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BIG DAY: Alwande Benedict Roaldsøy signs for Atalanta together with his father Pål and his mother Xoliswa. Photo: Private
Champions League quarter-finalist Atalanta has secured Norwegian talent Alwande Benedict Roaldsøy (16) from Drøbak / Frogn.
It’s a bit of a transition as it’s the turn of the great midfielder and winger when Drøbak is replaced by northern Italy Bergamo.
The 16-year-old leaves a Norwegian 4th division club and takes over one of the most reputable academies in Italy, at a club that this summer was minutes away from reaching the Champions League semi-final at the expense of PSG.
– The Football Association’s chin fell off completely when I first contacted this. They were very surprised to hear it, board chairman Vidar Færgestad in Drøbak / Frogn told VG.
Alwande has signed a three-year professional contract with Atalanta with the possibility of an extension for two more years. He moved to Bergamo two weeks ago and is in the process of preparing for the season with his new teammates.
– I have some butterflies in my stomach, but this will be fun. They have received me very well, says Roaldsøy to VG by phone from Italy.
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On Saturday, Isak (16) signs for Manchester United. Behind a closed fence in Alfheim, work began.
He acknowledges that “one would not think it was possible” to go straight from Drøbak to Atalanta, and says that for a time he considered making the move to bigger Norwegian clubs, but after a test match with the Italian club this winter, he opted for the strike. to.
– This is the best academy in Italy. I thought I was not going to get better deals than this. So I took a chance. Just jump there.
– What is the OBJETIVE?
– The objective is to debut in Serie A as soon as possible. I think I can do it before I am 19 years old. I have spoken with several players who are one or two years older, and there are already players born in 2003 who train with team A. I have a goal to train with them in 2021. Guaranteed. I have to try, says Roaldsøy, who followed the club’s adventure in the Champions League closely:
– It was fun and quite surprising, but strange that he smoked like he did against PSG.
Drøbaksgutten played for the Norwegian G15 national team last year and is part of the same generation as Northern Isak Hansen-Aarøen, who this summer was sold from Tromsø IL to Manchester United.
DRØBAKSTRIO: Coach Kristian Semmen, Alwande Roaldsøy, and Board President Vidar Færgestad, wearing Drøbak / Frogn clothing. Photo: Private
Eurosport football expert Joacim Jonsson described Roaldsøy in a 2019 blog post as a player with ‘a wonderful gait and ball control at the highest level’.
Færgestad in Drøbak / Frogn believes that it was probably Roaldsøy’s personality that caught Atalanta’s attention.
– He’s fucked up a little special. He loves soccer and is always looking for contact. I used to coach two teams in Drøbak, I always saw him on the field in morning practice, and when I came back in the afternoon, he was still there. He has almost always trained with the teams that have allowed him, whether he is the same age or three years older. He is also incredibly sociable and good at talking to people, says the club leader.
– What does this mean for Drøbak / Frogn financially?
– It’s not a lot of money for us now, but a lot more than if I went to a Norwegian club. And if this is good, it will be better for us financially in the long run. But that’s not the main focus. We work very well with talent development at DFI Football during the day; so it’s more fun for us than a young player who has been with the club all his life, now take this step. This gives a lot of inspiration to all the girls and boys of the club who dream of a football career, says Færgestad, who wants to praise Drøbak’s coach, Kristian Semmen, for having contributed greatly to the development of the youngster.
