For Atalanta Bergamo, the drama of Lisbon was like a sting in the heart.
“A destroyed dream! Atalanta must capitulate a tiny step ahead of victory,” wrote Gazzetta dello Sport after 1-2 Italians in the highly exciting Champions League quarter-final against Paris Saint-Germain, but: “Atalanta has proven herself capable of playing at the highest level.”
The “fall from the soccer Olympics”, which had not yet been reached, hurt enormously. The “Corriere dello Sport” even compared the game with the late goals scored against Manchester United in the 1999 Champions League final. “Football can be incredibly cruel,”commented Tuttosport. Coach Gian Piero Gasperini was disappointed to keep the frame. “Too bad we were so close to victory,” he said. “We really believed in it. It was a few small things, a few moments, a few situations, things that decide who goes forward – and who doesn’t. But I can only thank my players.”
