Tribal Football

Atalanta director Marino dubs new-look Champions League "marvellous"

Carlos Volcano
Atalanta director Marino dubs new-look Champions League "marvellous"
Atalanta director Marino dubs new-look Champions League "marvellous"Action Plus
Atalanta director Umberto Marino has welcomed their Champions League draw.

In the new league format, La Dea will meet Real Madrid and Arsenal.

Advertisement
Advertisement

“I chased (Gigi) Buffon down the corridor and threatened him, because he cannot come back to Bergamo after what he did to us,” joked Marino, referring to Buffon's role in the draw, on Sky  Italia.

“Joking aside, I think tonight we are telling an important page in the history of Atalanta, because playing against Real Madrid, Barcelona, Arsenal, Celtic, Young Boys, Sturm Graz and Stuttgart is pretty unique. It’s marvellous, the pitch will tell us who does best, but as always we’ll aim to cause everyone problems.”

He added, “I haven’t spoken to the other clubs yet. I only saw Liverpool, they told us they didn’t want to come back to Bergamo! We are playing fantastic teams with remarkable squads and atmospheres, we aim to learn from them on and off the field.”