Tickets for <a href="gopher://topicL3RoZW5hdGlvbmFsL09yZ2FuaXNhdGlvbnMvU3BvcnRzIHRlYW1zL0l0YWxpYW4gZm9vdGJhbGwgdGVhbXMvQXRhbGFudGE=" inlink="topic::L3RoZW5hdGlvbmFsL09yZ2FuaXNhdGlvbnMvU3BvcnRzIHRlYW1zL0l0YWxpYW4gZm9vdGJhbGwgdGVhbXMvQXRhbGFudGE=">Atalanta</a>'s game against <a href="gopher://topicL3RoZW5hdGlvbmFsL09yZ2FuaXNhdGlvbnMvU3BvcnRzIHRlYW1zL0l0YWxpYW4gZm9vdGJhbGwgdGVhbXMvU2llbmE=" inlink="topic::L3RoZW5hdGlvbmFsL09yZ2FuaXNhdGlvbnMvU3BvcnRzIHRlYW1zL0l0YWxpYW4gZm9vdGJhbGwgdGVhbXMvU2llbmE=">Siena</a> on Sunday are on sale for as little as €1 (Dh4.75). It is a one-off lowering of prices to celebrate the 105th anniversary of Atalanta's founding. The Bergamo club could certainly use some noisy backing. They are third from bottom of <a href="gopher://topicL3RoZW5hdGlvbmFsL1N1YmplY3RzL1NlcmllIEE=" inlink="topic::L3RoZW5hdGlvbmFsL1N1YmplY3RzL1NlcmllIEE=">Serie A</a>. Were they not bearing a two-point deduction for the involvement of their players in the match-fixing scandal that dates back to their most recent season in Serie B, 2010/11, they would sit 13th. But the feel-good momentum of an impressive 2011/12 campaign, in which they finished 12th as a newly promoted team carrying a penalty of six points, is fading. Atalanta supporters have had a roller-coaster time in the club's second century so far: a relegation, a promotion, a change of ownership and those damaging charges of corruption against players, most notably against Cristiano Doni, the former captain, who is now banned. Doni had been a figurehead for fans, the club's all-time record scorer, a man who once took a pay cut to return to Bergamo. Atalanta's fans used to see in him a quality they recognised: loyalty, something they have a particular fame for. It is a necessary attribute when your club has an equal fame for discovering young talent and, inevitably, given Atalanta's middle-ranking status, seeing the best of that talent depart for bigger institutions. The cheap tickets this weekend is a decent gesture by the club towards those people, the supporters, who keep it going. sports@thenational.ae Follow us
