s effort to grow their revenues. This season, unlike last year, Granada have a main shirt sponsor – a deal with French sports betting company Winamax which is worth between €1.5m and €2m according to local newspaper reports. Monterrubio says this income goes straight to the playing side.

Completely oversized

Behind the scenes, moreover, Granada is a more streamlined club. When they were last in the top flight, the number of non-football employees was 65; today it is 45. “We think we’re more efficient,” says Monterrubio. “We were completely oversized before, a club in the first division with a structure almost like the top clubs with the biggest incomes. It wasn’t a sustainable model.”

Everything we bring in from sponsorship goes directly to playing costs.

That word sustainable. Granada have given their fans a giddy week already this season as Liga leaders. But the goal, as Monterrubio spells it out, is rather more pragmatic. “The ambition we all have for this season is to stay in the division,” he says, “as this would let us carry on growing the economic and sporting models and gain stability.” Eminently sensible, and definitely a case of so far, so good for La Liga’s surprise package.

“Everything we bring in from sponsorship goes directly to playing costs, so for us the deal with Winamax was a step forward in terms of quality At the start of the season we were just promoted and you’ve got to take a gamble on us so we’re grateful for all our sponsors. Now it’s easier to gamble on us as we’ve got 20 points but in the summer, it was an unknown.”

Wolverhampton have announced a new partnership with the Singapore-based F17 Academy.

Through the partnership, F17 players will learn from Wolves' coaching syllabus - called the "Wolves Way" - with the academy coaches being trained on the Wolves programme by the club's staff.

Coaches from Wolverhampton's academy will make an annual trip to Singapore to conduct camps, the club write in a statement.

In March next year, Wolverhampton will welcome players from F17 to the UK to train with the club's own academy.

"We are pleased to be partnered with F17 Academy in Singapore. They are a very progressive academy, who want to develop the children within their system but also their staff," Joe Hunt, Wolverhampton's international project manager, said in the statement.

"Our two Academy coaches, Kevin Foley and Leon Jackson, were very impressed with F17 when they travelled to Singapore in June and we look forward to continuing our support to their programmes out in South East Asia."

In a long-term deal announced by the club, Liverpool and Challenger Sports have extended their partnership providing UK-based residential football schools to young players from around the world. 

The two parties have already been working together for the past two years, delivering the LFC International Academy's residential courses.

The programme runs each summer and has attracted participants from around the world, according to the club.

"Our residential soccer school has been hugely successful since it launched in the UK two years ago, and has created many fantastic opportunities for young players from around the world to improve their skills and be developed via our unique coaching system," said the head of Liverpool's international academy programme, Dan White.

50 countries

This year's course boasts the biggest attendance to date and had players from 50 countries visiting the UK to participate in the programme.

Next year is expected to be even bigger as it will also include girls' courses, a goalkeeper-specific offering and an option for teams to attend.

"I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone involved with the football camp. Jasmine had an incredible time - she didn't stop talking about it all the way home," Mum Melanie, whose daughter attended the course, told Liverpool's website. 

"It has given her a huge confidence boost in respect to her social skills, football and overall fitness. She really enjoyed making new friends and said the quality of teaching and support from the coaching staff was superb."
 

Blackburn Rovers have signed a new partnership with the British Football Academy based in Singapore.

According to a statement from the club, the partnership will open the door to a new pool of players, with Blackburn looking to recruit the most talented youngsters, while also raising the club's profile on the world stage.

"There's a big expat community - a lot of British kids whose parents work over there and dual nationalities - and there's certainly some talented young players over there," Blackburn's head of academy, Stuart Jones, said in the statement.

"We see the partnership as a potential recruitment strategy in terms of identifying talent who are UK nationals and who could potentially come into the academy."

Ultimately, the partnership is about growing the Rovers brand and seizing the commercial opportunities in the area.

"We're really excited to be able to get over to that side of the world and put Blackburn Rovers on the map," Jones said.

"There seems to be an element of support for the club over there anyway, so hopefully this only enhances that and raises the profile."

Through the partnership, Rovers' academy will share their programme, sessions and coaching philosophy with the British Football Academy in order for the Asia-based academy to develop players that match "the Rovers DNA."

Liverpool FC have announced the club's latest academy in Orange County, with plans for future expansion across Southern California (colloquially known as SoCal) in the US.

The club have made a long-term agreement for the operation of the LFC International Academy SoCal, which "will give players the ability to train under the tutelage of LFC International Academy coaches," Liverpool wrote in a statement.

"This is a long-term plan and we look forward to working hand-in-hand with the coaches to ensure the coaching delivered on the project is market-leading," Dan White, head of Liverpool's international academy programme, said.

"We're confident that this will be successfully implemented and are excited to give young players the opportunity to learn to play the Liverpool way in the area."

This year, Liverpool have also announced academies in Hong Kong and South Korea, as well as a full-time coaching programme in Cyprus.

"As is the case with all our projects, we are aiming to have a positive impact on the development of youth soccer in the region," Dan White said.

Try-outs for the Californian academy begin next month.

Crystal Palace Chairman Steve Parish has met local residents in Beckenham to share the club's plans to upgrade their existing academy site to meet category 1 status, a step up from the club’s current category 2 status. 

The club's planning application is due to be submitted to Bromley Council later this month and Parish believes the consultation was "essential".

"We want the plans we’ve made to work for everybody. It seemed to go down well, and we had some great questions," said Parish.

The plans include a major expansion and enhancement of the football facilities, but improving education and welfare facilities for the club's 220 young players has also been a key priority. 

Palace's plans to help young players 

With plans to create up to five classrooms as well as lecture rooms and meeting spaces, with up to eight tutors being employed, the club want to ensure players receive the best education on site. 

"The main thing for us to really improve is the care, and helping the boys grow and develop as people, which will help them improve as footballers and give them a greater chance to succeed.

"The facilities that we’ll be able to build around this with schooling with mentoring, with the sports science and medical will really make a huge difference to the players’ development and of course help with recruitment too - because if we’ve got the very best of everything then there’s no reason for a local kid to go to any other academy," said Parish. 

If Palace are granted planning permission, they intend to begin works in the new year.

Crystal Palace's plans include:

• Campus-style internal and external refit to all buildings
• New classrooms, lecture rooms and meeting spaces
• A new medical treatment, rehabilitation, and sports science facility
• Restaurant

The playing facilities will be expanded to include:

• A full-size DESSO main pitch (a hybrid grass surface composed of natural grass combined with artificial fibres) with under-soil heating
• A covered full-size 3G synthetic pitch, for all-weather use
• A full-size, floodlit 3G pitch
• Creation of six additional pitches of varying sizes for various age groups
   

The head of youth scouting at Arsenal's academy Steve Morrow has parted company with the London club, according to the Evening Standard, as part of a major restructuring lead by Per Mertesacker. 

Mertesacker, who heads up the club's academy, is also expected to let several other staff members go as he seeks to make his mark on the youth operation at Arsenal. 

Morrow, 49, made over 60 appearances for Arsenal in his playing career as midfielder. 

The head coach of Arsenal, Unai Emery, has given plenty of youth players first team opportunities this season as testament to how much focus the club are placing on talent development. 

Legendary Arsenal winger Freddie Ljungberg was also promoted from the club's under-23s setup to first team coach ahead of the current season, paving the way for youth players to move up to the first team. 
 

Ryan Kidd has been appointed the new assistant coach for the under-18s at Blackburn Rovers.

Kidd's appointment follows a string of internal promotions at Blackburn this summer, which began when the head coach of the under-23s, Damian Johnson, was promoted to the role of first-team technical coach and head of player development in July.

This led the way for Billy Barr, the previous head coach of the under-18s, to take over from Johnson, with Barr's former assistant, Mike Sheron, then promoted to head of the under-18 squad.

Ryan Kidd will be the assistant to Mike Sheron.     

48-year-old Kidd most recently served as the manager of Bury's youth team, an appointment which followed his role as the assistant manager to the club's first team.

Prior to his spell with Bury, Kidd has worked as assistant manager at Barnsley, Darlington and Rochdale.

"It's great to see a pathway for staff at the Academy, which I think is really important," Stuart Jones, Blackburn's head of academy, said in a statement, adding that the sad situation at Bury allowed the club to identify Kidd as the best candidate for the position.

"He comes from a Category 3 programme at Bury, who have been renowned for developing young players and selling them on to bigger clubs, so he will bring those different experiences and knowledge, which will be massively beneficial to us."

Kidd's official title at Blackburn will be "professional development phase assistant coach."

Graham Potter has placed his faith in Brighton & Hove Albion's youth during the start of the season, giving both Aaron Connolly and Steven Alzate their Premier League debuts. Potter also included seven debutants in the line-up against Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup. 

The emergence of young talents puts a smile on the face of Paul Barber, Albion's chief executive and deputy chairman, as the club invest more than £5 million into the academy system each year. 

John Morling, a former Ireland under-19 coach, is the academy manager, and in the past year the club have also brought in Dan Ashworth from the FA as the club's first technical director to further boost the expertise in developing young players. 

"We very much believe in developing our own talent. We think it's going to give us a competitive advantage if we continue to improve our scouting network and unearth players like Aaron and Steven, who have made it into the first-team squad," said Barber at this week's Leaders Sports Business Summit at Twickenham. 

"We're never going to be able to compete in the big transfer fee market, so we have to be a bit cuter and a bit smarter when we do buy players. It's impossible for every transfer to work out, but if we get our academy system right, we should provide an opportunity to bring through more young players and save on future transfer fees."

Despite focusing on the academy, Brighton & Hove Albion's wages almost doubled between 2017 and 2018, when the club were promoted to the Premier League. Since 2014, the club's wage bill has increased by 281 per cent. 
 

Atalanta are a prime example of a club who punch above their weight. The club, whose formal name is Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio S.p.A., have their home in the north Italian town of Bergamo about 40 km northeast of Milan.

Historically, they played in the shadows of the big Milan clubs, but in recent years the club have been stepping into the light and overtaking these rivals. Atalanta are now drawing a lot of attention, producing impressive results on the pitch with an attacking and exciting playing style as well as excellent financial results off the pitch.

After playing in the Europa League in the last two seasons, this season Atalanta earned their right to play against the best European teams in the Champions League.

Not bad for a club from an old Italian town with only 120,000 inhabitants on the edge of the Bergamo Alps.

Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio S.p.A club were founded in 1907, with the name Bergamasca deriving from a merger with Bergamasca in1924. The club have turned a deficit into surplus by developing own talents and clever player trading.

They do it so well, that even Fabio Capello has compared Atalanta to another talent-producing club named after a Greek hero: Ajax Amsterdam.

Greek heroine Atalanta — the fierce hunter who could hold her own

The club are named after the Greek mythological character Atalanta, and nicknamed: La Dea (meaning goddess in Italian).

In the legends, Atalanta was a virgin huntress who was unwilling to marry. She grew up in the wilderness and became a fierce hunter and who always was happy. She took an oath of virginity to the goddess Artemis, and she too punched above her weight when she slew two centaurs, Hylaeus and Rhoecus, who tried to rape her.

Atalanta may be a Greek heroine, but divine intervention has nothing to do with the Bergamo club’s success. Instead, it is down to the fine management of President and club owner Antonio Percassi.

The former Atalanta player and businessman owns the club through the holding company Odissea S.r.l. and the subsidiary company "La Dea S.r.l.".

Percassi is a rare Italian example of a club owner who manages his club intelligently, carefully and profitably. He made his fortune in retail where he runs stores with brands such as Benetton, Ralph Lauren, Gucci, Levi´s and Nike through Odissea S.r.l.

Percassi has shaped Atalanta starting with its youth sector and evolving into profitable player trans-fers. He achieved this with skilled help from people like Mino Favini, the expert and shrewd talent discoverer who died in 2019. A handful of skillful youth coaches have also made a difference along-side Gian Piero Gasperini, who became head coach in 2016.

Before Gasperini become coach, Atalanta were a mid-table club, with nothing to win and nothing to lose. But since Gasperini took over, Atalanta have established themselves as contenders for a top-six spot. 

Atalanta and Gasperini crowned their fine development with a qualification to the Champions League 2019/20. This achievement made Bergamo so proud, that it made Gasperini an honorary citizen of Bergamo in July 2019.

Parcessi made a wise strategic choice for Atalanta

The Atalanta B.C. of today are enjoying the results of a strategy which creates a steady pipeline of the main commodity of a football club: players.

The strategy rests on two pillars: Firstly, the club de-velop their own players in the youth academy, Zingonia. Secondly, they buy the player rights of many talented players with the sole intention of lending them out or selling them on for a profit.

Atalanta’s management have made the smart choice of not trying to conquer the world, but instead investing their efforts on a national scale, and occasionally on a European level. They have created a smart national core power strategy for their business which focuses on the Italian market by being in the top six in Serie A and selling players to the other clubs.

Taking part in the European tournaments and selling players to European clubs has been the cherry on the cake. But with this season’s qualification to the Champions League, that cherry has grown immensely.

The solution til AC Milan and Inter

Having their roots in a small town, with AC Milan and Inter Milan nearby, Atalanta have wisely accepted that they cannot compete financially with the Milanese clubs in terms of matchday and commercial income. Also, the San Siro, the city of Milan and the pay levels there, have a greater lure for top players, so Atalanta simply cannot attract the same type of players.

Instead, they have astutely positioned themselves as the solution to AC Milan’s and Inter’s ongoing need for new players.

In the current AC Milan squad, Andrea Conti, Franck Kessié, Giacomo Bonaventura and Mattia Caldara (via Juventus) all came from Atalanta. In the current Inter squad, Roberto Gagliardini and Alessandro Bastoni were both signed from Atalanta.

A crucial step in the history of the Bergamo youth sector took place in the early 1990s when Percassi implemented a new investment policy, especially at youth level. He convinced Fermo Favini to leave Como and entrusted him with responsibility for the youth sector.

The club’s youth system holds seven men’s teams: four which participate in separate national leagues (Primavera, Beretti, Allievi Nazionali A and Giovanissimi Nazionali) and three taking part at a regional level (Allievi Lega Pro, Giovanissimi Regionali A and B).

Technique and creativity

The Atalanta youth system not only continued to increase the production of players for the first team, but also began to win several honours in the most important national leagues. From 1991 to 2019, the various youth teams have won 18 national titles, the latest when the Primavera won the National Championship in 2019.  

At the academy in Zingonia, technique and creativity are the most important aspects of coaching. Every youth player is considered equally important. The development of each player is monitored carefully and they are slowly given first-team opportunities. Atalanta also recruit players deemed not good enough for the other clubs.

The progress of each individual who enters their system is tracked with coaches setting goals for each one, which are then communicated and agreed upon by the players.

Atalanta are cautious when selecting youth coaches and prefer candidates who have knowledge of the club. Atalanta believe that the coaches, just like the players, need to have the Atalanta spirit in them and truly understand the significance of the academy.

Former youth coaches like Valter Bonacina and Sergio Porrin are examples of that, but also former Italian National coach Cesare Prandelli, who spent two stints at the club as a player and seven years as youth team coach.

Mutual relationship with local clubs ensured a pool of motivated talents

A unique feature about the Atalanta youth system is that, as much as possible, they try to recruit locally. Atalanta scout extensively in the local region of Lombardy.

The philosophy behind that is that a player from the local region feels a deeper connection with the club and has a greater knowledge of the club’s values and principles. The players at the Zingonia Academy are given a lot of freedom and need to have a high level of motivation to be able to live up to the club’s ambitions and principles.

The club want players who have implacable technique and focusing on winning. They must be able to take decisions and responsibility and be able to reflect over the course of a game in order to change what is not working.

They do not train in specific formations because the players have to be able to change tactics according to the circumstances. Though the club has a formation template, the youth coaches have the freedom to choose whatever formation they feel appropriate to win the game.

Sandwich-approach

At Zingonia, they not only train the player’s technique but also their mind. On order to do so, the youth trainers never shout or yell at the players, but in a Socratic way calmly ask questions about which technique or tactic they would use in the given situation.

The trainers are aware of when to approach players and how to speak to them. They do not want to overload them or make their decisions for them. Instead, the coaches use the Sandwich-approach of praising players, asking what comes next and then encouraging them.

When the players are doing technical exercises, the trainers praise them before querying them on their thoughts and asking them what they think the next step should be. 

Atalanta cooperate with many local clubs across the region. They also help some financially. La Dea gives them a chance to loan the youngsters from the Atalanta youth system and in return, these co-operative clubs inform Atalanta when an exciting prospect comes around.

This mutual relationship exists with clubs such as: Ascoli, Avellino, Aglianese, CalcioChese, Forli, Pedona, Piacenza, Grumeliese, Meda, Pontisola, Gragnano, Varesina, FeralpiSaio, Virtus Bergamo and Gragnano.

Atalanta is a place where errors are tolerated and gradual growth allowed

A key part of the managerial secret behind Atalanta´s success is Percassi’s ability to make Atalanta a place where errors are tolerated and gradual growth is allowed. He has patience — a rare quality in the modern world of football. Parcessi is also a good businessman. Having made a fortune in re-tail, he knows when to spend the right amount on a player based on market value and not emotions.

If an exception to this rule is made, it only happens if the risk of failure is minimal. The strategy is not to produce the next Kylian Mbappé, the one talent who would bring €50 million or more to the club. Instead, Atalanta go for a steady flow of talents, who can quickly be sold on to generate a steady turnover. 

The strategy paid off

The strategy has been underway since 2010, really took off in 2016. As seen below, Atalanta achieved financial breakeven in 2016, and from 2013 to 2018 increased their total income by €91.8 millii or 149.9 per cent. In the same period, Atalanta only increased their costs by €14.2m or 88 per cent. The final result has risen from €10,000 in 2013 to €24m in 2018.

Player trading has been the main factor behind the financial boost. Atalanta increased income from player trading by €52.6 million, while costs and amortisation only rose by €29.2 million.

The increase in income has come from Atalanta’s own talent development from their youth academy and from player trading. In 2018/19, Atalanta had 76 players under contract, whereas Chelsea, for example, had 41 and Manchester City had 30.

Many of these players were never meant to play on the first team at Atalanta, but only to boost their careers in order to be sold on at a profit.

They are currently on loan to other clubs, providing a small income which grows when the players are sold. Rather than high transfers, this is a low-risk strategy, where many transfers provide several small amounts, which at the end of the year add up to a decent sum.

Should one or more player not live up to expectations, cancelling their contract or paying their relatively small salary until the end of the contract will not tip the balance.

Hefty income

According to CIES Sports Observatory, Atalanta only spent €93 million creating their current first team. By contrast, Manchester United spent €751 million, AC Milan spent €408 million and Leicester City spent €312 million.

Also noteworthy, is the club’s cost of salaries of only €49.5 million — far below those of Juventus (€294 million), Inter (€139 million), Roma (€125 million), Milan (€115 million), Napoli (€103 million), Lazio (€72 million) and Torino (€54 million).

Atalanta BC also took over their stadium in 2017 after paying €8.6 million for it and getting a 99-year lease. It was formerly known as Atleti Azzurri d'Italia, but the club sold their naming rights in July 2019, so the venue is now called Gewiss Stadium. 

In 2019/20, Atalanta are playing in the Champions League and expecting a hefty income from UEFA. Since the Gewiss Stadium only holds around 24,000 spectators, the club have moved their Champions League games to the San Siro in Milan. Inter Milan and the Municipality of Milan had no problems with that, but AC Milan had some pride to swallow before agreeing to lend out their holy ground — as AC Milan withdrew from the European League this season.  

Apparently, the heroine Atalanta could hold her own and so can Atalanta B.C.. The small Bergamo club is stepping out of the Milan shadows — and ready to punch some heavier clubs.

Brian Bødker, senior financial consultant, MSc., is author of the book, The Legendary Ten, a comprehensive insight to the ownership, strategy, organisation, tactics and results of Europe’s ten best football clubs.