History
The club was founded in 1907. A football club had existed in Bergamo since 1904. Founded by wealthy Swiss immigrants, it was known as FC Bergamo. The rival Atalanta club grew out of a division between different sporting societies in the town. The name is taken from the female athlete of Greek mythology. The FIGC was unimpressed with the new club and did not officially recognize them until 1914. The current club is the result of a merger between Atalanta and a third team called Bergamasca. The first, black and white coloured and the second wearing a blue and white shirt, merged in 1924 as Atalanta Bergamasca di Ginnastica e Scherma 1907. The team moved to the site of the current ground, on the Viale Giulio Cesare, in 1928.23
Atalanta joined the Italian league in 1929. The club first reached Serie A in 1937, but was relegated immediately. The club returned in 1940 and remained in A until 1959; after a single season in Serie B the club was promoted and lasted a further decade in A, before relegation in 1973 led to an uncertain period of promotion and relegation between the two levels.
The club achieved its highest position in 1948, finishing in 5th place. In 1981 the club fell into Serie C1, a blow which revitalised the club. The team returned to B the next season and made it back to A in 1984. The club's form in Serie A remains uncertain, as it was relegated in 1987, 1994, 1998, 2003, 2005 and 2010. After a change of ownership, in 2011 Atalanta has immediately come back to Serie A: it will dispute its 51st season in the major level of Italian football system.
In terms of titles the club has won little, their sole silverware is the 1963 Coppa Italia. The club has had a few good runs in Europe, on several occasions being eliminated by the eventual winners.
Welsh club Merthyr Tydfil F.C. caused an upset in the 1987-88 European Cup Winners' Cup beating Atalanta 2-1 in their First Round First Leg match at their Penydarren Park ground. A defeat which must have spurred Atalanta on as, after winning the Second Leg 2-0, they went on to reach the Semi-Finals, losing to eventual winners KV Mechelen, but in the process becoming one of only two teams in the competition’s history to reach the penultimate round while playing their football outside of the national top flight league. Oddly enough, the only other team to do so being Merthyr Tydfil’s countrymen at Cardiff City.
Atalanta reached the UEFA Cup Quarter Finals in the 1990-91 season, losing to local rivals Internazionale who went on to beat another Italian side, AS Roma, in the final to win the tournament.
Read more about this topic: Atalanta B.C.
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