Primavera: uncovering Alberto Manzoni

Although his goal against Sassuolo in the closing minutes didn't suffice to turn the match around, it served Alberto Manzoni as a way to break the ice with scoring and to not only find his first goal of the season; but his scoring debut with Primavera altogether. "While the match didn't turn out as expected; I had finally the chance to take it out of my system as I had been longing for scoring for quite some time. Naturally, for as much as it aches me to see the team losing, we ought to keep working as we have done so far in order to not squander any more points down the road ahead; starting with Sunday's match against Milan, surely no pushover in the least."

In the last few years, Alberto Manzoni has been mastering the art of becoming a box-to-box midfielder: “While I grew up lusting for Papu Gomez, my models are now Éderson and Koopmeiners, watching their every move to learn all their secrets. And to think that, back when I was a child, people used to jokingly ask me if I was (Gérman) Denis’ son; perhaps that was because of a mixture between me playing upfront and an uncanny resemblance (Alberto chuckles, en). Back in the day, I was a ball boy at the stadium and one day I was right next to his son, the first thing Denis did after scoring a goal was rushing to the sideline to give him a hug. Needless to say, witnessing that scene first-hand gave me an amazing feeling. I still recall that special atmosphere at the stadium, hopefully, I plan to relieve it again as a player one day”.

“Having started as a striker–Alberto goes on – I always had a special feeling with the goal. Right after joining Atalanta, I became a winger and ever since I turned 15, after my year on loan at Giana, I became a regular in the midfield either on the inside or behind the striker. Having scored 12 goals with the U18s, I set my personal ever since I joined Atalanta last season. Nonetheless, the zenith of the previous campaign is without a doubt in my promotion to coach Bosi's Primavera; just the call-up, let alone the feeling of having done my share in avoiding relegation, still fills me with pride: never before in my career at Atalanta had I felt such intense emotions, it's something that will stay with me forever".

Despite being a native of Treviglio but born and bred in Cassano d'Adda, twenty minutes away from the Centro Sportivo Bortolotti, Alberto has already tasted the experience of living abroad. “When I was barely 5 we moved to France, where I lived for over four years, to join my father Claudio and it was truly a life-changing experience for me: it gave me the chance to soak in a new language and culture. For work-related reasons once again, we moved back to Italy and, shortly after my return, I was called up by Atalanta: I still recall the happiness and the excitement of those very first days very vividly".

Football was a regular at the Manzoni's: “I'm the second of four siblings, we are all boys and we all play football.  To my eldest brother Matteo, who is 20 years old and who lives and studies in the States having won a football (or rather soccer, ed) scholarship, I owe a lot of who I am today: not only did I take my first steps with him; but he has always been my role model. His determination rubbed off on me and it gave me the right attitude to undertake this footballing path. Third comes Francesco, 15, who plays for Giana and, last but not the least, Leonardo, the youngest of the group being only 4, who enrolled in the hometown's team barely a month ago".

Alberto dabbles with no particular hobby, bar setting up the right pre-game mood with some good music: “I usually go for songs with a calmer and mellowing tempo to blow off some steam before the game so that I can hit the pitch with the proper grit. Along the lines of reggaeton just to be clear: my go-to tune is “Baila Baila Baila” by Ozuna, it kindles in me a rather pleasant playing style”.****

Lastly, the non-marginal goal of finishing his studies well: “My mother Elisa cares a lot about my schooling career, even today she keeps doing everything in her power to make me miss the least number of classes. I attend the linguistic high school and this year I will take my school-leaving exam: while my Spanish and French are good, my English is not up to scratch yet. All in all, I'm a good student; as a matter of fact, last year I also won the Premio Brembo* for my academic performance. To my mother's eyes, it's the most relevant football-related trophy I had brought home so far: so much so, that, unlike all the others that are stored in my room, the Premio Brembo is on full display in the living room”.

*******from a joint-venture between Atalanta and Brembo the awards are bestowed to all those boys and girls, picked from the Academy sides, showcasing outstanding features in terms of fair play, commitment and academic performances as well.