Atalanta don’t deserve to play in the Champions League, proclaims Andrea Agnelli
Juventus president Andrea Agnelli has revealed that Serie A side Atalanta do not deserve a place in the Champions League. The Bergamo side made the cut after finishing third in the 2018/19 season and have done relatively well in the Champions League making the round of 16 ahead of Inter Milan.
They finished second in their Group C table, behind only Manchester City and walked into the knockout stages as one of the three Italian sides behind Napoli and Juventus. However, Gian Piero Gasperini’s side also happens to be the only Italian side with a win in the first leg of their round of 16 clash after a 4-1 victory over Valencia. It saw them move one step closer to the quarter-finals with Juventus and Napoli both needing a win in their second leg to ensure a victory.
But Juventus president Andrea Agnelli believes that the Bergamo side shouldn’t even be in the Champions League after just one great season. He also added that it’s not right that Atalanta made the cut over a top Italian club like AS Roma which will affect not just the quality of a top cup competition like the Champions League but also Italy's coefficient ranking.
“I have great respect for everything that Atalanta are doing, but without international history and thanks to just one great season, they had direct access into the primary European club competition. Is that right or not? Then I think of Roma, who contributed in recent years to maintaining Italy’s ranking. They had one bad season and are out, with all the consequent damage to them financially,” Agnelli told the FT Business.
With rumours of a potential European Super League in the mix after the Champions League’s contract expires at the end of next season, Agnelli has been a vocal sponsor of the Super League which would stop clubs like Atalanta and even Leicester City make the cut in the future. But the Juventus president went on to admit that a move like that is needed to protect investments.
“We must also protect investment and costs. So would Atalanta, therefore have less chance of playing at a high level? I don’t have the answer to that, it’s just about setting up a transparent process to make this decision. There are teams who won the league or cup and achieve qualification just on the basis of their country’s ranking. The point is how we balance the contribution to European football and the performance of a single year,” he added.
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