AFP – Gianluca Scamacca will lead the line in Atalanta’s bid to reach their first ever European final as the striker’s hot form puts him firmly in the frame for Euro 2024.
A classic centre-forward, Scamacca has had an up-and-down first season back in Italy with Atalanta but is in the form of his life on the eve of tomorrow’s second leg of their Europa League semi-final with Marseille.
The 25-year-old has scored 10 times and set up another in his last 12 matches, and his fizzing low finish last week ensured Atalanta came away from the Stade Velodrome with a 1-1 draw after having their backs to the wall for large parts of the first leg in southern France.
He will be the focal point of Atalanta’s exciting attack in front of passionate home fans in Bergamo who have once again seen their traditionally provincial club punch way above its weight.
Scamacca has scored 18 goals in all competitions this term with the bulk of those strikes coming after he was left out of the Italy squad for March’s friendlies with Venezuela and Ecuador.
He was dumped by Luciano Spalletti after the Azzurri coach, in a February interview with the Gazzetta Dello Sport, blasted footballers “playing on the PlayStation until four in the morning”.
Spalletti named no names in an unexpected tirade against modern players’ apparently flagging commitment to football but eyes immediately turned towards Scamacca, who was left out despite Italy having a long-standing problem of finding reliable strikers.
Scamacca, from Rome, has a roughneck presence due to his size and array of tattoos and has had to deal with embarrassing headlines involving his family.
