02/06/1963: the 60th anniversary of our Coppa Italia victory

On the 2nd of June 1963, 11 heroes donning the black-and-blue colours carved their names in the history books with a legendary feat. That Sunday at the Meazza stadium will be forever remembered for Angelo Domenghini's hattrick against  Torino and for Piero Gardoni rising the Coppa Italia to the sky as their endeavour brought invaluable joy to Bergamo and its people during otherwise frantic days of trepidation and fear due to the impairing health conditions of  Pope John XXIII - with the pontifex native of Bergamo bound to pass a few hours later.

Sixty years later, fond memories and the lasting legacy of such a momentous feat are still being preciously cherished within the hearts and minds of the whole Atalanta fanbase. Pier Luigi Pizzaballa, Alfredo Pesenti, Franco Nodari, Giorgio Veneri, Piero Gardoni, Umberto Colombo, Angelo Domenghini, Flemming Nielsen, Salvatore Calvanese, Mario Mereghetti, Luciano Magistrelli: they were the line-up and subs deployed in the final by Paolo Tabanelli, Atalanta's coach. At that time Senator Daniele Turani was the appointed President of the Orobic Club, wisely assisted by his right-hand man and confidant, the engineer Luigi Tentorio, the mastermind behind the drafting of a winning team.

As Atalanta imposed themselves over the likes of Como (defeated 4-2 after extra time); Catania (2-1); Padova (2-0) and Bari (1-0) on the road to the final, the triumphant black-and-blue cavalcade eventually culminated with the memorable 3-1 victory in the grand final against Torino with Domenghini awarding the Orobic team the Cup with his hattrick

The rest, as they say, is history and has rightfully become a matter of legend.

Atalanta's roster; season 1962/63

• Calvanese Salvatore The Argentinian striker collected 45 appearances scoring also 11 goals in his black-and-blue stint between 1962 and 1964. In his 3 Coppa Italia appearances he scored 1 goal to close the deal against Padova in the quarter-finals. He then featured the line-ups of the final against Torino.

• Carioli Vittorio The Bergamasco midfielder native of Treviglio donned Atalanta's colours from 1962 to 1965, making 12 appearances.

• Christensen Kurt After joining Atalanta from Odense, the Danish striker was capped 43 times scoring 10 goals from 1961 to 1964. With his brace in the last-16 round, he played a key role to get past Catania: as far as the Coppa Italia is concerned, he scored two goals in two appearances.

• Colombo Umberto The Larian midfielder/stopper made 166 appearances scoring 3 goals for Atalanta between 1961 and 1966. Being capped 5 times, he registered a full haul in the Coppa Italia run.

• Cometti Zaccaria Coming from the black-and-blue Academy, the goalkeeper native of Romano di Lombardia played 211 matches from 1957 to 1970. After having hung up his cleats he returned to the Academy ranks as a coach. He disputed the two first Coppa Italia matches against Como and Catania.

• Da Costa Dino Donning Atalanta's colours between 1961 and 1963, the Brazilian striker made 68 appearances and scored 31 goals. With three goals scored in four matches, he played a pivotal role in winning the cup: after scoring the openers in the matches against Como (1st knockout stage) and Padova (last-16), Dino signed Atalanta's success over Bari in the semi-final.

• Domenghini Angelo Native of Lallio, the striker born in the outskirts of Bergamo collected 57 caps and scored 26 goals for Atalanta between 1960 and 1964. MVP of the final against Torino, his hat trick routed the trophy to Bergamo. He registered a final score rate of 5 goals in 3 matches.

• Gardoni Pietro With 250 appearances and 1 goal scored for Atalanta between 1958 and 1967, not only did the Bergamasco midfielder dispute all 5 Coppa Italia matches; but also donned the captain's armband in the final, hence being given the honour of lifting the historic silverware.

• Gentili Arturo The striker native of Stezzano racked up 68 appearances and scored 13 goals between 1955 and 1963. He made one Coppa Italia cap in the last-16 match against Catania.

• Magistrelli Luciano The Milanese striker, flaunting 151 caps and 24 goals for Atalanta between 1960 and 1966, played 4 Coppa Italia matches, including the Meazza final where he dished out an assist to Domenghini's second goal.

• Mereghetti Mario The other Milanese forward, capped 139 times with 11 goals for Atalanta between 1962 and 1966, made 3 Coppa Italia appearances, also starting the final against Torino at the Meazza stadium.  Like his fellow teammate, his long pass ignited Domenghini's third and last goal of the match.

• Nielsen Flemming After arriving from Copenaghen, the Danish midfielder made 112 appearances between 1961 and 1964 scoring 10 goals for Atalanta. With 4 Coppa Italia caps, he dished out the assist to Domenghini's opener from a set-piece scheme in the final.

• Nodari Franco Native of Vertova, the Bergamasco defender collected 191 caps as a Black-and-blue between 1957 and 1970 (save for a short spell at Chieti). He made 2 Coppa Italia appearances: against Bari in the semi-final and Torino in the final.

• Nova Enrico "Chico" With 230 caps and 46 goals for Atalanta between 1959 and 1967, the Brescian striker played 2 Coppa Italia matches, scoring a goal in the extra-time of the first round against Como.

• Olivieri Rinaldo The Marchigian right winger was capped 91 times scoring 17 goals for Atalanta from 1958 to 1963. He made 2 Coppa Italia appearances: namely, in the last-16 round against Catania and in the quarter-finals against Padova.

• Pesenti Alfredo The defender native of Zanica (on the outskirts of Bergamo) made 187 appearances scoring 4 goals between 1962 and 1968, spending his whole career in Atalanta. He made 3 Coppa Italia appearances, from the quarter-finals all the way up to the final, always featuring the starting XI.

• Pizzaballa Pierluigi Defending the black-and-blue crest on two separate occasions (from 1957 to 1966 and then later from 1976 and 1980), the Bergamasco goalie made 166 appearances. Among his four Coppa Italia matches, he capped the final played at the Meazza stadium with a start.

• Roncoli Livio The defender native of Bergamo made an impressive tally of 305 appearances for the Black-and-blues between 1949 and 1963. Atalanta's one-club-man entered the Club's record books as one of the players with the highest number of aggregated caps. He featured Atalanta's line-ups in the first three Coppa Italia games.

• Rota Battista "Titta" During his two stints for Atalanta (namely, from 1948 to 1954 and then again from 1961 to 1964), the Bergamasco defender collected 145 appearances also scoring 5 goals. He played the first 2 Coppa Italia matches. As a trainer, he set his name in Atalanta's history books.

• Veneri Giorgio The midfielder from Mantua made 48 appearances scoring 2 goals for Atalanta between 1958 and 1967. After his first Coppa Italia appearance in the quarter-finals against Padova, not only did he then feature in the line-ups of the final against Torino, but he took a key tactical role.

• Allenatore Tabanelli Paolo The Ravennate coach, who first took charge of Atalanta in the 1962-1963 season, enshrined his name in the history of the Club at the helm of the ride to the Coppa Italia title. He would later return to the black-and-blue bench in the 1967-1968 campaign.