Atalanta coach Edy Reja has declared his respect and eternal appreciation for his former club Napoli ahead of their round 17 meeting in Serie A.
The Partenopei travel to Bergamo to face Atalanta in what will be their final game before the Christmas break and, with neither side having won in their last outing, both will be looking to end the year on a positive note.
“We have to believe that if we play to our full potential we can win,” Reja said to the media ahead of the game.”We will need to be aggressive and avoid giving them too much freedom to hurt us.”
“We will start with Bellini [Gianpaolo] and Brivio [Davide] as full-backs and Paletta [Gabriel] and Stendardo [Guglielmo] will play in the middle.”
Speaking about Sunday’s opposition, Reja was keen to remember his four years at Napoli fondly.
“I am an opponent of them, but I will never be an enemy,” he said.
“To go from Serie C to Serie A was a remarkable achievement. We restored dignity to the Neapolitan people and the fans.
“I will always remember my time at the club.”
Reja’s Atalanta side currently find themselves in ninth place in the table, having collected 24 points from their 16 games to date.
