The Underdogs Report: A Preview of Atalanta, Fiorentina, Lazio & Bologna (Episode #7)

Buona sera everybody, welcome back to the self-proclaimed premier Italian football podcast, Calcio Culture.  In today's episode, we wrap up our club previews with the so-called underdogs of the league. We are classifying these teams as the "2nd tier" Serie A clubs who every year surprise us and always have a chance of pushing the top 4. Those clubs are Atalanta, Fiorentina, Lazio, and a new addition, Bologna, who will be playing Champions League football this season. QUICK SHOUTS * Bremer has extended his contract to 2029. * We saw a sick goal from Lazio's Castellanos. * In recent friendlies, Inter lost 2-0 to Al Ittihad, and Milan drew 2-2 with Barcelona. * We also had a bold shout from a Premier League face on TikTok—Steve Wald commented on our Rafael Leao post, saying Cole Palmer is better than Leao. This is an interesting take that deserves a little bit of discussion. MAIN CONTENT Let's get into the so-called prosciutto, the meat of this episode, beginning with our boys in Bergamo, Atalanta. This is a club that has defied the odds year after year, being competitive in the league and across Europe, which ultimately ended with a European title last season with their Europa League victory. Atalanta will be competing in the Champions League. Under the management of Gian Piero Gasperini, they play a 3-4-2-1 or 3-5-2 formation, known for their free-flowing attacking ability and man-to-man defense. Key players Scalvini, Scamacca, and Koopmeiners are out, but exciting talents like Zaniolo, Retegui, Lookman, Ederson, CDK, Ben Godfrey, and Marc Pubill have joined the squad. Next up, Fiorentina will be competing in the Conference League. They have a new manager, Raffaele Palladino, who previously managed Monza and plays an attractive, possession-based brand of football. Key players include Colpani from Monza and Kean from Juventus, though they have some notable departures like Milenkovic and Bonaventura, with Nico Gonzalez also linked away. For Lazio, they have appointed Marco Baroni, who managed Hellas Verona last season. Expected to shift from a 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3 formation, Lazio's key players include Taty Castellanos, Mattia Zaccagni, Matteo Guendouzi, Nicolo Rovella, Romagnoli, and Nuno Tavares. They have also seen the departures of Luiz Alberto, Felipe Anderson, and Ciro Immobile. Lastly, Bologna is set to compete in the Champions League under new manager Vincenzo Italiano, who previously managed Fiorentina and is known for his possession-based football. Key signings include Ndoye, Freuler, Martin Erlic, Thijs Dallinga, Nicolo Cambiaghi, Juan Miranda, and Emil Holm, while Zirkzee and Calafiori have left the club. QUICK MERCATO UPDATE In the transfer market, there is an update on Todibo, David Neres has been linked with Napoli, and Inter has asked Arnautovic to find a new club.