Atalanta CEO Umberto Marino believes West Ham United are one of the biggest obstacles the Serie A side will face in their pursuit of UEFA Europa League glory, speaking to Tuttomercatoweb.
After a difficult couple of weeks, this was West Ham back at their most brilliantly belligerent. Craig Dawson and Kurt Zouma dominating. Declan Rice dictating. Michail Antonio rampaging. Tomas Soucek scoring.
Sunday’s 1-0 victory over fellow Champions League chasers Wolverhampton Wanderers felt like a massive step in the right direction. And not just because it moves West Ham to within touching distance of a stuttering Manchester United in fourth place.
Who would have thought that, at this stage of the season, West Ham would still have two potential routes into the Promised Land of the Champions League available to them?
Finish in the Premier League’s top four and they’ll secure a seat at Europe’s top table. Finish fifth or six but win the Europa League and, again, they’ll secure a seat at Europe’s top table.
Can West Ham win the Europa League?
With the likes of Real Betis, Porto and Barcelona standing in West Ham’s way – not to mention a Sevilla side who won the trophy as recently as 2020 – continental glory would be one hell of an achievement.
And that’s without mentioning one of the most free-scoring sides around, the perennial overachievers of Italian football.
Atalanta will face Bayer Leverkusen in their round-of-16 clash this month. But forget Barca or Betis. According to Marino, the best team in the competition, along with Leverkusen, are one who narrowly avoided relegation to the Championship less than two years ago.
“Together with West Ham, (Leverkusen) are the strongest team we could face,” says Marino. “It is nice to face strong teams, it is a stimulus. It will be a show.”
West Ham finished top of their group, winning four games out of six, and will now face Europa League masters Sevilla at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on March 10th.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
