When we look at the history of the two clubs, the money they allocate for salaries, the trophies players from Juventus and Atalanta have won in their careers, including two coaches, the number of finals played, then there is no doubt that Juventus is the favourite in tonight’s final match of the most prestigious Italian competition. However, when we focus on what we’ve seen on the field in the last two months, in Serie A, the Italian Cup, and Europe, comparing the form of players available to both coaches as well as the series of results of the two teams, then only one name emerges loudly from the analysis – Atalanta.Atalanta are in two cup finals this season. The first one, the #CoppaItaliaFrecciarossa decisive match vs Juventus 👀 pic.twitter.com/xleNdfj9R4— Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) May 15, 2024 Three years ago, the two teams played in the Italian Cup final. Juventus emerged as the winner with a score of 2-1. That was the last trophy the Bianconeri won. Andrea Pirlo was on the bench. Max Allegri won 13 trophies in his career, while Gian Piero Gasperini has won none. But since his return to Juventus in the summer of 2021, Allegri hasn’t lifted any trophies. Atalanta has won the Italian Cup only once, 61 years ago, defeating Torino in the final in 1963. Since then, they have lost four finals of the national cup, two of which were with Gasperini, once against Lazio and the other time against Juventus.Juve embarrased by the Italy’s worst clubAtalanta’s head coach has two chances to win his first coaching trophy at the age of 66, which is a rarity in itself. Of course, Gasperini is penalized by the fact that he hasn’t coached so-called big clubs—except for Inter, for a few months—but that makes his coaching success even more remarkable. Allegri made a typical Freudian slip yesterday, qualifying tonight’s match as the last one. Juventus hasn’t officially announced anything to their coach yet, but it’s an open secret that there will be a change on the bench. The only question is whether it will be Thiago Motta—most likely—or someone else. The novelty is that Allegri could stay at Juventus but with different duties.“I hope Atalanta wins the Europa League and Juventus wins the Coppa Italia. I think they (Atalanta) would still be happy with that.”🗣 Gianluigi Buffon to Sky 🏆 pic.twitter.com/z6WvwcmTPu— Italian Football TV (@IFTVofficial) May 15, 2024 Atalanta will be without Gianluca Scamacca, Sead Kolašinac, and Emil Holm tonight. Juventus will only miss Manuel Locatelli. Paradoxically, considering the players available, the absence of the Italian international is a much bigger problem for Allegri than the trio of Atalanta for Gasperini. Locatelli hasn’t been in great form this season, and his season has been quite disappointing, but when you look at the alternatives for Manuel, it’s clear how much his absence weighs. Nicolussi Caviglia and Muratore are not credible replacements for the Italian international. Moreover, it won’t be surprising if Allegri promotes Danilo to the midfield.##NAJAVA_MECA_8103903##In the Juventus team, Dusan Vlahovic will certainly start from the first minute. The Serbian ace has been quite unlucky in the last month and a half, hitting the posts and crossbars, narrowly missing goals, and having goals disallowed due to imperceptible offsides. Even Allegri’s automatic decision to replace him halfway through the second half didn’t help, further unsettling and robbing Vlahovic of the necessary peace of mind and confidence. While Allegri has to figure out how to compose Juventus’ midfield, his colleague Gasperini, despite Scamacca’s absence, has six players for three positions, and each of them could be the protagonist of the final. It seems that Koopmeiners and De Ketelaere are sure starters, especially after their masterful performance against Roma. Alongside them, Pasalic or Lookman could play, while Ture will be the solution for the final quarter of the match. In the last 35 days, Juventus has drawn five times in Serie A and lost the second leg of the Italian Cup semifinal. In the same period, Atalanta eliminated Liverpool and Olympique Marseille from the Europa League, Fiorentina from the Italian Cup, and racked up four wins and one draw in Serie A. At the Olympic Stadium, Juventus will have a significant advantage since Juventus fans are very numerous, the third most represented, an army of supporters in the Eternal City.
