The history of Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio covers over 110 years of Italian professional football club Atalanta BC, commonly referred to as Atalanta (or its nicknames, La Dea, the Orobici, and the Nerazzurri), from its founding in 1907 to the present day. Atalanta is based in Bergamo, Lombardy, Italy and has played its home matches at the Gewiss Stadium since 1928. It currently competes in Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football league system.
Atalanta was founded in 1907 by Liceo Classico Paolo Sarpi students in Bergamo and was named after the Greek mythological athlete of the same name. The club merged with another club also based in Bergamo in 1920, adopting its current name (Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio) and colors (black and blue) after this merger. Atalanta spent much of the 1920s and 1930s in the second division, reaching Serie A for the first time in 1937. The club then enjoyed nearly three decades in Serie A (1940–1969), only missing out in 1958–59. In the following years, the club experienced more movements between the top two divisions, even spending one season (1981–82) in the third division, though returned to the top tiers and qualified for several UEFA competitions—a European Cup Winners' Cup and two UEFA Cups—between 1987 and 1990 under coach Emiliano Mondonico. In the 1990s and 2000s, Atalanta again moved several times between Serie A and Serie B. The club was most recently promoted in 2011 and has been in Serie A for twelve consecutive seasons since then. Between 2017 and 2025, under coach Gian Piero Gasperini, the club enjoyed its best ever league finishes and participated in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.
As of the 2024–25 season, Atalanta has spent a total of 64 seasons in Serie A, 28 seasons in Serie B (winning it five times), and only one in Serie C. Atalanta has spent the most seasons in the top flight of any Italian club not based in a regional capital; because of these consistent performances, as well as Serie B titles and performances in continental competitions, the club is sometimes called the Regina delle provinciali ("queen of the provincial clubs"), though has never won the Scudetto. Atalanta has won two major trophies in its history: the Coppa Italia in 1963 and the Europa League in 2024. The club reached the Coppa Italia final on five other occasions (in 1987, 1996, 2019, 2021, and 2024) and participated in UEFA competitions in eleven seasons in total; prior to winning the Europa League in 2024, the club's best finishes were the quarterfinals of the Champions League in 2020 and semifinals of the now-defunct UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1988.
Early years (1900–1920)
At the turn of the 20th century, the main sporting associations in Bergamo were the Società Bergamasca di Ginnastica e Scherma (also called simply Bergamasca), founded in 1878, and the Giovane Orobia, founded in 1901. These were both located in the Città Alta (the historical "high city", situated at the base of the Bergamo Alps, which begin immediately north of the city), where they were less accessible to residents of the Città Bassa ("low city"; borgo). The origins of the modern club can be traced back to a split from the Giovane Orobia with the intent of creating a sports club in the Borgo.
The first football association based in Bergamo was called Foot Ball Club Bergamo, founded by Swiss emigrants on 15 October 1904. It participated in regional championships (organized by the Italian Football Federation) until it was disbanded in 1911; its remnants were absorbed into rival sports club Bergamasca, which would establish a football team in 1913.
The club was founded on 17 October 1907 by Liceo Classico Paolo Sarpi students Eugenio Urio, Giulio and Ferruccio Amati, Alessandro Forlini, and Giovanni Roberti. A day later, they unanimously agreed to name the club Atalanta after the female athlete of the same name from Greek mythology, giving rise to the name Società Bergamasca di Ginnastica e Sports Atletici Atalanta. The new club immediately established a football team, though it would not be recognized by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) until 1914. Prior to this recognition and inauguration of a playing field, the club only played friendly matches; these were played first at the Piazza d'Armi and later in the Campo di Marte in the city center. The club's first playing field was then established on the Via Maglio del Lotto in Bergamo, near the railway connecting Bergamo to Milan; it had a seated capacity of 1000 spectators.
Football director and haberdasher Pietro Carimanti strongly pushed for the club's recognition by the FIGC. During this time, the club wore a black and white kit. The club also actively competed in other sports such as gymnastics, fencing, cycling, and swimming. Three athletes from Atalanta participated in the Olympic Games: Guido Calvi and 1911 Italian 5000-meter champion Alfonso Orlando participated in the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, while Costante Lussana, also an Italian 5000-meter champion, participated in the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp.
Following recognition from the FIGC, the club participated in the 1914–15 Promozione, then the second-highest level of the Italian football league system. In its first competitive season, the club finished second in its group and finished fourth in the final round.
During the suspension of official sporting events following the outbreak of World War I, which Italy entered in 1915, Atalanta took part in several friendly tournaments. These included the Coppa Lissone, in which host club Pro Lissone defeated Atalanta 2–1 in the final, the 1916 Coppa Lombardia, and the 1916–17 Coppa Legnano. Because the first-team players had gone into battle, these competitions were contested by youth players. Later during the war, the club was forced to sell the land containing its field amid economic problems. On 11 November 1918, a week after the war ended, former footballer Antonio Festa (who, before the war, played for Bergamasca), founded the Circolo Studentesco (Student Circle) to rejuvenate enthusiasm towards football in the city.
At the beginning of 1919, Atalanta resumed its pre-war activities, though with a depleted squad containing only eleven players (two goalkeepers and nine outfield players). To field a complete team, goalkeeper Francesco Aragano volunteered to fill the vacancy in central midfield. However, the club was temporarily without a field to play competitive matches, having sold its land during the war. As a solution, entrepreneur and philanthropist sold the Campo della Clementina (Clementina field), an older venue in Seriate that hosted sporting events such as cycling, to the club. The new field was inaugurated as the Atalanta Stadium and hosted 14,000 spectators in its first match against La Dominante of Genoa.
The club then prepared to challenge for admission to the Prima Categoria, the top tier of the Italian football league system. However, the Italian Football Federation announced that it would only allow one club from Bergamo to participate in the 1919–20 Prima Categoria. Both Atalanta and Bergamasca were eligible, though because a strong rivalry existed between the clubs, a competitive playoff was necessary to determine which club would participate. The playoff match was held on 5 October 1919 in Brescia; Atalanta won the match 2–0. Atalanta went on to finish third in Lombardy Group B, securing a place in the next season's Prima Categoria.
In February 1920, a merger between the two Bergamo clubs nevertheless occurred after an assembly; the new club was named Atalanta Bergamasca di Ginnastica e Scherma 1907, shortened to Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio. The merger was completed on 4 April 1920 and Enrico Luchsinger became the new club's first president. Following the merger, the team's colors were also decided: the black and white of Atalanta and the blue and white of Bergamasca were combined into a blue and black (nerazzurri) kit. The club retains the name and colors resulting from this merger to the present day.
Between the wars and Serie A debut (1920–1940)
In the first season after the merger, Atalanta finished fourth in Lombardy Group E. The next season, Atalanta finished third in the group won by Cremonese in the FIGC championship (there were two top-level championships that season following the formation of the secessionist Italian Football Confederation (CCI); the CCI dissolved a year later). At the end of the 1921–22 season, Atalanta played its first match against a foreign team, a 2–2 draw in a friendly against Swiss club Aarau.
In the 1922–23 season, Atalanta won its group in the Seconda Divisione, though the club was not promoted due to the FIGC restructuring the league system. Despite this, the club received a cup from the Regional Committee for its group victory and advanced to the national finals, though lost over two legs to Carpi. After another third-place finish in its Seconda Divisione group, Atalanta finished third-to-last in the 1924–25 Seconda Divisione and risked relegation, saved only following a double playoff against Trevigliese and Canottieri Lecco.
In 1925, Cesare Lovati was hired as the club's first true professional coach. The club also welcomed its first foreign players at this time, center-forward Gedeon Eugen Lukács and mezzala Jeno Hauser, both Hungarian. Lukács scored 13 goals in 20 games that season and finished top scorer of the club, while Hauser scored 7 goals in 19 games. The club finished third in its group, three points behind group winner Biellese.
At the end of the season, in 1926, the FIGC changed its rules to only allow one foreign player per squad instead of two. This prompted the club to keep Lukács (sending Hauser back to Hungary) for the next Prima Divisione season. In the 1926–27 Prima Divisione, Lukács scored 20 goals in 17 games, including five in a 6–0 home win against Monfalconese, which remains the most goals scored by a single Atalanta player in a match. This helped the club finish second in its group with 26 points, one point behind group winner Pro Patria. With this result, Atalanta qualified for a promotion playoff, though was defeated 6–1 by Fiumana in Rijeka and thus remained in the second division.
The club hired Hungarian coach Imre Payer, its first foreign coach, in 1927 to try to challenge for promotion to the top flight. However, this appointment required the departure of Lukács, as only one foreigner was allowed in the club (in any position—player or coaching staff) per the FIGC rules. Despite his departure, the club was able to achieve good results, winning its Prima Divisione group with 30 points in 18 matches. By winning its group, Atalanta qualified for the national second division finals against Bari, Biellese, and Pistoiese. Bari was eliminated from the playoffs following losses to Biellese and Pistoiese, though the remaining three teams were tied, requiring a second round of playoffs. Biellese subsequently withdrew, thereby forfeiting its matches; the Prima Divisione winner would therefore be decided in a single playoff match on neutral ground between Atalanta and Pistoiese. Atalanta won this match 3–0, winning the Prima Divisione (its first second division triumph) and promotion to the top flight.