“The whole hospital screamed for the goal.”

Stromberg was an iconic name at Benfica who became a legend at Bergamo, and is recognized as one of the greatest players in Atalanta’s history. Remember the 1988 match with Sporting. The Swedish 1980s star met Sporting Lisbon in the European Cup Winners’ Cup, having been a rival of the Lions as a Benfica player. There was an unusual celebration after the draw in Lisbon.

Glenn Stromberg is still remembered as one of Portugal’s first Swedes, a dominant and physical player, known for his thick hair, who delighted Benfica fans for two seasons. But while serving Atalanta he became a big name for Calcio and a standout player for the Bergamo club – who play every afternoon at Alvalade – to this day, playing 201 times over eight seasons.

He was a mainstay of an Atalanta side that impressed in Serie A, having been promoted by Mondonico. It was with this coach in the 1987/88 season, and the team was still in the second division, and had a wonderful season in the European Cup Winners’ Cup, where the Transalpine team almost soared in the sky, reaching the semi-finals, and the dream was shattered by Malins, when Sporting has already been eliminated from the competition, exactly in the quarter-finals. Stromberg did not play in Lisbon when Atalanta defended their two-goal lead.

“I fell ill this week, which was terrible, as it was over 40 degrees. I couldn’t make that trip and the worst part was that I spent that day in hospital. I was really bad! We had a great result at home,” it was a match. amazing. It was an excellent campaign and there were a lot of expectations around us, because there were no Italian teams left. All of Italy supported Atalanta, and even more so because we were in the second division,” recalls the former Sweden international. “In the second leg we were a bit lucky, Sporting was a strong team, and I personally had great memories of my matches with Benfica against them. It was not easy, I knew the atmosphere in Alvalade, and I spoke a little. “With my teammates and at that time, we really felt a lot of confidence,” he highlights the feelings of confrontation with the context.

“We were having difficulties, we lost, but then we managed to score a valuable goal from a counter-attack. The tie was resolved and the whole hospital in Bergamo shouted ‘Goal’, because they knew I was there. I had to endure a real invasion of my club.” room,” recalls Stromberg, laying out Atalanta’s arguments that it contributed significantly to the impressive performance in Europe.

“Serie B was a strong tournament, because Calcio was the most important competition in Europe. Our team was very qualified with a great coach. Against Malinz we were very close to reaching the final. It was a shame,” he lamented, highlighting how much he misses the late Emiliano Mondonico. : “He was a man from Bergamo and he was very close to the people. He was very intelligent and shrewd, and he would look at his opponents a lot and change depending on them. One of the best coaches I have ever known.” It was,” he concludes.