"Goal & Samba": Éderson wins the GOTM of January!

E o vencedor do gol do mês de janeiro é... Éderson dos Santos! Given the absolute dominance of the Brazilian mid in this month's voting (with an impressive 65%), we couldn't help but bend our intro to our number 13's whim. With that unmistakable Brazilian flair for solving problems and overcoming challenges in his own unique way, relying on nothing but pure creativity and skill, Éderson grabs the GOTM for January with a goal, the one scored against Barcelona, that practically screams jeitinho in every frame! Just like he did on the Companys pitch, it took Éderson little more than a quick flick, a "last minute appliacation" nonetheless, to win over the hearts of Atalanta's social media crowd and hit the bullseye in the January pageant as well...

Meanwhile, the "flattery" from the other three contenders couldn’t compete: trailing far behind are Retegui’s "turn" against Napoli and Bernasconi’s powerful strike in Trento...

As per custom, climb up the standings and sift through the "exit polls" (in between brackets the "approval rate"):

Winner: Éderson dos Santos, Barcellona 2-2 Atalanta, 2024-2025 UEFA Champions League MD8 (65%);

Runner-up: Mateo Retegui, Atalanta 2-3 Napoli, 2024-2025 Serie A Enilive MD21 (23%);

3rd place: Federico Steffanoni, Atalanta 1-0 Empoli, 2024-2025 Primavera 1 MD22 “Trofeo Giacinto Facchetti” (8%);

4th place: Lorenzo Bernasconi, Trento 2-2 Atalanta U23s, 2024/24 Serie C NOW MD22 (4%);

To brush up on our 4 finalists' scoring prowess, check the IG reels and the résumes below

4th place: Lorenzo Bernasconi, Trento 2-2 Atalanta U23s, 2024/24 Serie C NOW MD22

This month's "honourable mention" goes to Lorenzo Bernasconi: GOTM rookie, coach Modestos' wingback brings home this month's wooden spoon with his second goal of the season!

We're but a breath away from the end of an adrenaline-pumping first half at the Briamasco stdaium: after a rocket start with two goals in the first 10 minutes, both teams throw caution to the wind in a real “Mexican standoff,” battling to break the deadlock and shift the momentum back in their favor.

With Trento pushing forward, their shot rattles the post, and on the immediate counterattack, the Nerazzurri capitalize on one of football’s unwritten rules ("missed chances lead to goals") and take the temporary lead through a stunning team move: Vlahovic makes a run that draws half the Trento defense to him, opening the door for Cassa’s coast-to-coast. With a precise low pass, the Serbian finds the number 31, who pulls off a silky dummy to let the ball slide through towards an onrushing Bernasconi, who in return fires the ball into the top corner to cap off the Nerazzurri's counter with a brilliant first-time left-foot strike.

3rd place: Federico Steffanoni, Atalanta 1-0 Empoli, 2024-2025 Primavera 1 MD22 “Trofeo Giacinto Facchetti”

Bronze medal for the to Atalanta Primavera's midfield engine Federico Steffanoni, as Coach Bosi's no.25 claims the third step of the podium with the match-winner against Empoli.

44th minute: after tearing through the Empoli defense down the left wing, Capac switches the play to Manzoni, who sends a first-time ball to Steffanoni. Without missing a beat, the Atalanta midfielder locks on target and, with a perfect inside-right strike, curls the ball into the far corner. The Empoli goalkeeper, caught flat-footed, can only stand by and watch as the surface-to-air shot hits the back of the net.

Runner-up: Mateo Retegui, Atalanta 2-3 Napoli, 2024-2025 Serie A Enilive MD21

Silver medal for the POTM in charge, who narrowly misses out on repeating his August heroics! Taking second place in the January contest is the brilliant strikee tjat opened the scoring in the MD21 against Napoli. Spreed on by the Gewiss Stadium's frenzy, Atalanta got off to an high-octane overture, with the Nerazzurri going all out to seize control and put the visitor between the devil and the deep blue sea right off the bat.

After coming close on a couple of occasions, it’s Retegui who finishes the Nerazzurri’s blitz, finally breaking through Napoli’s defense in the 15th minute after a picture-perfect team move. Samardžić dances down the right wing, then exchanges a slick one-two with de Roon, who, just outside the opponent’s box, plays a perfect pass to Éderson. The Brazilian threads a needle with a through ball to Retegui, who, turning the Napoli box into a Super-G course, smashes an impossible angle with a no-look spin and places the ball exactly where Meret can’t lay a finger on it.

Winner: Éderson dos Santos, Barcellona 2-2 Atalanta, 2024-2025 UEFA Champions League MD8

Now, let’s talk about the winner of this month’s GOTM! A goal that brought Atalanta level at 1-1, representing the “magna cum laude” of Éderson’s sublime performance at the Lluis Companys, where the Carioca no. 13 put on a textbook masterclass, showing off his full arsenal, not just in his usual "bread and butter" (namely, throwing a spanner in the opponents' works), but also, and most importantly, as a trump card in build-up play and counterattacks, dictating the rhythm of Atalanta's incursions with his personal metronome, setting the tempo like the smoothest and most refined Bossa Nova.

So here’s Éderson, sometimes a brick wall, sometimes the orchestrator, sometimes the attacker: not only battling toe-to-toe with Pedri, Gavi, and De Jong for control of the ball and dictating the game’s pace with equal parts finesse and pace; but also weaving the fabric of Atalanta's remuntada... Frst, with a perfectly weighted pass between the lines to set up De Ketelaere for Zappacosta’s disallowed goal (the "first assist," as stats geeks would call it), and then, he took matters into his own hands with a masterstroke of a goal, both in terms of importance and beauty: a perfect touch from 30 meters out, a lightning-quick dribble and counter-dribble—a "croqueta," as they say in Spain—on Gavi to glide into the box, followed by a “folha seca” with his right foot into the far corner to bring the score back to level!

In the face of such a masterpiece, all we can say is... Parabéns!