The international break has arrived as a pause with different meanings across Serie A: a chance for Atalanta to recover conviction, for Genoa to rebuild its common purpose, for Venezia to settle a boardroom decision, and for Raffaele Palladino to judge his goalkeeper’s response. The next round will offer answers, but the work of the next few days will shape those answers.
The coach and the club
Atalanta enter the break after three consecutive defeats and six goals conceded, with Maurizio Sarri facing a delicate stage in his early work with the Bergamo side. Thirteen members of the squad have joined their national teams, while Odilon Kossounou has remained behind because of injury, leaving the coach with a reduced group at Zingonia.
The remaining players will train through today and tomorrow before receiving an extended weekend away from the training ground. They are due back on Tuesday, when Sarri and his staff will resume a process that is as much about dialogue as drills.
After the defeat to Juventus, Sarri indicated that his team have at times been playing with too much restraint. He wants greater speed in possession, more situations in which players can attack opponents individually, and a freer instinct when Atalanta have the ball. Jonathan Rowe’s move last Sunday was viewed as an example of how quickly that kind of initiative can create danger.
There have nevertheless been encouraging signs: Atalanta have raised their defensive line, found a better balance and improved physically. The next task is to turn those foundations into a side with more personality. Sarri has repeatedly called for boldness, but the players must provide it too rather than wait for direction from the bench.
Ederson has rejected the suggestion that the group lacks character, speaking as captain in defence of his teammates’ qualities. He will remain at Zingonia alongside Rowe, Raoul Bellanova, Lorenzo Bernasconi, Davide Zappacosta, Marco Sportiello, Thomas Kristensen and Gaetano. Injured players Isak Hien, Kamaldeen Sulemana and Kossounou will also stay in Bergamo. Sarri will have time to address technical, tactical and personal questions with a smaller but significant core of the squad.
At Genoa, Daniele De Rossi remains in charge, but the resumption against Fiorentina will place a sharper demand on his side. The club want to begin again from collective identity and attachment to the shirt, values represented by the return of Marco Pellegri as team manager.
Pellegri has lived through several eras at Genoa, both successful and difficult, and his daily presence is intended to reconnect the squad with a club culture that has helped it through previous troubled periods. De Rossi’s challenge is broader: he must restore unity while improving a team that has lacked quality in key moments.
The break should assist Kevin Ehizibue and Stephan El Shaarawy, the two free-agent additions completed after the main transfer window. Both need fitness and rhythm, but they are expected to compete for starting roles when Fiorentina visit. Their technical quality could give De Rossi the extra level the side have been missing.
Defensive work remains central. Last season, the Marcandalli-Ostigard-Vasquez unit became one of Genoa’s strengths as safety was secured well before the end after a difficult start. Otoa showed useful resilience at Parma despite being used on the left side of the defence, a role not naturally suited to him.
De Rossi must also give Morten Frendrup a midfield partner capable of contributing at both ends of the pitch. Tommaso Baldanzi is another unresolved issue. The attacking midfielder was strongly requested by De Rossi in the winter market, but a role still needs to be found that allows him to show his talent, whether in a 3-5-2 or a 3-4-1-2.
Venezia’s decision remains open
Venezia have lost each of their first five Serie A matches, and Giovanni Stroppa’s position remains uncertain. The club have not yet announced either the date of the squad’s return to training or who will oversee that work. Neither Stroppa nor a member of his staff attended the refereeing meeting in Lissone, adding to the sense that his status has been put on hold.
Several coaching options have been discussed. Igor Tudor appears to have moved away from consideration, while Roberto D’Aversa and Luca Gotti remain possible candidates. Alberto Gilardino, still contracted to Pisa, has gained ground, as has Paolo Zanetti, who led Venezia to promotion to Serie A in 2020-21.
The decision is not solely one for sporting director Filippo Antonelli. Venezia now operate with a more structured ownership system than in the period when Duncan Niederauer was president; he now holds only a minority stake. The operational committee must also give its view, and it is chaired by Tim Leiweke, father of president Francesca Bodie, who was at the Penzo on Saturday.
The committee includes the American investors who raised €100 million in May. Not everyone is reportedly convinced that Stroppa should be dismissed, particularly as he signed a three-year contract only in June. Venezia’s pause, then, is not simply hesitation: it reflects the process required to make a decision with consequences beyond the next fixture.
Palladino’s goalkeeper question
Raffaele Palladino has publicly maintained his confidence in Lukasz Skorupski despite the Polish goalkeeper’s recent mistakes against Bologna and Torino. The coach has said Skorupski’s place is not currently under threat, while making clear that the player’s reaction in training will matter.
Still, the issue has not disappeared. Skorupski has also drawn scrutiny for a goal conceded against Atalanta and for being left out against Napoli after arriving late for a technical meeting. He chose to remain at the club and, in terms of seniority, only Riccardo Orsolini has been in the squad longer.
The break will help Palladino determine whether the goalkeeper is experiencing a temporary loss of form or whether a more substantial change is required. Massimo Pessina, born in 2007, has earned growing regard after his national-team call-up, and there are indications that the younger goalkeeper may hold a narrow advantage for the match against Lecce.
For the moment, Palladino has experience on one side and a youthful alternative on the other. As with Atalanta, Genoa and Venezia, the break has created space for reflection. The championship will soon demand a verdict.
