Fans Stunned as Team’s Fall From Grace Hits New Low - Was The Coaching Change a Huge Mistake?

Atalanta Slump to 13th in Serie A After Sassuolo Home Defeat

Atalanta have made headlines in the Italian football press once again this weekend, after they lost by three goals to nil at home to newly promoted Sassuolo.

It has now been seven Serie A matches since La Dea last saw victory, in a bizarre run of form which included the Bergamasque side drawing five straight league fixtures.

Ivan Juric’s side has slumped to 13th in the Serie A table, an unusual sight for the Italian outfit, who have clinched a European place in nine of the last 10 campaigns.

Gian Piero Gasperini’s parting words when he left Bergamo this summer were: “I’m ending my experience in Bergamo as head coach of Atalanta, everything else will remain unchanged.”

So when I Nerazzurri aren’t conceding Domenico Berardi braces, what has happened behind the scenes to cause this current Atalanta side to look a completely different shade of Blue and Black?

🔊Boos can be heard all around the stands of New Balance Arena as Atalanta concedes for the 3rd time today pic.twitter.com/B2gjlkbJOS

— Atalanta BC News (@AtalantaBC_News) November 9, 2025

Goodbye to a Great

Gasperini took Atalanta to heights they’d never reached before; his nine-year reign in Northern Italy cannot be cited as anything other than one of the biggest revolutions in Italy since the 19th century.

Duvan Zapata, Luis Muriel, Papu Gomez, and Josip Ilicic were among the iconic forwards who took to the stage in Bergamo during the Gasperini era. The list continues and includes Gianluca Scamacca, Ademola Lookman, Rasmus Hojlund, and Mateo Retegui in recent seasons.

Gasperini returned Atalanta to the European scene after a quarter-century absence, reached three Coppa Italia finals (2019, 2021, 2024), and to top it all off, led the club to a first-ever Europa League title in 2024.

What should be established here is that Atalanta did not want Gasperini to leave. A 3rd placed Serie A finish, handing them a second straight season in the Champions League, should’ve made that clear enough.

A romantic letter published in l’Eco di Bergamo, written by Gasperini, spelt out his intentions behind the move to AS Roma: “For the need of new motivations, for the trust shown in me and for the renewed enthusiasm that comes with it.”

Still, the city of the mountains mourned.

🚨🇮🇹 𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋 | Gian Piero Gasperini has left Atalanta. 👋

When Gasperini first took over Atalanta, the main aim was to avoid relegation from Serie A...

He won them their FIRST ever European trophy and made them a competitive side in Serie A! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/jjzBQBUhoQ

— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) June 1, 2025

Seasoned Serie A Replacement

Juric’s appointment left a fair few scratching their heads. Especially those from England, who had just witnessed the Croatian lead Southampton to relegation in one of the most forgettable managerial spells of all time.

Even in Italy, Juric’s last experience in Serie A lasted just 12 games, as Roma sacked the coach two months into his spell in the capital.

His best memories arguably came at Torino, but even then, we’re talking about mid-table finishes here. Ultimately, the biggest deciding factor behind Atalanta appointing Juric was that he is a disciple of Gasperini himself.

Juric played under Gasperini at Genoa before taking his first steps in the coaching game with his mentor at Inter Milan and Palermo. Whilst replacing the renowned king of Atalanta with a premade heir seemed wise. It’s turned out to be quite the disaster…

The very premise that Atalanta should look for a coach similar to Gasperini for the sake of continuity is fundamentally flawed. There are hardly any managers who can match Gasperini, the true master of the back-three system. pic.twitter.com/pgy3FklWw5

— Let it be🇰🇷💙🖤 (@Atalanta_Korea) November 3, 2025

Public Fallouts

The current reigning African Footballer of the Year, Lookman, had a very public transfer saga over the summer that resulted in the player taking to social media to vent his frustrations. Atalanta managed to keep hold of their star despite his desires to depart, but rumours of his departure are sparking once again after his touchline dispute with Juric earlier this week.

Juric portrayed poor player management skills on Wednesday night, after Lookman was substituted by the Croat coach. Looking discontent with his removal from the game, the London-born Nigerian international was grabbed by the manager before some aggressive words were shared.

Ademola Lookman and Atalanta head coach Ivan Juric during the Champions League win.

Not a good look, especially if you’re the coach.

pic.twitter.com/9ruMoGCU62

— Sacha Pisani (@Sachk0) November 6, 2025

This behaviour from Juric does not help his case as Atalanta boss, especially as he’s been given the boot before reaching his 20th game in both of his last two jobs.

Data Downfall

Atalanta’s winless run and low table positioning might be misleading; after all, they’ve only lost two Serie A games this season. However, their lack of enthusiasm in front of goal and inability to turn a draw into a win is unmistakable.

Last season, I Nerazzurri were the greatest team in front of goal, averaging 2.2 goals per game (76 in total), compared to this year’s dwindling figure of 1.3. This boils down to issues with precision, as Atalanta’s goals per shot on target have dropped from 0.39 last season to 0.31 this, despite continuing to average a similar shot-creating actions rate (25.3 per 90 in 2025/26, down from 25.42 in 2024/25).

Atalanta Considering Juric’s Future

Italian journalist Orazio Accomando has reported that Atalanta’s board are not satisfied with Juric’s time at the club so far, and had it not been for the club’s 1-0 win over Marseille in midweek UCL action, the 49-year-old could’ve found himself out the door already.

🚨⚫️🔵 Plan confirmed: Atalanta are on the verge of sacking Ivan Jurić to appoint Raffaele Palladino as new head coach. pic.twitter.com/pLvcdzbBXj

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 10, 2025

Atalanta’s progress in the Champions League will heavily dictate the coach’s future. Gasperini led the club to a 9th-place finish in the league phase last year and has previously taken La Dea to the UCL Quarter Finals in 2019/20. Atalanta are currently 16th in the UCL League phase table, with a home tie against Chelsea and away trips to Bilbao and Frankfurt still to come.

Football Italia reported that Raffaele Palladino is the favourite to replace Juric. Palladino is a man with a greater recent Serie A track record, having led Fiorentina to a Conference League semi-final and a sixth-place league finish in 2024/25.