Why Atalanta’s Gianluca Scamacca is hitting form at the right time | OneFootball

The last few weeks have seen Gianluca Scamacca once again show Europe what he is really capable of. 

In Atalanta’s Serie A win over Cagliari, the striker got a brace to help La Dea pick up a vital 2-1 win. In the last four Serie A games now, Scamacca has four goals. He also grabbed an assist against Genoa in the Coppa Italia, also proving decisive in a 2-1 win over Chelsea in the Champions League.

This form is quite reminiscent of what one associates with the Italian. He had scored against Pisa in La Dea’s first game of the season but injuries – as always, proved to be a problem. 

In the 2024/25 season, Scamacca played just one Serie A game and later fell prey to another injury. With fitness problems hopefully behind him, the forward is hitting form at the right time for the Bergamisci.

That is because Atalanta haven’t had a great season so far. Ivan Juric’s tenure was filled with inconsistency and under Raffaele Palladino, they have won two and lost two league games. They do have two Champions League wins but it isn’t the old Atalanta that everyone knows of.

Things are getting back on track and it comes right after there were question marks about whether La Dea can even convert their chances or not. Under Juric, this was a constant problem. In a host of games, they missed chances almost at will, essentially costing the Croatian his job.

Now, they are much more potent infront of goal and this coincides with Scamacca’s return to the forefront and Nikola Krstovic being used lesser than he was.

Ademola Lookman was at odds with the club and hasn’t quite been at his best all the time either. Kamaldeen Sulemana is out of action due to injury after a good start to the season. These factors have held Atalanta’s attack back but now, Scamacca’s return is coming at the right time.

Even for Italy, this is a huge positive. 

There is still uncertainty about their World Cup qualification as they look to get past the play-offs. Goalscoring has been a classic problem for the Azzurri too. Even though the Rino Gattuso era has seen them play a front two, the ex-midfielder has shown an inclination towards using a small-man-big-man duo.

Scamacca could now be that big-man upfront. Due to his profile, he would offer more than just goals and would bring others into play, link-up and potentially take long shots regularly.

These traits make him something different to what Italy have. Their frontline is better than it was some years ago but Scamacca offers most. 

And if Italy do qualify, they could have the striker as a reliable man upfront and this can prove key in the World Cup.

Kaustubh Pandey I GIFN